Below is a comparison of existing law to the Farm Bill agreed to by the House-Senate Conference Committee Currently listed are the Commodity Title and Conservation Title.

This final version of the Farm Bill is a 6-year bill.

For a short summary of the House-Senate Farm Bill, click here.

To view the text of the bill, click here.

To view an earlier comparison of the House and Senate versions of the Farm Bill, click here.

To view the proposals submitted by farm groups earlier this year, click here .
 
 

Existing Law	The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002
COMMODITY TITLE
Counter-Cyclical Support Payments
The 1996 Farm Bill provides counter cyclical income support through marketing loan gains and LDP's. The only direct counter cyclical payments come through LDP's.  Congress has also provided support in recent years through a series of ad hoc disaster assistance payments. Prior to the current law, the 1995 Farm Bill included the following target prices: Target Price  Wheat: $4.00  Corn: $2.75  Grain Sorghum: $2.61 Barley: $2.36  Oats: $1.45  Upland Cotton: $0.729  Rice: $10.71  Soybeans: none  Minor Oilseeds none	Counter-cyclical payments on a commodity-by-commodity basis will be provided. Counter-cyclical payments will be made to producers if prices for a commodity fell below a certain level. Payments will be calculated as follows: (Target Price) - (Fixed Payment) - (Higher of: Marketing loan rate or National twelve-month season average price received by producers).   Payments will be made on 85% of a producer's base.     Target prices 2002-2003 2004-2007 Wheat $3.86  $3.92 Corn $2.60  $2.63  Grain Sorghum $2.54 $2.57 Barley $2.21 $2.24 Oats $1.40 $1.44 Upland Cotton $0.724 $0.724 Rice $10.50 $10.50 Soybeans $5.80 $5.80 Minor Oilseeds $0.0980 $0.1010  Producers who update base acreage to the 1998-2001 average will be able to update yields for the counter-cyclical payments. The update will be: 70% of [(1998-2001 avg yield)-(current AMTA yield)] or 93.5% of 1998-2001 avg yields on planted acres (in years in which actual yield is less than county avg. yield, yield will be 75% of county average yield)
Nonrecourse Loans
Loan Rates
Loan rates, in general, have been set by the Secretary at a rate not less than 85% of the 5-year Olympic average price for the commodity and not more than an applicable loan rate cap. 2001 Marketing Loan Rates Wheat: $2.58 Corn: $1.89 Grain Sorghum: $1.71 Barley: $1.65* Oats: $1.21* Upland Cotton: $0.5192 Rice: $6.50 Soybeans: $5.26 Minor Oilseeds $0.093	Formulas for discretionary loan rate setting by the Secretary is replaced with a firm marketing loan rate.     Marketing  Loan Rates 2002-2003 2004-2007 Wheat $2.80 $2.75 Corn $1.98 $1.95 Grain Sorghum $1.98 $1.95 Barley $1.88 $1.85 Oats $1.35  $1.33 Upland Cotton $0.52 $0.52 Rice $6.50 $6.50 Soybeans $5.00  $5.00  Minor Oilseeds $0.096 $0.093
Decoupled Fixed Payments
The 1996 Farm Bill provided transition payments for eligible commodities through production flexibility contracts. Payments are based on contract acreage and past production and are "decoupled" from current production. Oilseeds were not eligible for these payments. The 1996 Farm Bill set up a payment rate schedule that was scheduled to decrease payments each year from 1996 through 2002. Payments are made on 85% of crop base and payment yields have been frozen since 1985. The 2002 scheduled payment levels (before implementation of this bill) were: Wheat: $0.46/bu Corn: $0.26/bu Barley: $0.20/bu Grain Sorghum: $0.31/bu Oats: $0.021/bu Upland Cotton: $0.0556/lb Rice: $2.04/cwt	Direct Payment Rates (2002-2007) Wheat: $0.52 Corn: $0.28 Barley: $0.24 Grain Sorghum: $0.35 Oats: $0.024 Upland Cotton: $0.0667 Rice: $2.35 Soybeans: $0.44 Minor Oilseeds $0.0080   Payments will be made on 85% of base acres
Payment Base
The 1996 Farm Bill established "Contract Acreage" as a base for payments. The contract acreage was equal to the crop acreage bases that would have been in effect for each producer in 1996 under the previous law. That basis was generally the average acres planted and considered planted to each crop for the preceding 5 crop years (1991-1995). For cotton and rice, the basis was the average of the previous 3 crop years (1993-1995).	Producers will be able to update base acres if so desired. Payment base may be calculated using: current AMTA acres or avg. acres planted to an AMTA contract crop and/or oilseed for 1998-2001   Payment base for decoupled and counter-cyclical payments are 85% of base
Planting Flexibility
Any commodity can be grown on acreage except, in most cases fruits and vegetables	Flexibility provisions will be maintained
Payment Limits
Payment limitations are set at $40,000/year in AMTA payments and $75,000/year in marketing loan gains and LDP payments in the current Farm Bill. (Recent appropriations bills raised the LDP limit for LDP's to $150,000 for 2000 and 2001 crop years).	$75,000 on LDP's and Marketing Loan Gains $40,000 on direct payments $65,000 on counter-cyclical payments retains Three-Entity Rule and use of generic certificates Any individual or entity will be ineligible for any commodity program payments if they have over $2.5 million average Adjusted Gross Income over a three-year period and less than 75% of that income is derived from farming, ranching, or forestry operations separate payment limitation for the peanut program creates a commission to study payment limitations and make recommendations regarding potential future policy changes
Other Commodities
Peanuts
Production for the domestic edible peanut market is limited to a national quota of 1.18 million tons. Additional peanuts are not limited but may be sold only for export or crushing. Quota can be sold or leased by farmers within a state. Quota peanut prices are supported by a nonrecourse loan at not less than $610/ton. Additional peanuts are supported by a loan rate currently set at $132/ton. Since the government sets the market price through a combination of production controls and a loan program, there are no direct government payments.	Reforms the peanut program to make it similar to other commodities: Fixed decoupled payment = $36/ton Counter-cyclical target price = $495/ton Marketing loan rate = $355/ton with payment of storage, handling and associated costs for peanuts under the loan Terminates the quota program (and the restrictions on selling certain peanuts only for export or crushing) and provides a $0.11/lb payment to quota holders for five years. Quota holders have the option of receiving the full payment in one year.
Sugar
Nonrecourse loans are available with loan rates fixed at $0.18/lb. for raw cane sugar & $0.229/lb. for refined beat sugar . A one cent penalty is imposed by the CCC on any sugar that is forfeited under the nonrecourse loan program. Sugar marketing assessments are set at 1.375 percent of the loan rate for cane and 1.47425 percent of the loan rate for beets.	extends current price supports eliminates forfeiture penalty eliminates marketing assessment on sugar reestablish the non-net-cost concept feature of the program provides the Secretary authority to implement allotments for sugar producers
Dairy
The current dairy price support program is set at $9.90/cwt.	Extends the milk price support program at $9.90/cwt Provides a National Dairy Market Loss Assistance Program: participating producers will receive payments of 45% of ($16.94 - price of Class I fluid milk in Boston under the applicable milk marketing order) no payments made in months when applicable price is $16.94 or higher  producers may not receive payments on more than 2.4 million pounds per year program authorized through Sept. 30, 2005   Provides for an importer assessment for the Dairy Promotion and Research Program
Wool and Mohair
Wool and Mohair price supports were terminated in 1996.	Creates a marketing assistance loan program similar to other commodities. Loan rate =  •$1.00/lb. for graded wool •$0.40/lb. For nongraded wool •$0.40/lb. For unshorn pelts •$4.20/lb for mohair
Honey
Honey loan programs were terminated in 1996.	Creates a marketing assistance loan similar to other commodities. Loan rate = $0.60/lb.
Emergency Assistance
provides $500 million in emergency livestock assistance for 2001 losses provides $94 million to apple producers for loss of markets during the 2000 crop year
CONSERVATION TITLE
Conservation Security Program
No existing program	Establishes three tiers of conservation contracts under which producers will be eligible to receive payments for the implementation of certain conservation practices
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP)
Provides farmers with annual payments through a multi-year contract for converting environmentally sensitive land out of production to vegetable cover. CRP enrollment is currently capped at 36.4 million acres	reauthorizes CRP through 2007 and increases enrollment to 39.2 million acres. expands wetlands pilot to 1 million acres
Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
Provides funding and technical assistance to eligible producers for soil and water projects. Funding for EQIP is currently set at $200 million/year with half of that amount targeted to livestock water quality	raises annual EQIP funding to $400 million for FY'02; $1 billion for FY '03; $1 billion for FY '04; $1.2 billion for FY '05-'06; and $1.3 billion for FY '07. livestock producers receive 60% of annual funding and crops receive 40% funding created in EQIP to address groundwater and surface water conservation issues, including cost share for more efficient irrigation systems. Annual funding set at $30 million for FY '02, $45 million for FY '03, and $60 million for FY '04-'11.
Wetlands Reserve Program (WRP)
Provides financial support for wetlands restoration through permanent easements, 30-year easements, and wetlands restoration agreements.	Reauthorizes WRP with an additional 250,000 acres/year up to a cap of 2.275 million acres
Wildlife Habitat Incentives Program (WHIP)
Provides cost sharing for the development and maintenance of wildlife habitat	Funds WHIP annually at $15 million in FY '02; $30 million in FY '03; and $60 million in FY '04; $85 million in each FY '05-'07
Farmland Protection Program (FPP)
Provides funding to help keep farmland that is subject to development pressures in agricultural use.	Reauthorizes of FPP at $50 million for FY '02; $100 million for FY '03; $125 million for FY '04 and '05; $100 million for FY '06; and $97 million for FY '07.
Grassland Reserve Program
No existing Program	authorizes 2 million acres $254 million in funding 60% of funding may be used for 30 year and permanent contracts