The House has passed a new five-year farm bill — a scaled-back, or “skinny,” version that leaves some of its biggest impacts tied to decisions made last year.
The legislation maintains earlier cuts to SNAP benefits, which about one in eight Missourians rely on to afford groceries. While the bill itself doesn’t introduce those reductions, experts say it makes it harder for those reductions to be reversed.
Ben Brown, University of Missouri Extension specialist on crop economics, said the farm bill process is one of the few opportunities that lawmakers have to revisit those changes.
“If you don't do it in the Farm Bill, there's really not another avenue to do it,” Brown said. “And that's why you're hearing it locks it in, is it kind of just shuts one kind of a potential avenue to make those changes, but they've been made.”
Advocates say the consequences could be especially significant in rural Missouri, where food assistance and agriculture are closely tied. Decreased SNAP benefits can mean less spending at local stores and markets — ultimately affecting farmers who depend on those customers.
At the same time, many farmers are already facing rising input costs and tight profit margins. Missouri Rural Crisis Center Executive Director Rhonda Perry said the challenges facing farmers and SNAP recipients are interconnected.
“When farmers do well, people who live in rural communities do well,” Perry said. “And when they don't do well, then we need programs in place that are going to ensure that people have access to affordable, safe food.”
Perry said the current version of the farm bill fails to address both sides of that equation, leaving rural communities more vulnerable.
The bill now heads to the Senate, where lawmakers are expected to propose changes before a final version becomes law.
