Impacts of 1996 Farm Bill Policies on Rural Economies and Farmers of the Texas High Plains

Abstract

The 1996 Farm Bill, signed into law on April 4, is a significant departure from the focus of modem and historical domestic farm policy. As a provision of the proposed Federal balanced budget, it will deregulate income support programs for commodity farmers over the period from 1996 to 2002. Income support programs have been key to annual planting decisions, and they have been a reliable sources of income for farmers. The transition from government deficiency payments to decoupled fixed payments will cause major adjustments to occur in the agricultural industry. It will especially impact several counties in the Northern Plains of Texas, which rely heavily on food and feed grain production. The overall grain income per county stands to loose a significant share due to the policy changes, depending on annual prevailing prices. The new policy, compared to the 1990 Farm Bill, will cause reorganization in the composition of grain production for the area.