$290 billion farm bill advances

WASHINGTON – House and Senate negotiators reached tentative agreement Friday on a $290 billion, multiyear farm bill that will add about $10.4 billion for nutrition programs while continuing to channel billions of dollars to farmers, even if prices stay at record levels.

Key details remain to be worked out, but lawmakers said a final deal could come next week on a bill that will cost $10 billion more than allocated by congressional budget committees last year. The Bush administration had proposed an increase of about $5.5 billion.

The current farm bill expired in October but has been extended a number of times.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said the agreement would include a new permanent program that guarantees aid to farmers and ranchers suffering weather-related losses, a priority of senators from western states plagued by drought.

Included in the bill is $405 million to be spent over 10 years on the cleanup of farm-related pollution in Chesapeake Bay.

The bill would reduce the 51-cent a gallon tax credit for ethanol made from corn to 45 cents, but the tax credit would be extended to the end of 2010.

Rising food costs gave a strong impetus to stepped-up funding for programs that help poor and near-poor families, such as food stamps. Farm bill versions passed by the House and Senate last year proposed modest increases in food stamp benefits and eased standards of eligibility for the program.

Last week Senate negotiators offered a $9.5 billion increase over 10 years. Friday, they upped that offer by $800 million to $900 million, according to sources.

The bill also includes a provision that will require the labeling of imported meat and vegetables for the first time, a response to rising concerns about food safety.