Congress has reaped a lot criticism lately for letting the farm bill lapse—at least in part because while it languishes, drought-stricken farmers face an uncertainty about whether disaster assistance will be available when they need it.
The timing of record drought mixed with political posturing has shined light on the bill’s disaster provisions and—at least for us here at DR—how little we really know about the fairly complex world of agricultural disaster aid. We thought this far-from-comprehensive primer might help others out there scratching their heads about what’s really at risk of being lost (not to mention what’s already gone).
At least five farm bill disaster assistance programs expired as of September 30, 2011, meaning they won't cover any losses after that date. The programs include:
SURE, or the Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments program, which covers crop losses caused by natural disasters;
TAP, or the Tree Assistance Program, which provides assistance to nurseries and orchards to help rehabilitate trees damaged by natural disasters;
LIP, or the Livestock Indemnity Program, which gives aid to ranchers whose cattle have died because of natural disasters;
LFP, or the Livestock Forage Disaster Program, which covers grazing losses caused by drought or by wildfire on federally managed land; and,
ELAP, or Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-Raised Fish, a program that fills the gaps in disaster aid offered by other programs.
Interestingly, crop insurance is a "permanent" program authorized by the Federal Crop Insurance Act. Since crop insurance doesn't depend on farm bill reauthorization, we'll save an exploration of that topic for another day. But if you want a detailed explanation of the implications of farm bill expiration, check out the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition's website.