Farm Bill advances in the Senate

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Maryland may not come first to mind when Americans think of farms, but with 12,800 farms and over 2 million acres of farmland, agriculture is a major industry in the Free State. According to the New York Times, over $89 million of taxpayer support went to the $2 billion sector in 2012, making agriculture was the state's most heavily subsidized industry. The vast majority of that aid came from federal programs delivered via legislation popularly known as "the farm bill."

However, this law substantively deals more with nutrition assistance for the nation's low-income families than it provides in direct subsidies to agriculture, and it is in the former category where the legislature seeks the most spending cuts.

The Senate passed its version of the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013 last week, which received votes of support from both Maryland Senators Cardin and Mikulski. This 1,150 page omnibus bill seeks to replace the farm legislation that expired in 2012 and if passed by the House will qualify and authorize spending for the nation’s major food and agriculture-related programs. These include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP—AKA food stamps), the Emergency Food Assistance Program, Federal Corp Insurance, the Conservation Reserve Program, Community Food Project grants, the Emergency Food Assistance Program, support programs for commodities, and many others.

Source: Washington Post

Highlights from the Senate bill:

SNAP: Funding for food stamps will decrease by $4.1 billion over the next decade. Also, an amendment from Senator David Vitter (R-LA) permanently disqualifies anyone ever convicted of violent crime from ever receiving SNAP benefits.

Direct Payments to Farmers: The bill immediately eliminates these $5 billion of annual automatic subsidies to farmers that supported specific categories of crops, regardless of harvest yields or market prices. 

Crop Insurance: Support for federal crop insurance increases by 5 percent. The bill reduces subsidies for farms with adjusted gross income over $750,000 from 60 percent support to 15 percent.

Conservation Programs: Spending is cut by $5 billion by consolidating the current 23 conservation initiatives into 13 programs and by reducing the maximum eligible acreage.

According to data analyzed by the Environmental Working Group, Maryland farmers received $25.5 million last year in crop insurance premium subsidies and claimed $27.7 million in indemnities under the insurance program. Over $19 million in commodities support went to state farmers, as did nearly $11 million in conservation program payments and about $3.7 million in disaster relief aid.

Few of the agriculture provision of the Senate bill are politically controversial on the Hill. However, the SNAP provision in the Senate bill may come under fire when the act is considered for approval in the House. That chamber passed its own bill in May that cut the nutrition support program for low-income Americans by a far more aggressive $20.5 billion. The House bill also removes the categorical eligibility feature of the program, which according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) permitted states to extend SNAP benefits to households (mainly comprised of low-wage workers and the elderly) that have greater gross incomes/assets than allowed under the program but whose disposable incomes put them below the poverty line. This dispute between the House and Senate over food stamps killed the farm bill resolution process last year.

The number of Marylanders depending on SNAP for nutritional support has grown greatly over the recession, more than doubling according to figures from the Department of Agriculture. Currently, over 12 percent of state residents rely on the program for food, and the proportion continues rising. Pew reports that the average Marylander participant in the program received between $115 and $130 per month in food assistance last year. 

Recent USDA data shows that one in eight Maryland households struggle with hunger. Cuts to SNAP will only drive this figure upward, further increasing food insecurity in the state.