Farm Bill Extension Clears Congress

As part of the legislative package to keep the government funded into early next year, the House and Senate this week passed a one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill. The overall stopgap continuing resolution also extends funding for some departments and agencies, including USDA and FDA, to Jan. 19, 2024, at fiscal 2023 levels.
 
The remaining federal departments and agencies are funded until Feb. 2. Congress has not yet passed any of its individual fiscal year 2024 appropriations bills. The funding measure was just signed by President Biden, averting a government shutdown this weekend.
 
The farm bill extension, through next September, extends the Dairy Margin Coverage safety net for 2024 and incorporates the 2019 production history update, previously known as Supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage, into the underlying DMC. This important adjustment ensures that the production history update will be carried over into the upcoming farm bill next year.
 
The extension also contains funding for those programs that expired Sept. 30, including the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research. The extension effectively gives lawmakers until the end of 2024 to pass a farm bill, although that timeframe becomes more complicated as the fall election season looms larger. For that reason, the leaders of the House and Senate Ag committees have indicated they will prioritize passing the farm bill early next year.