Legislation that extended provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill expired on September 30^th, but negotiating the new Farm Bill took a back seat to resolution of the federal government shutdown and the deadline to raise the debt ceiling. Both the Senate and House have passed substantially different versions of new farm legislation, but have yet to convene a conference committee to work out differences. However, both chambers have now chosen members of that conference committee, according to the Wildlife Management Institute.

Expiration of the 2008 Bill has caused all the U.S. Department of Agriculture's conservation programs to grind to a halt. While contracts for programs like the Conservation Reserve and Wetlands Reserve Programs remain in effect, enrollment opportunities for new participants are no longer available. In addition, annual payments to participants in many of these programs are typically issued in early October each year. This year, those payments have been delayed due to the government shutdown.

On October 12, the House of Representatives appointed members of a conference committee to negotiate the final provisions of a new Farm Bill. However, the chambers have substantial differences between the bills and pounding out a compromise could be a significant challenge. In addition, the agreement between conservation groups and farm groups to support conservation compliance that was announced in May has now been abandoned by the American Farm Bureau Federation. Still, virtually all the nation's conservation and farm commodity groups are pressing Congress for quick action on the new Farm Bill now that lawmakers have reached agreement on the debt ceiling and reopening the federal government. (pmr)