At National Farmers Convene ’24, Salvador Predicts Delay For New Farm Bill
(CORALVILLE, Iowa) March 18, 2024—At National Farmers Convene ’24 last week, Ricardo Salvador, senior scientist and director of the Food and Environment program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, gave convention attendees an update on the Farm Bill.
Salvador believes it is unlikely there will be a new Farm Bill any time soon. “To understand the Farm Bill and where it is going, you need to understand its history,” said Salvador. “The first bill passed in 1933 was an effort to control the boom-bust cycles of the ag market. “It didn’t work then, and hasn’t worked since.”
There are less than two million family farmers in the country, and many groups have the numbers and political influence to gather support, Salvador noted. Since the early days of the Farm Bill, it has included much more than support for commodity prices. Nutritional programs make up the majority of the bill supporting 50 million people.
With the pandemic, the rise of food insecurity in the US has become an increasing concern. These mandatory programs funded by the Farm Bill have taken a larger bite of the appropriated monies. It is estimated that the next Farm Bill will require 61 percent more funding than in 2018, totaling an estimated 1.4 trillion dollars.
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