Dairy Subsidies Predicted to Surge to $19 Billion If New Farm Bill Isn’t Enacted

Without a new farm bill or an extension of the current one by Jan. 1, dairy subsidies could experience a staggering 28-fold increase, costing between $15 billion to $19 billion annually, according to the Congressional Research Service’s report titled “Expiration of the Farm Bill.” If the 2018 farm law expires without a replacement, the system would revert to the provisions from 1938 and 1949 acts, which could make subsidies extremely expensive for the federal government. Under this system, known as “parity pricing,” the USDA’s price for fresh milk would surge to more than double recent market prices. Though dairy would be the first to see the effects on Jan. 1, other crops like corn, wheat, and cotton could also see significantly inflated support prices if the farm bill lapses.