LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Farm Bill is one of the biggest pieces of legislation that affects farmers and people across the country.

What You Need To Know

  • The last Farm Bill signed into law was in 2018

  • While it expired in 2023, Congress has extended it twice, and it expired again last week

  • Kentucky farmers said the uncertainty behind the Farm Bill’s future is unsettling, given much has changed in the agricultural community in the past seven years
  • Lawmakers are working on a smaller version to address programs left out of the package

The last package passed in 2018 but expired in 2023. While Congress has extended it twice, it expired again last week. 

LeTicia Marshall, who runs a four-acre-plus farm outside of Louisville, said the uncertainty behind the Farm Bill’s future is unsettling. Without crop insurance, small-scale farmers are left vulnerable. 

"This garden bed was 10 feet away from this huge pond that formed right below the hill because of all the rain,” Marshall said. 

Without a new Farm Bill passed, the expiration of the 2018 law puts major programs on hold, from conservation policies to farmer training programs.

“From the extreme floods in eastern Kentucky, where we have farmers that lost over 100 years worth of topsoil, to western Kentucky people enduring tornadoes and now being considered a part of Tornado Alley, it is impacting greatly,” said Kimmie Ishmael, Community Farm Alliance policy campaign coordinator.

Ryan Hodge, a Hardin County-based farmer, said while the effects of the outdated legislation may not be visible right away, small farmers will eventually be hit the hardest.

"When you go to a small farmer, you send someone who's out there, hands-on every day with these animals," Hodge said. "Someone who's cleaning up after them; someone who is having to work the second or third job, whatever it is, just to keep [providing] for these animals just so they can put a healthy product into the community.” 

While President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" addressed many programs the Farm Bill covered, lawmakers are working on a smaller version to address programs left out of the package. 

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