MINNEAPOLIS—Yesterday, Congress extended the current 2018 Farm Bill for an additional year. The fate of the Farm Bill has remained uncertain since its expiration at the end of September until Speaker of the House Mike Johnson included an extension of the current Farm Bill through September 2024 in the continuing resolution. The CR passed easily in the GOP-controlled House after Democrats more than made up for the desertion of hardline conservatives unhappy that the legislation did not include spending cuts.

In response to the extension of the Farm Bill, IATP Program Associate for Climate and Rural Communities Michael Happ issued this statement:

“While this Farm Bill extension provides much-needed certainty to people reliant on nutrition programs and farmers alike, it keeps in place a status quo that leaves many behind, including participants in the Women, Infants, Children (WIC) program, diversified farmers who are ineligible for traditional crop insurance programs and farmers who are closed out of conservation cost-share programs. Over the next year, IATP will continue to underscore the need for Farm Bill reform to invest in climate resilience, reform a broken crop insurance system, and provide a real safety net for small farms, farmers of color and food insecure people.”

Over the coming months, follow IATP’s Farm Bill work here.