The 2018 Farm Bill was passed by Congress and signed by the President last month. In reality, the structure of the 2018 Farm Bill is not much different than the previous farm bill (2014) with crop insurance, Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) remaining the main safety net components for program crops. This status quo outcome was largely a result political realities and budget constraints. Once the controversial debate over the nutrition title was resolved, the 2018 farm bill passed by huge bipartisan support in both the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate. Given the current situation and outlook for the U.S. farm economy, the structure of this legislation provides safety net benefits, but will not by itself relieve U.S./Kentucky agriculture from the current financial stress facing the sector.

Projected costs estimates reveal that nutrition programs will account for 76% of the funding for the life of the 2018 farm bill (2019-2023), compared to nearly 80% under the 2014 farm bill. Farm-related programs (commodity, conservation and crop insurance) comprise 23% of the total expenditures. The remaining one percent is split among other programs such as trade promotion, research/extension, horticulture, rural development, forestry, credit, energy and other miscellaneous programs.

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Author(s) Contact Information: 

Will Snell  |  wsnell@uky.edu