This article is part of our President’s FY2024 Budget Request Coverage. Visit our Rolling Analysis Page for more.

We were hopeful. But alas, the third time was not a charm. President Biden’s third budget request to Congress, the FY24 U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) budget, fails to call for common sense reforms to farm subsidy and federal crop insurance programs. Everyone from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to farmers themselves support reforms to save taxpayer dollars and ensure subsidies are flowing to only people who need them. Once again, President Biden’s FY24 budget fails to propose smart reforms supported by a bipartisan majority of policymakers.

In USDA’s FY24 budget, supporting new and beginning farmers is mentioned as a USDA priority in the next farm bill. One easy way to achieve this goal – while also benefiting the climate/environment – is to rein in wasteful farm subsidy programs and unlimited crop insurance premium subsidies. These subsidies primarily benefit the largest agricultural producers and landowners growing crops like corn and cotton. Proposing common sense reforms is something both former Presidents Trump and Obama agreed upon so we’d been hopeful the third time would be a charm with President Biden. However, the Administration failed to jump on the bandwagon (again) this year.

We are happy to see, however, a mention of the 2023 farm bill in the FY24 budget. It’s important for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to have a say on agriculture policy. It’s also important for Congress to do its job of authorizing the programs that USDA then carries out. In past farm bill debates, USDA was a strong voice for better caps on farm subsidy payments. USDA gave a thumbs up to reining in wasteful loopholes as well. The Administration still has time to weigh in to support trimming wasteful crop insurance subsidies, for instance, that benefit people living in foreign countries, millionaires and billionaires, and nonfarmers alike.

From the FY24 budget:

“The 2023 Farm Bill is a crucial opportunity for American agriculture and rural America to transform the food and agricultural system from one that benefits a few to one that benefits many…”

To achieve this goal, Congress and the Administration must embrace a farm safety net that is focused, fiscally responsible, and fosters resilience, instead of dependence on federal subsidies. Seeing some of our joint farm bill reform principles in the FY24 USDA budget text at least is welcome news. But the devil is always in the details.

We will have more analysis to come but are pleased to see steps forward toward implementing risk reducing measures within the federal crop insurance program to benefit the climate, environment, and taxpayers.