12/20/24 UPDATE: Congress finally approved a spending bill that included $21 billion in disaster assistance and $10 billion in market relief for farmers, and a one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill.

12/19/24 UPDATE: It is being reported that the bipartisan funding bill has fallen through, creating a major hurdle to reaching 12/20/24 deadline to pass a spending bill. If Congress doesn’t agree on a new spending bill before Friday evening, the federal government will likely shutdown beginning on Saturday.

The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act of 2024 was recently introduced by U.S. Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). This marks the latest step in the ongoing process of shaping the next Farm Bill. This bill builds on the framework she shared earlier this year, with even more concrete proposals aimed at boosting rural communities and supporting farmers. While we now know that the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act of 2024 will not receive committee or floor consideration, the proposal provides a clear mile marker against which to measure future phases of this long and ongoing Farm Bill discussion. We hope the new Congress will begin drafting a new Farm Bill in 2025, working from the foundation of ideas that exist in the House and Senate proposals. The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act offers a promising vision, and even if it were law today, there would still be much work to be done to ensure that the needs of farmers and ranchers are adequately met. Earlier this year, the House Agriculture Committee released their version of the Farm Bill, focusing on the macro economic needs of the agricultural sector and threatening food access and climate action.

Neither the House or Senate measures made it to a floor vote. Presently, the 2018 Farm Bill remains expired since September 30, 2024, and Congress is working under a tight timeline to extend that authorization as well as deliver disaster assistance and keep the government open into the new year.

For the remainder of this blog post, we’ll set aside that current context and share our analysis of the Senate bill. We hope that this is a useful guide to understanding the bill as well as for analyzing agricultural policy proposals we may see discussed in 2025 and beyond.

Click the headers below to jump to subsequent sections.

Land Access

Climate and Water Action

TITLE I: Commodities 

TITLE II: Conservation

TITLE IV: Nutrition

TITLE VI: Rural Development

TITLE VII: Research

TITLE X: Horticulture and Organic

TITLE XI: Crop Insurance

TITLE XII: Miscellaneous

Land Access

While there are several provisions in the bill that address some of the land and credit challenges that young and BlPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) farmers face, the bill ultimately falls short of the investment needed to support the transition of nearly 300 million acres of farmland in the next 20 years. Farmers and ranchers, who are young and Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC), need policymakers to take a more comprehensive and bolder approach to the challenge of land access. This new generation of farmers deserve USDA programs that better address the real needs for their farms and ranches.

Red Flags:

While Young Farmers is glad to see the inclusion of some land and credit provisions, we are disappointed to see that the Chairwoman’s draft fails to meet the scale of the interrelated land, credit, and capital challenges young and BIPOC farmers and ranchers face:

• No funding for community-led land access. The biggest disappointment was a lack of direct funding for community-led projects that invest in equitable land access, as Young Farmers’ and our partners have been advocating for through the Increasing Land Access, Security, and Opportunities (LASO) Act (H.R.3955, S.2340). Federal investment in community-led land access and retention projects is a number one priority for young and BIPOC farmers and ranchers across the country and one that has received bipartisan support.
• No pre-approval pilot program for farm loans. The Coalition worked with partners and Senators to introduce bi-partisan legislation to direct FSA to establish a pre-approval and pre-qualification pilot program for Direct Farmland Ownership loans this Fall, the Farm Ownership Improvement Act (S. 5231), which we were disappointed was not included in the Chairwoman’s draft. This pilot is sorely needed by prospective borrowers facing the pressures of the current real estate market. FSA is currently unable to offer pre-qualification or pre-approval services for farm ownership loans, yet this service is routinely offered by other lenders working with competing buyers for farm properties, which puts buyers who must use FSA financing at a disadvantage. This disproportionately impacts underserved farmers, who are less likely to have connections with current agricultural landowners due to historical discrimination and dispossession of land.
• The approach to addressing speculative ownership of farmland misses the mark. The bill misses an opportunity to reign in the mounting pressures of speculative ownership and consolidation of farmland through measures outlined in the Farmland for Farmers Act (S. 2583), which would build on existing state legislation to regulate foreign and domestic corporate purchases nationwide. Instead, the Senate bill includes provisions focused on data collection and research of foreign ownership of farmland (Sec. 12401) and making land owned by foreign persons ineligible for crop insurance (Sec. 1703), which creates unnecessary potential harm for immigrant farmers while missing the mark of needed regulation of both foreign and domestic farmland purchases. As the National Family Farm Coalition points out, “Focusing only on foreign ownership distracts from an overarching trend of rising corporate investment in farmland, largely driven by U.S-based multinational corporations, private equity firms, and pension funds.”
• No increase in land access data collection. The bill misses the opportunity to authorize increased reporting on land access and farmland ownership data collection every two years, which is needed to provide the background we need to craft sound land access policy solutions.
• Does not specify a funding level for the CRP Transition Incentives Program, a program that supports land transitions. The CRP-TIP program provides farmland owners in an expiring CRP contract with two years of extra CRP rental payments if they sell or rent land that is transitioning back to production to an underserved producer who commit to using sustainable grazing practices, resource-conserving cropping systems, or transitioning to organic production. Without clear funding, it’s unclear to what extent the program will be carried out, if at all.

Green Flags:

• Increases mandatory funding for the Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach (FOTO) program. The program increases funding for FOTO from $50 million per year to $75 million per year, which supports the Beginning  Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) and the Outreach and  Assistance for Socially Disadvantaged and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Program (2501 Program). The amendments under section 12201 emphasize providing interpretation and translation services to better serve non-English-speaking farmers.  The section includes a new focus on strategies to help resolve land ownership and succession issues, particularly for land that has multiple owners. This is a critical issue, as land ownership challenges are one of the biggest obstacles for young and beginning farmers who often have non-traditional business models. (Sec. 12201)

• Increases funds and cost-share of ACEP. The bill boosts baseline funding for conservation easements in the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) to $600 million per year, up from $450 million from IRA funds (Sec. 2501); requires at least 80% of the funds to be used for easements that will most reduce, capture, avoid, or sequester greenhouse gas emissions associated with land eligible for the program as laid out in the IRA (Sec. 2501); and increases general cost-share from 50% to 60% and grasslands of special significance cost-share from 75% to 80% (Sec. 2602).

• Draws on the Farmland Access Act to improve the workability and utilization of the Buy-Protect-Sell Program within ACEP-ALE to help keep agricultural land protected and in the hands of farmers and ranchers (Sec. 2602).
• Increases support for land retention. The bill reauthorizes and provides mandatory funding of $20 million per year for the Heirs Property Relending Program and makes statutory changes to allow funds to be used for the administration of loans and stronger reporting requirements (Sec. 7502). It also authorizes $10 million per year for cooperative agreements for Heirs Property and Fractionated Land Legal Clinics (Sec. 7502).

Yellow Flags:

There were a few provisions in the bill that Young Farmers has a mixed reaction to:

• Renews and strengthens support for farm transition focus, but without funding. The bill reauthorizes the Commission on Farm Transitions, which was originally authorized in the 2018 Farm Bill but never established, with an updated focus on heirs property issues, farmland succession, consolidation of farmland, leasing and land ownership trends, identification of the unique barriers that historically underserved and women farmers and ranchers face in transferring, inheriting, or purchasing agricultural assets, including land. The Commission is directed to expand their study and recommendations to include affordability and timeliness of access, apprenticeships, mentoring, business training, and technical assistance programs. However, unlike the Farmland Transitions Act of 2024 (S. 4018), there is no requirement for the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the Commission, and no funding for appropriations are included in this reauthorization. (Sec. 12522)
• Reauthorizes the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Individual Development Accounts Pilot Program through 2029. This program has the potential to help next generation farmers build and access credit, but has never been funded in the farm bill process. While the Coalition is grateful that the bill reauthorizes the program, without funding, the provision does not guarantee action. We will continue to advocate for funding as farm bill negotiations continue and a new appropriations process begins (Sec. 5402).

Climate and Water Action

Green Flags:

• Includes a set-aside within the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for small farms. This bill creates a 10% set-aside for small farms — something we’ve been advocating for through the Small Farm Conservation Act (S.2180/H.R.5354)! This setaside will ensure that small farmers are able to access valuable resources for conservation. (Sec. 2303)
• Streamlines the application process for producers applying for EQIP and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Chairwoman Stabenow’s bill also directs the Secretary of Agriculture to streamline the EQIP application process, a core tenet of the Small Farm Conservation Act, and expands this to also include CSP. (Sec. 2303)
• Includes the Farmer-to-Farmer Education Act. This bill invests in farmer-led conservation education, a component of the Farmer-to-Farmer Education Act (S.2614, H.R.8488), which would invest in collaboration and knowledge-sharing for farmers and their networks, resulting in long-term conservation practice adoption. It enables NRCS to enter into cooperative agreements with farmer networks in order to build capacity, connect farmers with mentors or group learning opportunities, and support goal-setting for farmers and their networks. (Sec. 2502)
• Increases baseline for conservation programs.  Chairwoman Stabenow’s bill uses the Inflation Reduction Act funding to increase the baseline funding available for the EQIP, CSP, ACEP, and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), thus increasing the minimum amount of funding that must go towards conservation programs for each farm bill. Increasing the baseline is important because the minimum funding levels required for these bills are higher than before, paving the way for even more funds to reach these programs in future Farm Bills. (Sec. 2301)
• Authorizes a Tribal soil health program. The bill amends RCPP to allow for the implementation of a state or Tribal soil health program, as proposed in the Agriculture Resilience Act. (Sec. 2701)

TITLE I: Commodities

Red Flags:

• Increases subsidies for commodity production. Similar to the House bill, this proposal would increase reference prices for the commodity programs. These reforms ignore that reference prices will increase this year and could cost $20 billion. (Sec. 1101)
• Limits the authority of the Secretary to administer funding through the Commodity Credit Corporation. Similar to the House bill, Chair Stabenow’s proposal would end the ability of the Secretary of Agriculture to use Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) without explicit direction from Congress. The CCC has been used to provide disaster assistance, COVID relief, and economic relief for Trump-era tariffs. Limiting the Secretary’s authority to use CCC could hamper their ability to address the land access crisis, offer debt relief, or address other emergent issues in real time. (Sec. 1608)

Green Flag:

• Creates new options for disaster programs: Authorizes a permanent standing disaster program, which will provide a consistent framework for potential future ad hoc funding from Congress to speed up the delivery of disaster assistance. (Sec. 1503, Sec. 1501)

TITLE II: Conservation

Green Flag: 

• Key changes to CSP. The bill increases the minimum contract payment for CSP to $4,000, which matches current USDA policy and would codify it into law, if passed. (Sec. 2313)

Yellow Flags:

• Adds “precision agriculture” to the Conservation Title. This bill defines precision agriculture as: “managing, tracking, or reducing crop or livestock production inputs, including seed, feed, fertilizer, chemicals, water, and time, at a heightened level of spatial and temporal granularity to improve efficiencies, reduce waste, and maintain environmental quality”. The environmental impact of precision agriculture is not yet understood, but it can potentially increase energy use and the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. It also requires high startup costs and conservation dollars will be stretched thin to incorporate such costly new practices. Conservation funds should focus on tried-and-true practices and farmer-led innovation that can be used by small- to mid-scale farmers who make up most of our farms and rural communities. (Sec. 2001)
• Prioritizes enteric methane emissions reduction. The bill adds enteric methane emissions as an eligible practice to both EQIP and CSP. In EQIP, it also increases the cost share for these practices to 75%. (Sec. 2303, 2311)

TITLE IV: Nutrition

Green Flags:

• • GusNIP investment is expanded. The bill increases funding for the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program to $150 million annually starting in FY2025. It introduces cooperative agreements for expansion projects, prioritizing initiatives that allocate at least 90% of funding to direct incentives and expand SNAP participation. Additionally, the program establishes a grant system for produce prescription projects aimed at improving dietary health, reducing food insecurity, and lowering healthcare costs (Sec. 4403).
  • Expands Federal Food Assistance, SNAP, to Puerto Rico. The bill includes Puerto Rico in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), providing the territory with the same level of federal support and resources available to U.S. states. This inclusion offers more consistent and reliable food assistance for Puerto Rico’s low-income residents, helping to address long-standing disparities in nutrition security (Sec. 4117).

• Streamlines SNAP access for elderly and disabled populations. Section 4114 introduces a simplified application and certification process for elderly or disabled households with no earned income, allowing a 36-month certification period and eliminating mandatory interviews. This will reduce barriers to access and administrative burden for vulnerable populations, while fraud prevention mechanisms ensure program integrity (Sec. 4114).

• Restores critical access to nutrition assistance for formerly incarcerated individuals. Section 4110 expands eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by allowing incarcerated individuals to apply for benefits up to 30 days before their scheduled release. This important provision supports successful reintegration by ensuring food security upon reentry into society, helping reduce recidivism and improve long-term outcomes. This aligns with broader criminal justice reform efforts aimed at removing barriers to social services for individuals with drug-related convictions (Sec. 4110).

TITLE VI: Rural Development

Green Flags:

• Invests in quality of life in rural communities. Support rural broadband and health care access and prioritizes telemedicine projects addressing mental and behavioral health needs as well as support for substance use disorder treatment and recovery.
• Invests in local meat processing. Invests at least $25 million per year in local meat processing. Funding allows for grants up to $500k for processing resiliency for farmers of color, and streamlined applications for requests under $100k. (Sec. 210D)

TITLE VII: Research

Green Flags: 

• Supports farmer-led research. The bill extends the authorization of appropriations for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (SARE) through 2029. As USDA’s only farmer-driven, sustainable agriculture competitive research grant program, SARE provides farmers and researchers with vital opportunities to understand agricultural systems better, increase profitability, and build resilience to climate change. This program is critical for equipping farmers with the science-backed research they need to fight the climate crisis. (Sec. 7201)
• Strengthens Farmer Mental Health. The bill increases funding for the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network, that funds regional networks to connect producers and farmworkers with stress assistance programs. (Sec. 7412)
• Supports 1890 Land Grant Universities. The bill adds 4 new Centers of Excellence at 1890 Institutions, with a focus on climate change, forestry resilience and conservation, and other topics. It also reauthorizes CCC authority to provide scholarships for students at 1890 institutions at $10 million per year. (Sec. 7213, 7110)
• Supports research on organic agriculture. Chairwoman Stabenow’s bill maintains mandatory funding for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative at $50 million per year. (Sec. 7209)
• Provides capacity building grants for community college agricultural programs. The bill authorizes $20 million per year for grants to community colleges to support workforce development, training, research, and other activities relating to agriculture and agribusiness. (Sec. 7214)
• Supports research on PFAS. The bill adds research on the agricultural effects of PFAS as a high-priority research initiative. (Sec. 7208)
• Addresses the veterinarian shortage. The bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a survey and recommendations to Congress on the Veterinary Loan Repayment Program and the Veterinary Services Grant Program. (Sec. 12505)

TITLE X: Horticulture and Organic

Green Flags:

• Expands Access to Local Food and Makes Program Improvements. Funding for local food projects is increased, like the Local Food and Farmers Market Promotion Programs (LFPP & FMPP), Value Added Producer Grant, and the Regional Food System Partnerships Program. This bill would streamline the application process for small and simple projects under LFPP & FMPP and allow food hubs to apply for funds under these programs. (Sec. 10003)

• Continues and Expands Organic Production. The bill continues the National Organic Program, increases funding for the National Organic Cost-share Program (that can cover the costs of organic certification), and increases technical assistance to support organic producers and transition to organic production. (Sec. 10007, Sec. 10006, Sec. 10009)

TITLE XI – Crop Insurance

Green Flags:

• Institutionalizes the Micro Farm Crop Insurance Program. The bill would permanently authorize Micro Farm Crop Insurance, a new crop insurance option that is specifically tailored towards small farms and farms that sell to local and regional markets. (Sec. 11203)

• Updates the definition for beginning farmers. The bill would update the definition of a beginning farmer to 10 years of farming experience, instead of 5 years. Beginning farmers receive additional subsidies to cover crop insurance premiums. This definition of 10 years of farming experience is consistent with other program eligibility for beginning farmers in other areas. (Sec. 11101)

• Allows for additional flexibility in Whole Farm Revenue and makes improvements to increase incentives for insurance agents to sell this product, collect data, and streamline the program. (Sec. 11203)

Yellow Flag:

• Expands premium discounts for new farmers but lacks foundational reforms. The bill expands premium discounts offered to beginning and veteran farmers; however, this will have minimal impact if it is not paired with more foundational reforms to streamline paperwork and address the disincentive agents’ experience to sell insurance to small and diversified farms. Private insurance companies would see a considerable infusion of public dollars under this bill, including $50 million in “relief.” Yet even incentives to ensure added specialty crop plans are poised to serve only industrial specialty crop farms (Sec. 11008, 11010).

TITLE XII: Miscellaneous

Green Flags:

• Strengthening the Transparency and Accountability Report. The amendment establishes a more independent Ombudsperson within the USDA, with a mandate to assist farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners in navigating the USDA, particularly for civil rights complaints and program delivery. The Ombudsperson will work closely with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights to review complaints and track progress in addressing them. (Sec. 12202)

• • Significantly supports urban agriculture and innovative production. Section 12208 establishes an Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, which will provide critical resources, including microgrants and cooperative agreements, to expand urban farming initiatives and enhance local food systems. The provision prioritizes underserved communities, helping to ensure equitable access to support and fostering growth in urban agriculture across the country.  (Sec. 12208).
  • Strengthens the farm and food system workforce infrastructure. For the first time, the farm bill would create an important, long-overdue infrastructure to address the needs of farmworkers and food system workers, focusing on coordination, safety, job training, and access to federal programs. The inclusion of a dedicated workforce coordinator, advisory committee, and interagency council is a significant step in ensuring these workers’ issues are treated with the attention they deserve. (Sec. 12210).

• Authorization of climate hubs. This section would support an existing national network of “Climate Hubs” to provide targeted, region-specific support for farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, and other agricultural stakeholders in adapting to and mitigating climate change. The program will deliver science-based, practical tools, guidance, and outreach, ensuring that farmers and natural resource managers have the resources they need to navigate climate risks. Importantly, it emphasizes equitable access to climate information and engages a wide range of partners, including federal agencies, universities, and local organizations. With $50 million in mandatory annual funding through 2029, this investment significantly strengthens efforts to help agriculture become more resilient to climate change (Sec. 12305)

Yellow Flag:

• Stabilization payments for food system workers during natural disasters. Section 12211 establishes a critical grant program to provide stabilization payments to farmworkers, meat processing workers, and grocery workers during disasters, which is an important step toward supporting essential food system workers in times of crisis. However, the program’s focus on unionized or organized workers and membership organizations may unintentionally exclude workers in non-unionized or smaller-scale operations, such as those in rural or informal sectors. This exclusion could leave certain high-risk workers without much-needed relief. Additionally, the discretion given to the Secretary of Agriculture in defining eligible entities could result in inconsistent implementation across regions or sectors, potentially leading to unequal access to support. While this section is a step forward in addressing worker needs, there are concerns that it may not be specific enough to reach all food system workers who are equally vulnerable during disasters (Sec. 12211).