GREENFIELD, Iowa — Farmers have been in limbo for over two weeks now as the most recent farm bill expired Sept. 30, 2024.
Congress's farm bill gives farmers a safety net when it comes to things like crop insurance and funding various commodities, while also playing a major role in funding for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs (SNAP).
Farmers say the unknown of what next year's funding will bring is frustrating.
The current farm bill passed in 2018 and expired in 2023. When it first expired in 2023, Congress passed an extension which lasted until September 30, 2024. Now, the future of the bill is once again up in the air.
Farmers are concerned because they don't know how much funding they will have next year and how to price their crops.
"That makes it really difficult then to understand when you're coming at a time when the economics of agriculture leave very, very little profit margin," said Brian Jones with Jones Harvesting. "Everyone is kind of feeling the squeeze and is very concerned right now, and it's pretty difficult."
Since the farm bill also includes funding for SNAP benefits, if no extension or passage of a new bill is found, it could force certain programs to pause.
Jones says the impact of the farm bill's expiration can spread to everyone.
"The fact that there's rules in place about how the farm bill is supposed to be written, and they're really kind of being ignored at this point, right," Jones said. "They're just choosing not to do it, but there's not really a lot of repercussions. But I think a lot of people should probably feel a little agitated or upset."
Another factor putting farmers in a tough spot is that the bill was written in 2018. As it sits currently, Jones says it doesn't account for inflation and increasing crop prices over the years.
"So that right now is what's frustrating for us, is that we really need something today that is affable and is reflective of today's agricultural economy," Jones said.
Jones says he would like to see the passage of a new farm bill, but at this point he says firm guidance on funding is better than nothing.