Rep. Johnson and Rep. Budzinski Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Update Farm Subsidy Calculations
This bill is currently in the early stages of the legislative process and is being reviewed by a subcommittee within the House Committee on Agriculture. It is actively moving through the system, but no further votes or hearings have been scheduled at this time.
The bill has bipartisan support and addresses a long-standing issue in farm policy, but it will likely be debated as part of a much larger and more complicated farm bill.
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This bill would recalculate every farm's base acres using 2020-2024 planting data. Farmers who have shifted their crops in recent years to higher-value or different commodities would see their subsidies better match what they actually grow. However, farmers who kept growing crops different from their legacy base acres and benefited from the old system could see their subsidy payments decrease. The change creates winners and losers depending on whether a farm's recent planting history is larger or smaller than its current base acres for each commodity.
“the Secretary shall determine the base acres on a farm by updating all of the base acres for covered commodities on the farm among those covered commodities planted on the farm at any time during the 2020 through 2024 crop years.”
Referred to the Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Introduced in House
The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.
Lawmakers have introduced the Balanced Agricultural Support and Efficiency Act to require a mandatory base acre update for the first time in 40 years. The proposal uses a five-year average of planted and prevented planting acres from 2020-2024 to ensure subsidies reflect modern farming practices.
The USDA's Farm Service Agency will begin notifying landowners on June 1 regarding potential base acreage updates. Authorized under recent legislation, the update allows for up to 30 million new base acres to be added to the ARC and PLC safety net programs based on recent planting history.
USDA is preparing to implement a major expansion of the federal farm safety net by adding up to 30 million new base acres. The update targets cropland with active production history that has been previously uncovered, using a 'history dig' to identify acres planted or prevented from planting.
No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Balanced Agricultural Support and Efficiency Act
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