What Is the Farm Bill?

The farm bill is an omnibus, multiyear law that governs an array of agricultural and food programs. Titles in the most recent farm bill encompassed farm commodity revenue supports, agricultural conservation, trade and foreign food assistance, farm credit, research, rural development, forestry, bioenergy, horticulture, and domestic nutrition assistance. Typically renewed about every five or six years, the farm bill provides a predictable opportunity for policymakers to comprehensively and periodically address agricultural and food issues. The most recent farm bill—the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, P.L. 115-334—was enacted into law in December 2018 to cover a five-year period. In November 2023, Congress enacted a one-year extension to cover FY2024 and crop year 2024 (P.L. 118-22, Division B, §102). Provisions in the 2018 farm bill modified the structure of farm commodity support, expanded crop insurance coverage, amended conservation programs, reauthorized and revised nutrition assistance, and extended authority to appropriate funds for many U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) discretionary programs. Farm Bill Titles with Mandatory Baseline, 10-Year Projected Outlays, FY2025-FY2034 ($ billions) / Source: CRS using the CBO Baseline (February 2024) for the five largest titles and amounts in law for programs in other titles. At enactment in December 2018, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that the total cost of the mandatory programs in the farm bill would be $428 billion over its five-year duration, FY2019-FY2023, about $1.8 billion more than if the 2014 farm bill were extended. On a 10-year basis, the expected cost was $867 billion over FY2019-FY2028, which was budget neutral compared to extending the 2014 farm bill. Four titles accounted for 99% of anticipated farm bill mandatory outlays: nutrition, crop insurance, farm commodity programs, and conservation (see graph). Programs in all other farm bill titles accounted for about 1% of mandatory outlays. Many programs are authorized to receive discretionary (appropriated) funds. In February 2024, CBO released a new baseline that updates spending projections. Using this projection for the major farm bill programs and funding indicated in law for other farm bill programs that are not included in the annual projection, the current baseline for farm bill programs is estimated at $682 billion over 5 years (FY2025-FY2029) and $1,401 billion over 10 years (FY2025-FY2034). The allocation of spending across titles in the farm bill over time is not a zero-sum game. Legislative changes enacted in each farm bill account for only a fraction of the observed change between farm bills. Every year, CBO re-estimates the baseline to determine expected costs. Baseline projections can rise and fall over time based on changes in economic conditions, without action by Congress. For example, the relative proportions of farm bill spending have shifted over time. In the 2024 projection, the nutrition title is 82% of the farm bill baseline compared with about 76% when the 2018 farm bill was enacted and 67% in the 2008 farm bill. Sharp increases in the nutrition title reflect changing economic conditions, including those occurring after the pandemic and the administrative adjustments made to SNAP benefit calculations. For non-nutrition farm bill programs, baseline amounts in 2024 are greater than when the 2018 farm bill was enacted ($253 billion over 10 years as of 2024 compared with $210 billion over 10 years in 2018). The February 2024 baseline is $62 billion less over 10 years than the baseline in May 2023. Whether an increase or a decrease in a program’s baseline helps or hurts to achieve a legislative goal depends on one’s policy perspective. CBO evaluates proposed policy changes by using the assumptions that support the baseline projection.