For 90 years, farmers and their families have relied on the Farm Bill.
The current Farm Bill expires in September. Let’s make sure the next Farm Bill is a good one for farmers and Pennsylvania.
What is the Farm Bill?
A broad federal law covering many topics, the Farm Bill is evaluated for its effectiveness and revised every five years. Crop insurance, community food access, nutrition assistance, research and development of specialty crops and bioenergy are among the programs funded by the Farm Bill. It is also critical to efforts to protect the air, water and soil required to meet the demands of American consumers.
While it’s often a challenge to understand how a federal law directly affects us, this is not the case with the Farm Bill. Through the Farm Bill, Pennsylvania farmers and their families are eligible for grants to/for:
Benefits of the Farm Bill
No-till farming practices and the planting of cover crops
Installing forest
buffers along streams
Wildlife shelter
habitat creation
Fencing and
other barriers
Improved rotational grazing systems to support soil health, increase plant health, and reduce erosion
While the farm bill includes language that authorizes programs and sets the maximum funding levels for each program for the years covered by the farm bill, it is funded by passage of an annual appropriations bill.
Many Farm Bill programs received supplemental funding via the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Approximately $20 billion was invested in conservation programs like the ones outlined above for the direct benefit of American farmers, including:
How are Farm Bill Programs Funded?
With Congress currently discussing the next version of the Farm Bill, it is critical that this historic investment be maintained to ensure farmers and producers have access to grant money to support on-farm conservation practices that also support climate-smart initiatives.
