Ohio farmers and consumers grow anxious about status of Farm Bill

COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) — The words “Farm Bill” may not grab your attention, especially if you do not own or work on a farm. But the Farm Bill will, in some way, affect every American.

At the moment, farmers and consumers alike share anxieties about the bill’s future.

“Food security is national security. Farm Bill is the absolute, fundamental baseline of that,” said Adam Sharp from the Ohio Farm Bureau.

The Farm Bill is an expensive and extensive bill in Congress. The proposed price tag hovers around $1.25 trillion dollars. The bill was last renewed in Congress in 2018 for a five-year term. Last year, Congress could not agree on a new bill, so an extension was proposed to move the debate into 2024. That bill is now set to expire on Sept. 30.

“That affects all of Ohioans and all of our country,” said Brian Baldridge, Director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture. “There’s a number of programs from the agricultural community that we’re very concerned about and that are making sure it’s a priority to get this done.”

An analysis of the Farm Bill shows nearly 80% of the bill covers food security programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). More than 40 million Americans rely on SNAP for food assistance. The other 20% of the bill provides crop price stability for farmers, loans to expand and modernize farms, conservation programs and disaster insurance, among other programs which promote consistency in the industry.

“What we don’t want in a country, what we don’t want as a society is food prices swinging all over the place and just crushing people,” Sharp said. “And the Farm Bill helps us do that in a big way.”

The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture produced a version of the Farm Bill in May, but the Senate has yet to move forward with its own version. Republicans and Democrats remain heavily divided on the costs and cuts proposed.

“This Farm Bill actually gives farmers what they need,” said Pennsylvania Rep. Glenn Thompson, Chair of the House Agriculture Committee. “What we passed out of the House will satisfy and provide maybe not necessarily what everybody wants… I learned there’s a difference between what we want and what they need… but this one does that.”

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York has been among the outspoken Democrats about the contents of the new bill.

“That would cut $30 billion dollars in food and nutritional assistance impacting children and veterans. That partisan Farm Bill is dead on arrival.” Jeffries said.

The uncertainty has farmers concerned, especially with grim forecasts for 2024. This year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated farm and ranch income will fall by about $43 billion as costs outpace revenues. Central Ohio farmer Ross Black is especially concerned.

“If we don’t have some effort made on the Farm Bill come the end of December, reference prices could get very cheap and profitability could suffer more because we won’t have our crop insurance safety net,” Black said.

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