Without an extension, most appropriated programs (also referred to as discretionary programs) in the 2002 farm bill and some mandatory programs, such as food stamps, would have faced the prospect of not having statutory authority for the appropriations committees to provide funding in FY2008 and subsequent years. All but one title of the 2008 farm bill, except the trade title (which was mistakenly missing from the enrolled version), were enacted on May 22 when the House and Senate overrode the presidential veto of H.R. For the commodity title, the dairy and sugar programs were included in the extension, as were price support loan programs for wool and mohair. Programs that specifically were not extended included the direct, counter-cyclical, and marketing loan programs for the 2008 crop year for all other supported commodities (e.g., feed grains, oilseeds, wheat, rice, cotton, and peanuts), peanut storage payments, agricultural management assistance for conservation, community food projects in the food stamp program, the rural broadband program, value-added market development grants, federal procurement of biobased products, the biodiesel fuel education program, and the renewable energy systems program. Possible Reversion to Permanent Law

If Congress had not enacted the 2008 farm bill before the beginning of the 2008 harvest, then the non-expiring provisions of primarily the Agriculture Adjustment Act of 1938 and the Agriculture Act of 1949 would have taken effect. The commodity support provisions of permanent law are so radically different from current policy—and inconsistent with today's farming, marketing, and trade agreements, as well as potentially costly to the federal government—that Congress was unlikely to let permanent law take effect. Many of these programs were extended by the 2002 farm bill and most of the programs expired September 30, 2007. Also, two programs, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Security Program (CSP), have been extended in earlier legislation to FY2010 and FY2011, respectively. However, some provisions of domestic food assistance law would have terminated. Without some action, authority to continue to pay out nutrition assistance grants to Puerto Rico and American Samoa (totaling some $1.6 billion for FY2008) would have terminated without a temporary extension. Trade and Foreign Food Aid Programs15

Several agricultural trade and international food aid programs were subject to expiration unless a new farm bill was enacted. 110-234 ) and enactment of the version with Title III ( P.L. These trade programs were authorized by the 2002 farm bill to receive mandatory funding. 480 expired without a temporary extension or a new farm bill. 107-171 ( H.R. 2008 Farm Bill

P.L. 110-231 continued to extend the 2002 farm bill as in the previous extension until the earlier of May 23, 2008, or enactment of the 2008 farm bill. 2419 became P.L. 110-246 (and superseded P.L.
The 2002 farm bill (P.L. 107-171) authorized an array of agricultural, rural, and nutrition programs. Many provisions of the 2002 farm bill were scheduled to expire in 2007. If a new farm bill or year-long extension were not enacted before the 2008 harvest, permanent law would have taken effect. Under permanent law, eligible commodities would be supported at levels much higher than they are now, and many of the currently supported commodities might not be eligible (including soybeans and peanuts). Permanent law for the commodity programs is so radically different from current policy and inconsistent with today's farming, marketing, and trade agreements—as well as costly to the federal government—that Congress was unlikely to let it take effect. Lack of new legislation would have reduced or eliminated some conservation, domestic nutrition assistance, trade and foreign food aid, and rural development programs.
Six temporary extensions continued the authority of most programs in the 2002 farm bill until May 23, 2008. A new farm bill was enacted on May 22, 2008 (P.L. 110-234), when the Senate joined the House in overriding the presidential veto of H.R. 2419. However, a clerical error omitted Title III, the trade and foreign aid title from the enrolled version sent to the President. To resolve the absence of Title III, another complete version of the farm bill (H.R. 6124) was passed, vetoed and overridden. The final enacted version of the 2008 farm bill is P.L. 110-246.
Prior to enactment of the farm bill, programs that were not extended in the temporary extensions included the direct, counter-cyclical, and marketing loan programs for the 2008 crop year for the major crops (such as corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and rice), peanut storage, community food projects authorized under the Food Stamp Act, the rural broadband program, value-added market development grants, and certain renewable energy programs. However, the dairy, sugar, and wool and mohair programs were extended.
Most of the long-standing USDA conservation programs were permanently authorized and had a current appropriation. Other conservation programs that pay farmers to remove fragile crop land from production were authorized and received mandatory funding from the 2002 farm bill but awaited renewal. Two conservation programs that pay farmers for adopting resource stewardship practices (the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Conservation Security Program) were extended beyond FY2007 by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-171).
USDA's domestic food assistance programs (for example, food stamps) generally were permanently authorized, and, in most cases, they were not affected by the possible expiration of the farm bill, since they received a full-year FY2008 appropriation. However, two major provisions of the law could have been affected: nutrition assistance grants to Puerto Rico and American Samoa and authority to reduce food stamp administrative payments to states.
This report will not be updated.