Why you can trust Public News Service
After two extensions, the 2018 Farm Bill is due to expire September 30, 2025. (Anton/Adobe Stock)
The Farm Bill, last updated in 2018 and extended twice, is due to expire in September and Montana farmers are concerned the Congressional "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" passed this month will mean a "skinny" Farm Bill in the fall.
The new budget includes $300 billion in cuts to food assistance programs typically housed in the Farm Bill, as well as cuts to Medicaid and Medicare which will affect rural hospitals.
Walter Schweitzer, president of the Montana Farmers Union, said his community relies on the economic stimulus provided by the federal programs.
"They put some pretty strict parameters around what can and can't be in the Farm Bill," Schweitzer pointed out. "Utilizing a reconciliation process to craft and pass a Farm Bill scares the bejesus out of me."
He said the bill breaks the “rural-urban coalition” needed to pass the Farm Bill. In a benefit for farmers, the budget bill increased the reference price for crops, enabling a better safety net if prices fall below the new benchmarks.
Schweitzer cautioned the bill also changed who qualifies for those safety nets.
"Increasing the reference price is a good thing," Schweitzer acknowledged. "This is something Farmers Union has been advocating for. But what concerns me is by eliminating the adjusted gross income cap means now Bill Gates qualifies for all of these subsidies."
Many of the provisions in the new budget do not go into effect until after midterm elections, which Schweitzer called a “red flag.”
