WASHINGTON, D.C.-- U.S. Representative Austin Scott (GA-08), the Vice Chair of the House Agriculture Committee and Chairman of the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit, released the below statement after the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 (Farm Bill) passed out of the House Agriculture Committee last night.

"Agriculture is Georgia's number one industry, and this Farm Bill is a win for Georgia's farmers and producers," Rep. Scott said. "As Vice Chair of the House Agriculture Committee, I am pleased that several of my priorities to ensure a strong farm safety net were included in this legislation, and I appreciate the bipartisan support for final passage through committee.”

"The House Committee on Agriculture has worked exhaustively to craft an effective Farm Bill that meets the needs of our hardworking farmers, revitalizes rural America, and strengthens our national security," said Chairman Glenn "G.T." Thompson (PA-15). "Thank you to Vice Chairman Scott for his leadership throughout this process. I am confident that the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 will provide certainty to producers and consumers in Georgia and across the nation."

Rep. Scott had several priorities included in the legislation, such as:

Improving the Farm Safety Net: The 2024 Farm Bill creates a more robust safety net through increased reference prices for the Price Loss Coverage Program (PLC), increased coverage for the Agriculture Risk Coverage Program (ARC), and modernizes Marketing Assistance Loan (MAL) rates through targeted increases for each commodity.

Improving and Protecting Crop Insurance: The Farm Bill protects and enhances crop insurance through increased research and development, expansion of area-wide coverage options, increased access to premium discounts for new and beginning farmers, and many improvements to program administration.

Addressing Seasonal Crop Revenue Losses: After public notice and comment, the USDA Secretary must submit a report to Congress detailing the policies or practices of foreign countries that act as significant barriers to specialty crop exports or those that heighten the competitiveness of imported specialty crops with domestic producers.

Expanding Crop Insurance for Specialty Crops: Title XI of the Farm Bill expands access to crop insurance for specialty crop farmers by establishing a specialty crop advisory committee, conducting research and development to create more policies, and modifying Whole Farm Revenue Protection to expand coverage for specialty crops.

Combatting Foreign Influence on Our Food Supply: The Farm Bill codifies the recommendations from the recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) study of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA), imposes a minimum penalty for any person who knowingly fails to submit an AFIDA filing, requires a report on any agricultural land owned by citizens or entities with ties to adversarial nations such as Communist China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and other state sponsors of terrorism, and establishes an electronic filing system and public database of foreign-owned land within the USDA.

Expanding Crop Insurance for Specialty Crops: The Farm Bill expands access to crop insurance for specialty crop farmers by establishing a specialty crop advisory committee, conducting research and development to create more policies, and modifying Whole Farm Revenue Protection to expand coverage for specialty crops.

Inclusion of H.R. 8055, the Ensuring Access to Risk Management Act: The Farm Bill includes language from Rep. Scott's bipartisan bill corrects a current flaw that cuts risk management delivery funding for specialty crops whenever larger row crops experience higher commodity prices. It also restores the annual inflation adjustment for risk management delivery funding for all crops.

Allowing Greater Market Access for U.S. Producers: The Farm Bill includes increases to both the Market Access Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development Program (FMD) to adequate levels, allowing for greater market access for U.S. producers.

Ensuring Adequate Funding for Rural Broadband and Rural Development: The Farm Bill enhances rural broadband infrastructure and accessibility for rural communities. Specifically, it integrates the ReConnect Program into the Farm Bill Rural Broadband Program while maintaining dedicated funds for the program.

The bill prioritizes broadband funding for unserved rural areas, ensures broadband systems deliver high-quality internet service to meet the evolving needs of rural communities now and in the future, and facilitates access to technical assistance for all USDA broadband programs.

Raising Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Thresholds for Program Payment Eligibility: The Farm Bill creates an exception to AGI limits within disaster programs for producers who receive more than 75% of their income from farming, ranching, or forestry.

Trusting our Farmers as Good Stewards of Their Land: The Farm Bill continues the voluntary, incentive-based, and locally-led nature of conservation programs.

The Farm Bill maintains the proven model of voluntary, incentive-based, and locally-led conservation. It provides historic, long-term investments in Title II by reallocating the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) conservation dollars. The bill removes the IRA's climate sideboards to restore the locally-led nature of conservation programs and provide flexibility for States.

Preventing Farmland from Being Converted to Solar Farms: The Farm Bill limits the Secretary's authority to convert nonindustrial private forestland or prime, unique, or statewide or locally important farmland into ground-mounted solar installations, based on H.R. 7923, the SOLAR Act.

Increasing Research Funding for Land Grant Institutions: The Farm Bill includes a strong Research Title that helps American agriculture maintain a competitive advantage, supports research facilities, expands interagency collaboration, and improves commercialization and technology transfer. 

Streamlining FSA Lending: The Farm Bill expands the current E.Z. Guarantee Loan program at USDA to provide guaranteed lenders with the option to accept a lower guarantee on an FSA-guaranteed loan in exchange for a faster turnaround time from FSA. 

Increasing Loan Size Limits: The Farm Bill increases FSA Guaranteed Operating Loans to $3 million, Guaranteed Ownership to $3.5 million, Direct Operating Loans to $750,000, and Direct Ownership Loans to $850,000. In addition, the bill modifies the index used for ownership loans to now include changes in land values rather than only CPI.

Ensuring Proper Forest Management: The Farm Bill includes comprehensive forest management reforms and removes administrative barriers to forest management. This includes support for public-private partnerships and increased acreage for existing categorical exclusions.

Providing Adequate Funding for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program: The Farm Bill funds the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program at $100 million per year, a $15 million increase from the 2018 Farm Bill. Additionally, the 2024 Farm Bill requires that state program administrators consult with specialty crop producers when developing priorities for program implementation.

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