Late Tuesday evening, lawmakers in Washington D.C. approved a deal that extends the expired 2008 Farm Bill until September to allow lawmakers more time to finalize a new five-year farm bill.
According to Reuters, the agreement helps the nation to avoid the automatic tax hikes and spending cuts that have recently been referred to as the “fiscal cliff.”
Had a deal not been reached by legislators, the nation would have reverted back to a 1949 farm bill.
Although the agreement allows for another round of direct payments to farm programs across the nation, about three dozen programs have no funding left. Those programs include disaster relief, biofuel development, agricultural research and some rural economic development programs.