Three-Fourths of All Farm Bill Spending In Nutrition

(WASHINGTON, DC) The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) was signed into law December 20th and will remain in force through the end of the fiscal year 2023, although some provisions extend beyond that time. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected that the new Farm Bill would mandate spending of $428 billion dollars over the next five years (2019-2023). About 76 percent of projected spending would fund nutrition programs, with most going to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Crop insurance ($38.01 billion), farm commodity programs ($31.44 billion), and conservation programs ($29.27 billion) accounted for nearly all of the remaining outlays. Approximately .8 percent ($3.54 billion) would fund all other programs, including trade, credit, rural development, research and extension, forestry, energy, horticulture, and miscellaneous programs. Overall, the 2018 Farm Bill made fewer changes to food and farm policy than the 2014 Farm Bill. Nutrition policy, particularly SNAP, continued with minor changes. Crop insurance options and agricultural commodity programs continued largely as under the previous Farm Bill. All major conservation programs continued, although some were modified significantly.