By SHERRY ROBINSON
All She Wrote
© 2023 New Mexico News Services
Modernization and current conditions are two themes as Congress constructs this year’s Farm Bill. Inflation, safety nets and climate change will all inspire changes.
The Farm Bill, a product of the New Deal in 1933, comes up every five years. The current law will expire in September, and it’s not likely that Congress will finish crafting the new bill by then. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. In this big, kitchen-sink type bill, it’s better to take the time it requires.
“The renewal provides an opportunity for producers and consumers to make decisions about commodities to grow, conservation practices to invest in, and requirements to establish the nutrition programs that are important to so many people,” Jeff Witte said, secretary of the state Agriculture Department, in an oped.
The first Farm Bill tried to shore up prices for surplus crops by paying farmers to reduce production. The bill still includes the Federal Crop Insurance Program that helps farmers by protecting against losses in yield and revenue. Over the years, the bill has also taken on everything from hemp to farmers markets.
The broad-shouldered Farm Bill also carries SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which helped 435,659 New Mexicans in fiscal 2020. Two-thirds of recipients are kids, seniors and disabled people. The $51 million in average monthly SNAP benefits also support New Mexico farmers, food processors, distributors and retailers, Witte said.
The Emergency Food Assistance Program buys nutritious foods and makes them available to state agencies for distribution to low-income people. Roadrunner Food Bank writes that last year it distributed 12 million pounds of food.
Farm Bill 2023 will determine funding for all these programs and more for the next five years, and as usual money is a big debate.
For agriculture, there are two drivers. One is the ag industry itself, which is busily lobbying. The other is interest groups that see the bill as a way to shape agriculture in the future.
Growers, slammed by inflation and higher production costs, want to modernize crop insurance, according to the Farm Journal. Livestock producers want more money for animal disease prevention, a disease traceability system, and disaster preparedness.
The New Mexico Farm & Livestock Bureau wants Congress to keep nutrition and agriculture programs joined, make sure the USDA is adequately staffed to deliver programs, and improve wolf depredation compensation.
Witte told Colorado public radio that climate change is a big part of the Farm Bill.
“There’s going to be some opportunities for our landowners to really look at improving their own operations and hopefully participate in some of the climate-smart projects that will bring a return to the farm,” Witte said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture already underwrites 141 projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions through farming, ranching or forestry practices.
A question that deserves more attention is whether Farm Bill programs benefit big corporate operations more than the family farm or ranch. That’s a big deal in New Mexico.
“It’s clear farm bill subsidies have created inequality for young and small land farmers like those that are part of the (National Young Farmers Coalition),” writes Megan Gleason in Source New Mexico. “Over the last 25 years, more than 79 percent of federal farm subsidies went to just 10 percent of farms and individuals that qualify, according to a study by the Environmental Working Group.”
The federal Inflation Reduction Act has a program to help young farmers buy land, but the young farmers coalition wants it included in the Farm Bill to ensure it lasts.
The 2023 Farm Bill has a lot of big, moving parts. Lawmakers reportedly agree on a lot, but striking a balance and then funding this ambitious bill will be a heavy lift.