Late last week, President Joe Biden signed a temporary spending package, averting a government shutdown that was set to begin at midnight on Nov. 17. The stopgap bill includes a one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill.
The U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week passed the legislative package by a vote of 336 to 95. The U.S. Senate voted 87 to 11 in favor of the bill.
The Farm Bill is a package of legislation that is normally passed every five years. It covers a wide range of programs, including crop insurance, nutrition programs, and programs that support bioenergy initiatives. The 2018 Farm Bill expired on Sept. 30, 2023. The extension included in the stopgap funding bill extends the 2018 Farm Bill through Sept. 30, 2024, providing Congress with approximately 10 months to craft and implement a new Farm Bill.
Agriculture groups say while an extension is welcome, lawmakers need to use this momentum to pass a farm bill sooner rather than later. The American Farm Bureau Federation said lawmakers are “running out of time” to write a new bill.
“We need a new farm bill in early 2024,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall.
