Last week, the Senate passed the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2012, S. 3240, by a vote of 64-35 after voting on nearly 70 amendments. Of particular interest to local governments, the bill reauthorizes various broadband programs - the Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant program is reauthorized with no changes, and the Broadband Access Program is changed substantially to the benefit of local governments. It provides a grant and loan component — similar to the stimulus broadband programs — unlike the previous Farm Bill program that relied solely on loans for broadband expansion. Local governments are eligible loan and grant recipients and all applicants are required to collaborate with their units of local government (if the applicant is not the local government, but a private entity).
The rural business programs are reorganized: the Rural Business Opportunity Grant program and Rural Business Enterprise Grant programs are consolidated into the Rural Business Development Grants program.
The conservation title of the bill was cut by $6.44 billion, largely by reducing the Conservation Reserve Program and consolidating 23 existing programs into 13. The bill combines the easement authorities of the Wetlands Reserve Program, Grasslands Reserve Program, and Farmland Protection Program into a new Agricultural Conservation Easement Program in which local governments will still be eligible to preserve working agricultural lands.
Finally, the bill includes an amendment introduced by Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) that reinstates $150 million in mandatory funding to rural development and beginning farmer/rancher programs. The bill passed by the Senate Agriculture Committee did not include mandatory funding for any programs in the rural development title, but the final Senate-passed bill includes funds for the water/wastewater backlog, two rural development business programs, and additional funds for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program.
Action on the Farm Bill now turns to the House, where the House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to mark up its version of the bill on July 11.
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