Agricultural leaders say the continuing resolution passed by Congress to continue funding the government, extend the farm bill for one year and offer a $10 billion financial assistance package to farmers is a “temporary fix,” but lawmakers need to do better in 2025.

The continuing resolution includes:

• A one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill.

• $20.78 billion in disaster aid for farmers affected by hurricanes, wildfires and drought in both 2023 and 2024. Of this, $2 billion is allocated to livestock producers, according to the Texas Farm Bureau.

• $10 billion in economic aid to farmers to offset the dramatic decline in farm income, high supply costs and low commodity prices.

Estimated payments include $31.80 per acre for wheat; $21.76 per acre for barley; $26.76 per acre for canola; $25.04 per acre for small chickpeas; $24.16 per acre for large chickpeas; $19.32 per acre for lentils and $16.16 per acre for dry peas, Southern Ag Today reports.

Cotton farmers would receive $84.70 per acre. Oat farmers would receive $78.42 per acre. Peanut farmers would receive $76.30 per acre. Rice farmers would receive $71.37 per acre. Soybean farmers would receive $30.61 per acre. Corn farmers would receive $43.80 per acre.

Payments will be based on acres planted to the eligible commodity in 2024 and 50% of the acreage prevented from being planted in 2024.

Groups react“It does give us a number of things that we were looking for,” Jake Westlin, vice president of policy and communications for the National Association of Wheat Growers, told the Capital Press. “This was an important fallback to help support farmers during a time of need and provide at least a little bit of certainty as we hopefully can get a farm bill done in the first year of the 119th Congress.”

Initial discussions about a Farmer Assistance and Revenue Mitigation (FARM) Act included $20 billion in funding for economic relief.

The final $10 billion figure is “helpful, but there’s still an acknowledgement that there is more need out there, so as we do get to the farm bill, there still will be concerted efforts to get it right for the life of the next farm bill,” Westlin said. “All of it comes down to what the political capital is when they’re looking to get these packages combined, buttoned up, voted and passed.”

The year-end funding package provides some “much-needed and long-overdue economic and disaster relief,” National Farmers Union president Rob Larew said in a statement. “This is not just a failure of process — family farmers and ranchers should not have to navigate a system that treats their livelihoods like political collateral. Our leaders need to do better. The path forward must prioritize collaboration, innovation, and a steadfast commitment to addressing the real challenges faced by rural communities. The most effective way to demonstrate that is by delivering a comprehensive five-year farm bill at the start of 2025.”

Larew pointed to a “clear bipartisan agreement” negotiated last week that would have gone further.

The previously negotiated agreement included several important agriculture and food security provisions, such as granting nationwide year-round sales of E15 blends of ethanol, according to the farmers union. Higher-level blends would increase market opportunities for farmers, reduce emissions, and strengthen domestic energy production.

“Instead, Congress allowed dysfunction to stand in the way,” Larew said.

“The economic and disaster assistance in the (continuing resolution) is a temporary fix to long-term challenges facing America’s farmers,” said Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, in a statement. “The farm bill extension also offers a short reprieve, and gives lawmakers some breathing room to pass a modernized farm bill that will provide risk management support. We urge them to build on the bipartisan efforts demonstrated during the CR to pass a new five-year farm bill that delivers certainty for rural America and ensures a stable food supply for the nation.”