Why It Matters

The Congressional Research Service report “Farm Bill Primer: Budget Dynamics,” updated June 1, 2026, lays out how lawmakers can evaluate the cost of farm bill choices. Farm bills authorize funding for food, agriculture, and rural development programs. That funding is divided between mandatory spending and discretionary spending, which move through different congressional budget processes. The House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry have primary jurisdiction for the farm bill, while authorizing committees primarily set policies that determine mandatory spending and appropriations committees primarily determine discretionary spending levels.

Mandatory spending is authorized for multiyear outlays when a law is enacted. The CBO baseline is a projection of future mandatory spending assuming current law continues and is the benchmark against which proposed changes in law are measured; changes that increase spending relative to the baseline receive a positive score, while changes that decrease spending relative to the baseline receive a negative score.

The Big Picture

The February 2026 baseline places projected mandatory outlays for all farm bill titles at $1.374 trillion over fiscal year 2027 through fiscal year 2036.

Farm bills commonly use 10-year budget projections even when they may be authorized for five years or less. The nutrition title contains the majority of mandatory spending in the February 2026 baseline, with projected outlays of $985.379 billion over FY2027–FY2036. The February 2026 commodities baseline is $142.625 billion over FY2027–FY2036.

The 2002 farm bill increased spending by $73 billion over 10 years, the 2008 farm bill was budget neutral while adding $9 billion to outlays through revenue-related offsets, the 2014 farm bill reduced spending by $16 billion over 10 years, and the 2018 farm bill was budget neutral because increases in some titles were offset by reductions in others.

The Bottom Line

The House-passed H.R. 7567 received a budget-neutral Congressional Budget Office score compared with the February 2026 baseline.

That result describes the bill’s mandatory-spending cost relative to the projection, rather than an independent measure of every farm bill expense. Discretionary funding remains dependent on subsequent appropriations acts, leaving a later congressional step in the funding process.

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