Lesson #1: Every farm bill is unique – the last one was a doozy

The process for writing what was expected to be the 2012 farm bill started in a fairly routine way: staff discussions, member meetings and hearings to gather input from farmers and consumers. Ranking Member Frank Lucas, R-Okla., described that hearing as “two-and-a-half hours to kick off two-and-a-half years.” If only it had been so simple and so quick. That’s not to say that previous farm bills – beginning with the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) of 1933 – had any less drama and lacked political intrigue. After all, in the midst of the Great Depression, congressmen wanted to quickly pass a bill to “Relieve the existing National Economic Emergency by increasing agricultural purchasing power,” as they noted at the start of their legislative text.