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Agricultural Acts of 1933
In May of 1933, President Roosevelt signed the Agricultural Adjustment Act, also known as the Farm Relief Bill, as a part of the 100-day phase of the New Deal Program.
This act was created in order to provide relief to farmers during the Great Depression by increasing the farmers' purchasing power by decreasing surpluses of agricultural products. The overall goal of the bill was to get the prices of agricultural products to rise so farmers could earn sustainable incomes. -
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Farm Bill Timeline
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Agricultural Act of 1933
Two years after the introduction of the Agricultural Adjustment Act, farmers' incomes were reportedly 50% higher than before the bill.
Not all farmers benefited from the act. In the south, the Act caused many African American sharecroppers to fall deeper into poverty because it was the landowners who were given subsidies for not planting. Many landowners used their subsidies to buy equipment, meaning many sharecroppers lost their jobs entirely.
The bill was deemed unconstitutional in1936. -
Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act of 1973
The Agriculture and Consumer Protection Act, also known as the 1973 U.S. Farm Bill, incorporated the food stamp into a farm bill for the first time. This bill also adopted target prices and deficiency payments as tools meant to support farm incomes and reduce forfeitures to the Commodity Credit Corporation -
Food Security Act of 1985
There were many provisions under this act. The main ones were designed to discourage the conversion of wetlands into non-wetland areas. These provisions can be found in the act referred to as the swamp buster provisions. This program made changes to several USDA programs including sodbuster and the Conversion Reserve Program. -
Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002
The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, also known as the 2002 Farm Bill, supported the production of a reliable, safe, and affordable supply of food and fiber; promote stewardship of agricultural land and water resources; facilitate access of American farm products; encourage continued economic and infrastructure development in rural America; and ensure continued research to maintain an efficient and innovative agricultural and food sector. -
Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act, also known as the 2008 Farm Bill, was a continuation of the 2002 Farm Bill.
This bill set the agricultural program and funding priorities for the nation. It also covers everything from crop payments to growers to conservation programs. The 2008 Farm Bill also aimed to create more green energy from farm products. -
Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018
The main purpose of this bill was to give the Agriculture community more money for expenditures. Many of the things this bill helped with were previously laid out in the 2014 bill; however, this bill expanded the 2014 bill by reauthorizing $867 billion to expenditures.