PROGRESSIVE PLAYBOOK > HOW TO IMPROVE THE FARM BILL’S COMMODITIES AND CROP INSURANCE TITLES
How to Improve the Farm Bill’s Commodities and
Crop Insurance Titles
INTRODUCTION
The Farm Bill’s Commodity and Crop Insurance titles cover various programs and farm types, but can be organized into the following categories:
Direct-to-farmer government supports based on market conditions: These programs are permanently authorized in the Farm Bill baseline budget. They include Price Loss Coverage (PLC), Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC-I and ARC-CO), Marketing Assistance Loans and Payments (MAL and LDP), and the Dairy Margin Coverage Program (DMP).
Direct-to-farmer government support based on disaster conditions: While the Farm Bill includes permanently authorized disaster programs, Congress has also authorized supplemental programs between Farm Bills to cover specific disaster events.
Government subsidized insurance premiums (on average by approximately 62%) to reduce farmer risk from a wide range of issues, including growing and market conditions.
While created as a “safety net” for farmers, these programs have effectively incentivized farm size growth and the overall consolidation of the food system. A 2018 study found that over 60% of PLC, ARC, and insurance subsidies combined went to farms in the top 10% of sales. Moreover, in many cases, these payments go to farm owners with little to do with the farm's daily operations, incentivizing farm ownership as an investment strategy for the wealthy.
Additionally, these supports are skewed towards crops primarily used for industrial livestock feed, not food for human consumption. Farmers have reacted to these policies by producing more subsidized crops, like corn and soybeans. Unfortunately, the lack of commodity diversity and increasingly disastrous effects of climate change will continue to grow the budget of programs like crop insurance and disaster relief while failing to meet the need for healthy fruits and vegetables. This explainer outlines several priorities that, if included in the 2023 Farm Bill, will help to ensure security and equity in our food system.
These recommendations resulted from an intensive and cooperative process from a spectrum of stakeholders, including the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Factory Farming Awareness Coalition, Farm Action Fund, RuralOrganizing.org Education Fund, National Young Farmers Coalition, the Rural Coalition, and 350 Seattle.
Target Support to Smaller and More Diverse Farmers to Slow Farm Consolidation
Mid-sized farms are being run out of business—driving farmland consolidation—with the largest 3% of farms raking in 46% of gross cash farm income (GCFI). Black farmers have been driven off the land, and those that have survived only receive a pittance compared to the amount of subsidies white farmers receive. In 2017, Black farmers accounted for 1.7% of farmers (down from 14% in the 1920s) and received only 0.6% of farm subsidies.
Below are several recommendations that will help target support to smaller, more diverse farmers and, accordingly, slow farm consolidation:
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Narrow the current “Actively Engaged in Farming” definition to limit the total number of eligible payment recipients per farming operation. This should include eliminating payments for individuals or corporations that only provide assets, like land, and do not work on the farm.
Tighten payment limitations on all commodity and disaster assistance programs.
Improve crop insurance options for smaller diverse operations by expanding the Micro Farm Program and reducing the paperwork burden of Whole Farm Revenue Protection (WFRP).
Establish crop insurance subsidy support limitations for farming operations.
Increasing transparency and accountability of the demographic, size, and structure of farms accessing all programs under Title I and Title XI of the Farm Bill.
Ensure equitable representation on government boards and commissions.
Ensure Tribal Governments and businesses are recognized in the implementation of all programs in Title I and Title XI of the Farm Bill.
Create a permanent dairy growth management program to ensure the future of small and mid-sized dairy farms.
Maintain and grow set-asides for government support programs to build equitable access.
Ensure direct-to-farmer government support includes robust assistance to non-land-owning farmers, farm workers, and farmers with heirs’ property concerns.
End the practice of dumping commodities into international markets, especially in the Global South. Dumping hurts local communities, undercuts local food prices, and causes food and land crises. We need policies that respect food sovereignty and everyone’s right to food.
Incentivize the Production of Nutritious Foods
The commodity and crop insurance titles of the Farm Bill have been incredibly effective at supporting the production of a small group of commodities over the last several decades. Unfortunately, that has led to an explosion of highly processed foods and industrial livestock operations to take advantage of cheap grains. In addition, the current system produces just half of the dietary fiber Americans need, so, unsurprisingly, fully 95% of Americans still need to meet their minimum dietary fiber requirement. This is a problem because the leading diet-related causes of death are linked to fiber-deficient diets. It is time to shift these titles to encourage farmers to feed their neighbors highly nutritious foods. This can be accomplished by:
Continuing to modify commodity and crop insurance programs to ensure farmers can grow the foods we eat, including traditional and culturally appropriate crops and livestock.
Adjusting commodity price support programs to ensure a safety net for those who transition to organic production, especially the production of high-fiber foods like lentils, beans, and other vegetables.
Setting relatively high reference prices for dry peas, lentils, oats, and chickpeas to encourage farmers to diversify into producing these high-fiber crops.
Require Farmers to Adopt Regenerative, Sustainable Conservation Practices
Farmers and ranchers are on the front lines of extreme weather caused by a changing climate. This makes a safety net for them more critical than ever. At the same time, programs to support these farms hold tremendous potential if the Farm Bill is used to encourage sustainable solutions. This can be accomplished by:
Expanding requirements for farms that wish to participate in commodity and crop insurance programs to implement certain conservation practices.
Establishing additional crop insurance premium incentives for implementing conservation practices exceeding minimum conservation standards, including regenerative and organic practices.
Expanding access to crop insurance and disaster programs for farmers and ranchers who implement the highest level regenerative practices in disaster-prone regions, susceptible ecosystems, and native lands.
Restructuring the Farm Bill’s subsidy programs such that financial incentives are shifted from the planting of chemical-dependent monocultures to soil conservation and diversified farming practices. Requiring recipients of subsidized crop insurance to implement approved healthy soil practices that reduce pollution, increase water holding capacity and sequester carbon is one of the most important things that can be done to make agriculture a climate change solution.
Codify the COVID relief strategy of providing crop insurance premium discounts to farmers planting cover crops, and offer new endorsement options for risk-mitigating soil health practices. This will help resolve inconsistencies between the Farm Bill’s Conservation Title and Insurance Title programs and promote better interagency recognition of the inherent value of healthy soil practices.
The current structuring of commodity crop insurance under the Farm Bill’s Insurance Title actually prohibits growers from adopting many soil-building, crop diversification practices integral to NRCS Conservation Title programs. For example, the adoption of “intercropping” (growing another crop) with a commodity crop, which is an NRCS approved and recommended soil conservation practice, would under existing Insurance Title guidelines disqualify a grower from participation in the subsidized commodity crop insurance program. This inherent incompatibility that exists within USDA Farm Bill programming delivers a mixed message and compels farmers to choose between “conservation” and “insurance.”
Ensuring incentives for sustainable conservation farming techniques flow to non-land-owning farmers, farm workers, and farmers with heirs property concerns, in addition to those with traditional farm ownership.
Reform the Commodity Checkoff Programs
The checkoff system takes the hard-earned money of farmers and ranchers and uses it to guarantee a self-perpetuating, pro-corporate, anti-independent producer policy agenda. In the short term, farmers and ranchers should have a say in where their money is spent. In the long term, checkoffs should be voluntary. We can accomplish this goal by:
Requiring their budgets and disbursements to be published and periodically audited.
Establishing strict firewalls between lobbying organizations—especially those that have conflicts of interest or whose members engage in anti-competitive activities—and the organizations responsible for administering federal checkoff programs.
Allowing commodity producers to participate in checkoff programs on a voluntary rather than mandatory basis.
Requiring programs to publicly disclose research they funded, and requiring academic journals who receive checkoff support to disclose their funding sources.
Relevant Legislation
Sections 1704, 1705, and 1706 of the 2018 Senate Farm Bill, referenced here.
S. 2860 (117th) (Sen. Lee — R-UT): The Voluntary Checkoff Program Participation Act prohibits mandatory or compulsory checkoff programs and requires producer participation in the programs to be voluntary at the point of sale. A checkoff program is a program to promote and provide research and information for a particular agricultural commodity without reference to specific producers or brands. The Department of Agriculture oversees the programs, which are requested and funded by industry.
H. 1249 (118th) (Rep. Mace — R-SC-01) / S. 557 (118th) (Sen. Lee — R-UT): The Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act establishes restrictions and requirements for checkoff programs. The bill prohibits boards established to carry out a checkoff program or a USDA order issued under a checkoff program from entering into a contract or agreement to carry out program activities with a party that engages in activities to influence any government policy or action that relates to agriculture.
H. 8527 (117th) (Rep. Casten — D-IL-06): The Conservation Opportunity and Voluntary Environment Resilience Program Act would establish a Good Steward Cover Crop Program.