From Bill to Law: New 2018 Farm Bill Guides Now Online

February 6, 2019

2018 Farm Bill Guides can be found here: http://www.arec.umd.edu/extension/2018-farm-bill-guides

The 2018 Farm Bill (i.e., Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018) has now been signed into law as of December 20, 2018. We have posted several new guides providing a breakdown of the most pertinent changes in some of the Titles contained in this piece of legislation.

Highlighted topics for the Nutrition Title include work requirement changes for SNAP households, online redemption of SNAP benefits, changes in SNAP-Ed reporting procedures, funding changes for programs that increase food access, new programs and grants to motivate healthier eating, and a new initiative to provide data for researchers.

The guide update for the Commodities Title reviews changes to the Price Loss Coverage program, as well as the changeover from the Margin Protection Program to the Dairy Risk Management Program for dairy.

There are several changes within the Conservation Title. The guide update for the Forestry Title takes note of several small programs that have been repealed and provides an overview of new programs that will begin soon.

A guide has been added for Title X: Horticulture, Sections 10113 and 10114. These are the much-anticipated sections regarding hemp production.

 

Dr. Mary Zaki joined the University of Maryland in 2014. Her research focuses on household finance and household consumption issues especially among low income populations. She currently is studying household spending patterns between paycheck receipts, the effects of high cost credit on food consumption among military families, the influence of food acquisition costs on food stamp month spending, historical consumer credit costs and the effect of school breakfast program expansions on health outcomes and test scores.Jeffrey Hunt is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. His research interests focuses on western land use issues, especially concerning the intersection of private mineral rights and public conservation efforts. 

Dr. Howard Leathers is the director of the undergraduate program for the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics, as well as an advisor and a mentor to many graduate students. He regularly publishes on the economics of food crises and is the author of “The World Food Problem”, the fifth edition of which was published in 2017. In addition to teaching and writing, Dr. Leathers travels extensively to lead workshops regarding topics such as crop insurance, commodities, and the dairy industry.

 

 

Jeffrey Hunt is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. His research interests focuses on western land use issues, especially concerning the intersection of private mineral rights and public conservation efforts.