Funding Deal Passed: Economic assistance in the future for America’s producers
On Dec. 21, President Joe Biden signed into law the American Relief Act 2025, which included the latest continuing resolution (CR), providing the Fiscal Year 2025 appropriations to federal agencies through March 14, continuing federal projects and activities, providing disaster relief appropriations and economic assistance to producers and extending the 2018 Farm Bill.
The 118-page CR was cleared by the Senate with a vote of 85 to 11 after the House passed it on a 366 to 34 vote.
The final CR did not include a provision to raise the debt ceiling, but it allocates $110 billion for disaster relief and agricultural aid, including $21 billion for agricultural disaster assistance, $10 billion for farmer aid and a one-year extension of the farm bill.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) faced significant obstacles in building consensus after initial bipartisan legislation failed to advance, primarily over the issue of including debt ceiling measures.
Following days of negotiations to find common ground among House Republicans, Democrats and President-Elect Donald Trump’s priorities, lawmakers ultimately passed a more streamlined bill.
Local response
U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman (R-WY) announced her support in a Dec. 20 press release stating, “This is a win for Wyoming and a win for the American people.”
She adds, “Initially, the bill was no CR at all. But through strategic collaboration with House Republicans, these wasteful provisions were removed, handing the Republican-controlled Congress a clean slate to begin rolling back harmful regulations and working with the Department of Government Efficiency to reduce government waste.”
“With this bill, Republicans now have the opportunity to take back control of the nation’s spending and focus on the policies that truly matter to American families, instead of being bogged down by the unnecessary and politically-motivated waste of the Biden-Harris administration,” she continues. “In addition to these crucial reforms, this bill prevents the expiration of the farm bill and brings over $100 million in relief for Wyoming’s farmers and ranchers who faced devastating wildfires and droughts this year.”
Bill faced hurdles
Efforts to extend the farm bill and provide economic relief to producers stalled early amid opposition from House Republican leaders, who resisted using Inflation Reduction Act funds for disaster aid.
The bill faced additional scrutiny from Trump, who expressed opposition to what was being touted as a bipartisan spending deal, including cost-of-living increases for lawmakers.
In a social media statement, Trump and Vice President-Elect J.D. Vance state, “Republicans want to support our farmers, pay for disaster relief and set our country up for success in 2025. The only way to do this is with a temporary funding bill without democratic giveaways combined with an increase in the debt ceiling. Anything else is a betrayal of our country.”
Success
The final spending bill removed pay raises and other governmental provisions but it successfully passed a proposal to allow for E15 ethanol fuel sales year-round, which has been a topic of debate.
The bill raised the Reid Vapor Pressure standard from 10 percent to 15 percent and changed the language to allow retailers to sell E15 throughout the year without requesting waivers.
“Legislation to ensure year-round availability of E15 in the U.S. has been at the top of our to-do list for a very long time,” reports American Coalition for Ethanol Chief Executive Officer Brian Jennings.
Jennings adds, “Inclusion of this provision will drive demand for homegrown, low-carbon ethanol, tackle inflation by delivering savings at the pump for consumers and strengthen America’s energy security. We are deeply grateful to the senators and representatives who fought tirelessly to make this happen.”
Economic payments
Congressional agricultural leaders pushed for economic aid to producers and the urgency of passing a farm bill.
“Farmers, agricultural lenders and rural community leaders clearly communicated the need for emergency assistance to survive current market conditions,” states Sen. John Boozman (R-AK), who will chair the Senate Agriculture Committee next year. “The consequences of ignoring the stark realities facing rural America would be devastating to farm families, American agriculture and our nation’s food security.”
The new bill outlines how $10 billion in economic assistance available to farmers should be calculated and how the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will use the projected farm price for the commodity contained in the most recent World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates published before the date the bill becomes law.
According to the USDA, farmers have 90 days from the bill’s enactment to make payments, and payments will be capped at $125,000 for farms whose agricultural operations make up less than 75 percent of the average gross income from the 2020-22 tax years.
Farms whose gross income is above 75 percent for those years can receive a maximum of $250,000.
The new bill allows farms to qualify for aid if the gross return for an eligible commodity is less than the expected cost of production.
The amount of assistance provided will be calculated by multiplying a farm’s economic loss by the number of planted acres, with the payment equaling 26 percent of that final number.
Acres can include 50 percent of land that could not be planted during the 2024 crop year due to drought, floods or other natural disasters
More aid
Additionally, USDA will receive $20.78 billion for producers to recover from drought, hurricanes and other natural disasters over the last two years. Overall, USDA will receive $30.78 billion to cover crop, livestock and horticulture losses.
Among the funds, $2 billion will be utilized for livestock producers tied to losses in 2023-24 for drought, wildfires and floods, and assistance can go to the states as block grants and direct compensation to producers.
The legislation also increases payments and losses covered under the Noninsured Disaster Assistance Program.
The bill includes another $220 million block granted to states to provide compensation to producers for crop, timber and livestock losses.
States eligible for this specific block grant must have a 2023 net farm income of less than $250 million, fewer than 8,000 farms and an average farm size of less than 1,000 acres.
In addition, the bill provides funding for several USDA programs that do not have baseline funding or reauthorization, and the Dairy Margin Program is extended through Dec. 31.
Melissa Anderson is the editor of the Wyoming Livestock Roundup. Send comments on this article to roundup@wylr.net.
