The Farm Bill Impacts Every Family in America

The farm bill affects those who farm, those who eat, and those who want to conserve land and water. Photo credit: Indiana Farm Bureau

A lot of people are starting to hear more about the farm bill, but what exactly is it?

Despite the word “farm,” the bill is actually a comprehensive package that touches every family in America.

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“The farm bill is the most significant piece of legislation that affects farmers across the country and right here in Indiana,” says Indiana Farm Bureau President Randy Kron, who farms with his family near Evansville. “However, the impact extends beyond the farm.”

Included among its many programs are those that help provide nutrition to low-income families, assist farmers and ranchers in conserving the nation’s land and water, provide risk management tools for farmers and ranchers, and provide investments in agricultural research.

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Approximately every five years, the current farm bill expires, and Congress creates new legislation to update programs so they are relevant to current economic conditions. There have been 18 farm bills since the 1930s, and each iteration is a new opportunity to tackle hunger and adjust the programs farmers depend on.

“The current legislation is set to expire in September of this year, at least in theory,” says Brantley Seifers, INFB national affairs coordinator. “In practice, what often happens is the current farm bill will get an extension so that the legislation’s programs won’t lapse. We’re optimistic that, even with an extension, Congress will pass a new farm bill by the end of this year.”

By far, the largest program funded through the farm bill is the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

“Early projections show that we’re looking at a $1.5 trillion farm bill, and Nutrition Title benefits such as SNAP make up $1.2 trillion of that total,” Seifers says. “This is not just a farm bill, it’s a food bill, and SNAP benefits go to about 290,000 families in Indiana. The impact of that one single aspect of the bill is huge.”

Among other important farm bill components are the voluntary conservation programs, which help farmers protect the soil and keep the water clean. Current projections show $5.4 billion will be spent on conservation nationally in 2023.

Finally, the most important pieces of the farm bill for Hoosier farmers are the risk management programs. There are 55,100 farmers in Indiana farming 14.8 million acres. In 2022, crop insurance protected 9.7 million acres or nearly two-thirds of the total farmed acres across the state. The farm bill must continue to support farmers and maintain a well-funded safety net.

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