Current Federal Farm Bill Set To Expire With No Extension On The Horizon

The current Farm Bill is set to expire at the end of the week, which could have serious repercussions for Oklahoma's agriculture industry.

The Farm Bill, last written in 2018, contains everything from research funding to nutrition assistance programs. A key part of it is commodities support, and without a new Farm Bill, Oklahoma farms and ranches would revert to a very outdated quota and allotment system.

“We don’t want to do that, nobody wants to do that,” said Representative Frank Lucas (R-OK).

Lucas has helped write every Farm Bill this century, and he rejoined the House Agriculture Committee this year specifically so he could help write the 2023 version, which he says is currently at a standstill.

“Right now, everything is consumed by the appropriations process and the potential shutdown of the government,” Lucas said.

No extension is on the immediate horizon, Lucas says, but we shouldn’t panic yet because the crop subsidies don’t expire until the end of 2023.

“If you’re a winter wheat farmer in Oklahoma, you’re going to be taken care of,” Lucas said.

The first commodity affected would be dairy, Lucas says, which will actually help ensure support programs aren’t allowed to completely expire.

“Because what’s a big dairy state? New York. Who is the senior senator from New York? A fellow by the name of Chuck Schumer,” Lucas said.

Other programs, like crop insurance and SNAP benefits, are permanently authorized and won’t be affected by the expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill.

However, there is still a lot of work to be done on the 2023 Farm Bill, Lucas says.

“Whatever the ultimate funding mechanism is for the federal government, don’t be surprised if there’s an extension included as part of that,” Lucas said.

Lucas also provided an update on his legislation to increase oversight of purchases of farmland by foreign entities by putting the Secretary of Agriculture on the CFIUS Board, which reviews those transactions. He says the bill passed easily out of committee and he's hopeful it will become law.