Farm Bill: Winners and Losers

January 29th, 2014

By:

Category: Policy

(Wall Street Journal) – Like any 949-page piece of legislation, the farm bill unveiled Monday night produces a bumper crop of both winners and losers — some in the headlines, some in the fine print.

Winners:

  • Congress: Lawmakers are poised to continue their modest streak of passing bills, including the bipartisan budget deal and the omnibus spending bill. Incumbents running for re-election this year are likely to point to the farm bill as proof that Washington’s gridlock is not preventing them from occasionally legislating.
  • House Speaker John Boehner: The Ohio Republican rarely wades into the nitty-gritty details of legislation, but his personal passion over the dairy program prodded him into the negotiations. Mr. Boehner succeeded in removing a Senate provision that would have curbed federal assistance to farms producing more milk at times when there is an oversupply of milk.
  • Crop insurance: The bill expands up the country’s crop-insurance program, plumping it up with some of the savings gained by ending the government’s direct payments to farmers. The government subsidizes over 60% of most crop-insurance premiums, and reimburses the private companies that administer the plans for some of their administrative and operating costs.
  • Conservationists: The bill links conservation requirements to federal crop insurance subsidies. It does not, however, satisfy advocates of sustainable agriculture who argued for a tighter cap on farm subsidies.
  • Animal rights: Opponents of an amendment sponsored by Rep. Steve King (R., Iowa) secured a victory when negotiators excluded a provision that would have prohibited states from setting mandatory agricultural production standards. Adoption of the amendment would have imperiled a California law requiring that all eggs sold in the state be laid by hens in cage-free settings. The Humane Society of the United States led the effort to defeat the amendment, arguing that it threatened dozens of state laws on animal protection.
  • Hemp: The bill creates pilot programs to study industrial hemp, a cousin to marijuana, and allows colleges and universities to grow it for research purposes.

Losers:   

  • Conservatives: The right flank of the House GOP conference wanted no less than $40 billion in food-stamp funding cuts — they got $8 billion. Outside conservative groups are urging lawmakers to vote against the bill, but it is expected to pass with the blessing of House GOP leaders.
  • Meat industry: In spite of 11th-hour lobbying on Capitol Hill, large livestock organizations were disappointed when top farm bill negotiators preserved federal labeling rules requiring more information about the origins of beef, pork and other meats. The meat industry pushed for a repeal of country-of-origin rules that they argue levy gratuitous costs on production.
  •  Dairy farmers: Dairy farmers lost a clash with milk processors over a market stabilization program that would have protected producers from falling milk prices. Nonetheless, trade groups like the National Milk Producers Federation say the bill establishes a reasonable risk management tool that gives farmers the opportunity to insure against economic catastrophe.
  • California Republicans: A trio of California lawmakers tried to insert last-minute language into the farm bill to mitigate a water shortage in the Central Valley, but negotiators said the plea came too late into the process to be included.
  •  Medical-marijuana users: The bill makes clear that pot can’t be deducted as an expense to claim more food-stamp benefits.

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