Total Farm Bill commodity program payments vary with weather and markets

The U.S. Farm Bill authorizes a number of distinct commodity programs, providing a range of program types that support crop, dairy, and livestock producers in different ways. Since 2002, the primary programs have been Direct Payments, Counter-Cyclical Payments, Marketing Assistance Loans, and Milk Income Loss Contracts. The 2008 Farm Bill added the Average Crop Revenue Election (ACRE) program and replaced nearly all annual ad hoc disaster programs with a set of permanent disaster programs for crop, livestock, orchard and nursery tree, aquaculture, and honeybee operations. While Direct Payments provide historically based fixed payments that do not change from year to year, other program payments depend upon variable conditions like prices and weather, causing total commodity program support to fluctuate widely from year to year. This chart and additional explanation can be found on the Farm and Commodity Policy topic page.

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