By Mr. Robert Nathan Gregory
Changes to farm policy programs through an omnibus bill passed by Congress and signed into law July 4 will improve growers’ safety nets and increase row crop reference prices.
The tax and spending cut legislation H.R. 1 includes updates to the Price Loss Coverage, or PLC, and Agricultural Risk Coverage, or ARC, programs and increased reference prices for row crops, including those grown most frequently in Mississippi.
The updates represent the most significant changes to federal agricultural legislation since the 2018 Farm Bill, which had twice been extended since it initially expired in 2023.
“They basically put a Farm Bill update into this bill,” said Will Maples, an agricultural economist specializing in row crops with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “Historically, farm bills have been standalone legislation passed every four to six years. Incorporating major farm policy changes into a larger bill is a departure from that practice.”
Source : msstate.edu