A New Farm Bill, Research Structure at USDA

The New USDA: Cultivating Change

The Next Farm Bill: Is It Time for Conservation Payments?

Over the last two years, Congress and farm groups have worked to find a policy formula that would be acceptable as a foundation for the next farm bill. Most ideas that have been floated— and that are finding some favor in the House of Representatives— largely continue the general thrust of current programs: some fixed payments, guaranteed minimum prices for farmers, and perhaps a new countercyc...

The Great Divide: Political Polarization and the U.S. Farm Bill

Scholars have long noted the trend toward increased political polarization in the U.S. Congress. This paper examines the U.S. Farm Bill in connection with polarization theories. Polarization due to changing ideologies of individual congressmen, the reshaping of districts, and the reorientation of the public affects business in Washington. This paper also discusses the impact of polarization on ...

The Green Giant : Conservation Policies of the 2008 Farm Bill

Rural Realities is published by the Rural Sociological Society, Brigham Young University, 2019 JFSB, Provo, Utah 84602 [email protected] http://www.ruralsociology.org • The farm bill creates dual incentives for both crop production and conservation. Frequently, these two goals pull in opposite directions; subsidies lead farmers to focus on crops that depend heavily on water, contribute to...

The Economic Climate for the Farm Bill Debate

The 1996 Farm Bill was debated and passed during one of the best of times in U.S. agriculture and has presided over one of the worst of times in terms of crop prices, market incomes, and government payments. While it is not fair to lay all of crop agriculture’s price and income problems at the feet the 1996 legislation, it is fair to assign it much of the blame. Expectations were that the passa...