Programs for Conservation - The Farm Bill

The Farm Bill

The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill) is the most

recent omnibus farm bill. The act governs federal farm and food policy, covering a wide range of programs and provisions, and undergoes review and renewal roughly every five years.

The very first Farm Bill, enacted under FDR in 1933, was designed to aid struggling farmers during the Great Depression. It established price support for six basic commodity crops by paying farmers not to produce them, limiting supply and thus driving up prices. Since then, the Farm Bill has grown to encompass not only areas often associated with agriculture, such as the commodity programs, conservation programs, and trade, but also topics like nutrition (Food Stamps), rural development, and the Forest Service.

Often federal and state conservation programs are combined to assist a cooperator pay for a project. For example the cost of the project practices not covered by the federal program cost share may be able to be paid by a state program or by a ARDL loan.