President Trump today signed into law the 2018 Farm Bill, marking the first time since 1990 that a farm bill has been enacted in the same year it was introduced. The House passed the 2018 Farm Bill on Thursday, December 13 by a vote of 369-47. 182 Republicans and 187 Democrats voted in favor. The passage comes one day after the bill passed in the Senate by a vote of 87-13.
Mike Brown, NCC president, and Harrison Kircher, vice president of government affairs attending today’s signing ceremony at the White House.
The bill combines USDA’s export promotion programs for funding purposes, including the Market Access Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development (FMD) program. The new, consolidated program will be called the Agricultural Trade Promotion and Facilitation Program. MAP would continue to be funded at $200 million annually and FMD at $34.5 million annually. The bill authorizes $3.5 million of the total, consolidated funds to be dedicated as a “Priority Trade Fund,” where USDA will have the authority to allocate money in this fund among the above programs. Mandatory funding for the program is established permanently under the final bill.
The bill would also raise the limits on USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) guaranteed and direct operating and ownership loans from current levels. The limit on direct ownership loans would be raised to $600,000 from $300,000 and direct operating loans would be raised to $400,000 from $300,000. Both direct and guaranteed operating loans will be increased to $1.75 million from $700,000.
The final bill establishes two new animal disease response programs. The first, called the National Animal Disease Preparedness and Response Program, is a cooperative agreement program between USDA and eligible entities—which could include State departments of agriculture, universities, and other entities. The program is authorized to be funded at $20 million over 2019-22 and $18 million annually after 2022. This funding could be increased by annual appropriations bills as the committees “see necessary,” the bill says.
The second program, called the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank, is a vaccine bank primarily focused on preventing Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks for cattle and hogs. The program is authorized to be funded at $100 million over 2019-22, which will be shared with the existing National Animal Health Laboratory Network, and funded at $12 million annually after 2022. The vaccine bank must be housed in an existing facility, as no funds can be used to build new structures. This funding could be increased by annual appropriations bills as the committees “see necessary,” the bill says.
The bill is projected to cost $867 billion over 10 years. For context, the 2014 Farm Bill was projected to cost $956 billion over 10 years. However, with only a 5 year authorization, the 2014 Farm Bill only cost $489 billion, according to USDA Economic Research Service estimates in early 2018.
