Farm Bill

The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act (Farm Bill) is a law that allows Congress to periodically examine and modify American agriculture programs. The first Farm Bill was developed in the 1920's to specifically address commodities programs but has grown through the years to include other programs such as forestry, conservation, trade, research, domestic and foreign food assistance, credit, crop insurance, rural development, and global climate change.

Every five years, the Farm Bill is reviewed and reauthorized to support American producers, ensure consumers an abundance of food and fiber at reasonable prices, and provide various conservation opportunities. Growing concerns about the environmental effects of agricultural activities brought about a merging of commodity support policy and resource conservation policy in the 1985 farm law, in which Congress enacted a conservation title with several significant new programs (CRS 1996). The conservation title has grown in subsequent legislation.

Today, the 2002 Farm Bill constitutes an 80 percent increase from the 1996 Farm Bill and authorizes $3.8 billion for the conservation programs, and the Association is involved in making sure conservation and wildlife management methods are an important part of the Farm Bill process.(hyperlink to a new page that starts with "2002 Farm Bill Conservation Programs" below).

The Association’s Work on Conservation Programs and the Farm Bill:

• The Association’s Agriculture Conservation Committee (hyperlink to committee page) addresses Farm Bill conservation program concerns and technical issues.

• State fish and wildlife agencies work with the Farm Service Agency (FSA), the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), and the US Forest Service to implement conservation programs. Click here to review state fish and wildlife agencies’ Farm Bill conservation program initiatives. (hyperlink to "2002 Farm Bill Conservation Programs"

• The Association is working with NRCS on the Wildlife Component of the Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP). To review our collaborative CEAP-Wildlife work with NRCS click here (hyperlink to The Association CEAP-wildlife page). To review NRCS’s overall CEAP effort, click here.

• Discussions on the 2007 Farm Bill are well underway, and the Association is developing its position with assistance of the state fish and wildlife agencies and The Association's affiliate members (see link below).

For more information, contact Jen Mock at 202/624-7890 or jmock@fishwildlife.org.