The Farm Bill - Article Example

The Farm Bill The farm bill is a detailed, compiled piece of legislation that is sanctioned approximately after every five years. It is the principal agricultural and foodstuff program tool of the government. The bill makes amendments and deferrals to some requirements of permanent law, amends provisions of the short-term agricultural acts, and comes up with new policies that apply to the future. Dating back to 1973, the farm bills have included items such as; trade, farm credit, rural growth, preservation, agricultural research, nutrition programs and farm credit just to mention a few (Jasper 101). The nature of farm bills can make them to be highly controversial and they can influence global trade, environmental conservation, food security, and the general well-being of the rural communities. The agricultural funding programs authorized by farm bills are the subject of strong debate both in the U.S and the rest of the world. The committees that have a jurisdiction on the farm bill include forestry, senate agriculture, and the nutrition committee. The farm bill which was released recently is of a mixed bag for practical food and farming methods. The bill put in over $1.2 billion over the next five years, mainly in the inventive programs for rooky farmers, local food, agriculture, development in rural areas, and specialty crops that were ignored in the past year or so (Jasper 541). Despite the presence of these important highlights, the bill fails to discuss reforms in farm commodities and insurance in crop subsidies. The following are some of the highlights that have been discussed in the bill. Conservation and energy The conservation compliance rules will be applied for the first time in eighteen years. This rule will apply to any farmer who receives who gets the insurance in crop and premium subsidies. In addition to that the bill has a sod saver provision which restricts crop insurance and commodity grants on native land that has been broken for production of crops. This provision only covers the states in the northern plains leaving out the southern plains completely. This bill cuts funding on conservation title by $4 billion in over ten years. In the history of the farm bill, this is the first time the funding for conservation is reduced. The conservation stewardship program (CSP) has been limited to 10 million acres per year. It is predicted that the cut will decrease conservation acreage by over 28 million acres in one decade. The renewable energy programs have been allocated $879 million which includes $435 million funding of the rural energy for America program (REAP). Fortunately, the bill bars USDA from using REAP to supply blender pumps. Subsidy Reform The farm bill failed to keep the historic reforms. This is very disappointing because the subsidies were included into the bill by the members of both chambers of the congress. The relevant payments are increased by 150% by the final bill. This high limit is meaningless because it continues to let some entities receive many times the limit by taking all the supplementary payments. This standard has been very difficult to impose and it has been riddled with abuse. Local and Regional Food Systems This received a timely boost from the bill because there was improved funding for a number of programs as well as creation of new programs. The bill has increased funding per year to $30 million specifically for farmers market and the food production platform. This has made the program to expand. The community food projects funding have also been doubled by the bill. This has created a new food security nutrition incentive program for the organizations that give farmers markets. Farmers and ranchers who are new and socially disadvantaged. The final bill has been regarded as a win for all beginning farmers. The unfortunate part of it is that it takes a backward step by proving capitals and services to minority farmers who do not deserve it. Some other projects that were meant to benefit the farmers who are disadvantaged have been reduced considerably. The significant reduction in funding the farmers and ranchers who are socially disadvantaged is one of the greatest disappointment. Funding for this program reduced by nearly half as compared to the previous bill. Organic Agriculture Generally, organic agriculture did very in the bill. The program which is now funded at $11.5 million on a yearly basis, will offset all the costs for organic farmers. Apart from funding, the bill has been tasked with refining crop insurance. Additionally, there is a provision in the bill which exempts all organic producers from paying conventional chekoffs and allows a check off program to be established. Research, Education, and Extension An amount in the region of $600 million has been allocated to initiate research in order to support specialty crops and organic agriculture. The research program in specialty crop, received an increased and permanent funding. What is most unfortunate is that the bill will make it difficult for all non-profit research groups to appropriately compete for the central research dollars. All the private institutions will be required to give up to 100% match on reasonable research grants while living out public institutions. The bill prohibits the state agencies, some NGOs, and private labs from applying for some viable grants. Rural Development The farm bill legislates the rural and economic development. The rural development did not fair appropriately in terms of funding. Though, two programs that are of high priority did receive adequate funding. The two programs are the rural micro entrepreneur and the value added producer program. The farm bill highlights some controversial facts and features. These features are explained below. You will have more information about meat. The bill has put a strong emphasis on product labelling. It backed the requirement that chicken, beef, or pork that is sold in the United States must have all the details which include; the animal’s place of birth, where it was slaughtered and processed. Doing this will undermine other meat products from neighboring countries (Jasper 504). This is the main reason why Mexico and Canada are contesting this regulation in the courts to no avail. The bill has control on what the citizens should eat. It decides the crops the US government should protect. The bill encourages that particular crops should be grown more than others. The favored crops are wheat, soy, and corn. Restricting farmers from growing other crops is dangerous as this will lead to over reliance of one crop and the extinction of the other. In addition, there is an uproar that the bill is intended to benefit certain groups. Those that support the farm bill are the beneficiaries. For instance, there is a protection program for all sugar growers. This program prevents the cheap foreign sugar from getting into the US market, raising the price of local sugar by significant margins. This measure results to consumers paying more for any product made from sugar. The bill falls short as it inadequately addresses poor targeting of farm bill benefits. Most of these benefits are enjoyed by commercial farmers who succeed even deprived of these benefits. This is a waste of the taxpayer money on subsidy programs that are politically protected. Moreover, the bill allocates money to farmers for conservation practices programs which are entirely charitable. Why should they waste all these money and yet the conservation practices are meant to be compulsory for all farmers? Despite the fact that the farm bill has its own share of controversies, we now reflect on some positive aspect from the bill. The farm bill cuts $9 billion in food stamp. This bill has provisions that are set to decrease food stamp fraud. For dairy farmers it is a relief as the revised program will address appropriately the volatility in milk prices, the cost of animal feeds, and give insight to help address the relationship between supply and demand. The great importance of the farm bill makes its debate to be very significant. This is because all people and groups have varied interests on the bill. They know that the outcome of the bill can impact on their lives either positively or negatively. This is the main reason as to why various companies and groups of people would love to have a stake in the debate so that they can influence the outcome. The various groups will use the media both electronic and print so that they may let their stand to be known regarding their subjects of interests that are contained in the bill. The house of representatives has the sole responsibility of debating the farm bill. Once the bill is tabled in the house by one of the members, it is discussed by all the members through a mouthwatering debate. Some members argue in the bills favor while others may oppose it based on each individuals reservations concerning the subject (Jasper 126). The members will debate the bill bearing in mind the repercussions that may result if it is passed or fails to pass on the floor of the house. After debating the members have to vote for the bill to determine whether it is approved or not. The various interest groups follow the debate closely to determine whether their interests will be realized. The farm bill is surfacing at this point because the U.S government wants to come with new rules and regulations regarding nutrition programs and cutting agriculture subsidies. The aim is to bring to an end two years of debating on the two contentious issues in the farm bill. The food stamp program has been a subject of further debate. In America, about one in every five people receives food stamp. Most of these people are elderly and the poor families with children. The great recession made the use of food stamps to grow drastically. This is because most people struggled to have a meal on the table (Jasper 405). From the last decade, there has been increased easing of the program requirements so that more people could access it. There is a great concern in the house by some politicians that many people are becoming too reliant on food stamps. As a result of this, the agriculture committee has made it harder to access food stamps by passing a bill. Up to two million people will lose food stamps. This will be the largest reduction in food stamps use since the welfare developments in 1996. An increase in the cost of food stamps is to generate more income and improve the economy. In addition to that, the media have their opinion on the food stamps. The people using food stamps are from poor backgrounds. Raising the cost of food stamps will surely hit hard on the poor as this is their only cheap option to get food. The rise in the cost will impact negatively on the young children as they are likely to suffer from malnutrition (Jasper 341). Most members of the public may not be aware of this debate but once it is passed they will feel its effects. In conclusion, the government is destined to win more income if the farm bill is passed while citizens are likely to suffer if the price of food stamp goes up. I do recommend that the government should only pass a bill that is friendly to its citizens as it will serve all the citizens in the right manner leading to economic growth and prosperity. In relation to the other food stuffs, the U.S is likely to have a healthy nation if the government only recommends the right food in the market for its citizens. The dangers of taking diet sodas should be known by the people. The GMOs should regulated because they have a profound negative impact on the human health. Work cited Owens, Jasper T. The Farm Bill and Its Far-Ranging Impact. New York: Nova Science Publishers, 2008. http://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/2014-farm-bill-outcomes/ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/30/us/politics/house-approves-farm-bill-ending-2-year-impasse.html?_r=0 http://edition.cnn.com/2014/02/04/politics/farm-bill/ http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/01/27/267266501/new-bipartisan-farm-bill-emerges-from-long-debate-in-congress Read More