'The good, the bad and the ugly' of the 2018 Farm Bill

As we've noted before, at 807 pages, the 2018 Farm Bill is a lot to dig through. Harwood Schaffer and Daryll Ray of the Agricultural Policy Analysis Center at the University of Tennessee offer a sharp, succinct analysis of "the good, the bad and the ugly" in the bill for farmers in a recent "Policy Pennings" column. Here are a few highlights:

The Good:

• Industrial hemp legalization offers a much-needed new source of revenue for farmers.
• Some farmers will be able to get a better payout from crop insurance programs.

The Bad:

• The payment limitation threshold for farm-program payments remains at $900,000 a year in adjusted gross income. 
• The bill expands who is allowed to receive farm program payouts to even distant relatives who aren't farmers.

The Ugly:

• Crop insurance payout prices remain nowhere near the full cost of production. 

Read more here.