This chapter assesses the political economy of the 2014 farm bill, which eliminated annual fixed direct payments but offers enhanced downside risk protection against low prices or declining revenue. The farm bill secured substantial bipartisan majorities in a politically contentious Congress....

This paper presents a chronology of the 1995-96 farm bill debate, which was historic in several dimensions. Victories in the 1994 mid-term elections gave Republican majorities control of Congress for the first time in forty years. An omnibus budget reconciliation bill became the principal...

Two counterfactual analyses investigate the new ACRE program. Had ACRE existed instead of the programs authorized during 1996-2006 for corn, soybeans, and wheat, farm program spending would have totaled less. Estimated ACRE revenue payments increase 78 percent when calculated by applying the...