The President increases the focus on reforming agricultural business safety net programs governed by the Farm Bill.

The 2019 President’s Budget Request identifies $47 billion in savings from reforming agricultural programs governed by the Farm Bill. This is a nearly 24 percent increase from the $38 billion in savings identified in the 2018 budget request.

Much of the change is due to increased cost savings estimates from fully eliminating the Conservation Stewardship Program, as opposed to limiting new enrollment, but also an expansion to reforms of income subsidy programs beyond federally subsidized crop insurance. Unlike last year’s request, this budget seeks reforms to business income subsidy programs authorized in the “Commodity” title of the farm bill. This includes eliminating funding for a supplemental disaster program, the Livestock Forage Program, and calls for common sense reforms to close commodity program loopholes that allow extra payments to peanut producers and numerous “managers” who often never step foot on the farm.

While this budget request does not go far enough in reforming the duplication between federally subsidized crop insurance and commodity programs, it’s a move in the right direction.