Answer:
Short yes, long maybe
Explanation:
The farm bill is a package of legislation passed roughly once every five years that has a tremendous impact on farming livelihoods, how food is grown, and what kinds of foods are grown. Covering programs ranging from crop insurance for farmers to healthy food access for low-income families, from beginning farmer training to support for sustainable farming practices, the farm bill sets the stage for our food and farm systems. As a leading advocate for family farmers and sustainable agriculture, it’s our job to make sure that this important bill is good for farmers, consumers, and for the natural environment.
Every five years, the farm bill expires and is updated: it goes through an extensive process where it is proposed, debated, and passed by Congress and is then signed into law by the President. Each farm bill has a unique title, and the current farm bill is called the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. It was enacted into law in December 2018 and expires in 2023.
4. How much does the farm bill cost?
The 2018 Farm Bill is projected to cost about $428 billion over the five years of the bill’s life, according to the estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.
While all of the farm bill funding numbers are projections, some are more firm projections than others. The costs of the bill’s three major groups of entitlement programs – the commodity, crop insurance, and SNAP programs – depend on what happens in the commodity markets and the general economy over the coming five years. Therefore, actual costs could be higher or lower than the projections.
