The House-Senate Farm Bill Conference Committee began meeting on October 30, but so far progress has been slow on crafting a final piece of farm legislation. There continues to be substantial disagreement over the size of the nutrition program covered by the bill. The Senate-passed version cuts nutrition programs by $4 billion over the next ten years, while the House version calls for a $40 billion reduction over the same period.

Earlier this year, lawmakers extended provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill through the end of September. A number of programs, including conservation programs covered by this legislation, ground to a halt when that deadline passed. The Conference Committee is dealing with a much more pressing deadline of January 1 to get new farm legislation in place ? if they fail to meet that deadline, federal farm programs will revert to permanent law passed in 1949. Implementation of the 1949 legislation will trigger a number of changes in farm programs that will result in many undesirable consequences, including an immediate and substantial increase in the price of milk, but also reverting to policy that did not include many of the conservation programs that are in place today.

Options for Congress to avoid this situation are to pass a new Farm Bill or again extend the 2008 legislation. Many in Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, are on record as opposing kicking the can down the road again with another extension of the 2008 Bill. Virtually everyone in the agricultural and conservation communities are urging the Conference Committee to work through their differences and get new farm legislation in place by the end of the year. (pmr)