The Farm Bill, signed into law by President Donald J. Trump on Dec. 20, 2018, died on Oct.
1, but with Congress on its long election break until November 14, it has not yet been buried. When Congress does return for the lame-duck session, it will have 20 days to either pass a new Farm Bill or dig up the old one with another extension. If it cannot make either of those happen by Jan 1, 2025, Permanent Law will take over as farm policy, just as it was written in the days of Franklin Roosevelt and the Great Depression.
That would not be kind to modern nutrition or “food stamp” programs and farm payments. Farm Bills are set-asides from permanent law, typically updated every five or six years. The Farm Bill, known as the Agriculture Adjustment Act of 1938, included a built-in requirement to update it every five years.
The Congressional meltdown over the Farm Bill is blamed on inexperience, thin majorities, and the worst political polarization since the 1960s. Officially known as the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, the expired farm bill is the most recent omnibus farm bill. It contained 12 titles in November 2023.
Congress enacted a one-year extension to 2024. But all that time has now run out. The nearly $900 billion bill is dead, but some of its spending will continue through the end of the year.
That means the lame-duck Congress only has those 20 days to make things right. According to the Congressional Reserve Service (CRS), updates in the 2018 Farm Bill modified some .
