Food Stamps, Dairy Subsidies Foil Farm Bill in HOR

The US House of Representatives voted down a proposal for a 2013 Farm Bill last week, leaving lawmakers uncertain about the next steps for the omnibus legislation that will govern the next five years of US agricultural spending. While the Senate had already approved its version in May, both chambers must sign off on the legislation - and reconcile any differences between the two - for it to become law.

Lawmakers were quick to pass around blame after the bill’s surprise failure on the House floor last week. Last-minute amendments restricting eligibility for food stamps and provisions removing dairy programmes, some argued, prevented a compromise.

The vote also highlighted a fundamental difference in budget priorities between US lawmakers, with Republicans and Democrats in disagreement on the scale and nature of spending cuts - especially on food stamps.

Farm interests were also at odds over the nature of payments scheduled for Southern farmers versus those in the Midwest. Both House and Senate iterations of the Farm Bill employ crop insurance as a means of providing subsidies to farmers, since the politically unpalatable direct payments are slated for cuts. The target prices for particular Southern crops, such as those for rice and peanuts, have been particularly contentious.