ABSTRACT
Surpluses of the 1960s–1970s and the agricultural crises of the 1980s saw the gradual transition of commodity programs from one of allotments and quotas to set-asides, conservation compliance, and an adoption of widespread use of the Payment-In-Kind program. During the 1960s to the 1980s commodity program policy increasingly became tied to reducing surpluses, surpluses which were created by policies supporting agricultural prices and improvements in seed and machinery technology. The 1962 Food and Agricultural Act continued an evolution of commodity programs and included significant conservation provisions. For the first time, Food Stamps entered the farm bill with its own title, amending the Food Stamp Act of 1964. Deficiency payments were to be provided to producers participating in the farm program to make up the difference between a target price set by Congress and the higher of a Commodity Credit Corporation loan rate or market price.
