ABSTRACT
Agricultural commodity prices and net farm incomes declined after the passage of the Agricultural Act of 2014. Agriculture and agricultural policy looked very different in the Dust Bowl and post-Dust Bowl eras. Two pieces of legislation passed in 2018 that amended 2014 farm bill policy were the Bipartisan Budget Act and the Agricultural Improvement Act (AIA). In both the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and crop insurance cases, expiration of the 2014 farm bill had fewer potential consequences due to their appropriations structure and their relatively recent permanent authorizations. When a modern farm bill expires, commodity safety net programs are technically to revert back to the original legislation in the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938 and the Agricultural Act of 1949. The commodity provisions of the 2018 AIA extended the 2014 AA’s Agricultural Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs.
