The U.S. Senate’s bill to cut farm subsidies and land conservation spending by almost $2 billion per year was revised in the House to include applied research and extension grant matching.

But as the legislative session comes to an end, some are uncertain as to whether the bill will pass.

The 2012 Farm Bill considered by the Senate in June was designed to transform the subsidy system for farmers, according to the Associated Press. The bill passed in the Senate 65-34 and moved on to the House, where House members immediately began making revisions.

The Environmental Working Group reports subsidies provided by the federal government are designed to give a “safety net” to agricultural producers, including helping them deal with unpredictable weather conditions that affect their industry.

The New York Timesreported the Senate bill would cut $23.6 billion from present spending, including about $4.5 billion from food stamps.

Barry Goodwin, a professor of agricultural and resource economics, described that aspect of the bill as extremely controversial.

“They are cutting funding from food stamps and supporting nutritional support to preserve subsidies for often very wealthy farmers,” Goodwin said. “Basically, they’re cutting from the poor and giving to the wealthy.”

Sen. Debbie Stabenow , D-Mich ., chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, disagrees.

“It cuts subsidies, it cuts the deficit, and it creates jobs,” Stabenow told The New York Times.

Matt Peterson, director of federal research affairs for the University, sent out a federal update that indicated the bill’s potential effects on agricultural research at N.C. State.

According to the update, the House revisions to the bill require that applied research grants and extension grants be matched with other funding sources.

“N.C. State Federal Affairs is working closely with Cornerstone, APLU and other land-grant universities to educate members and committee staff about the impact this provision would have on N.C. State University agriculture research,” the update said.

Goodwin said he hasn’t specifically focused on effects for the University but does feel that research in general is being overlooked.

“There’s huge returns for research and development spending, and yet there’s not very much money that’s put there where it would generate a large return,” Goodwin said.

Goodwin worries that the House and Senate drafts of the farm bill will differ too much for the two houses to reach agreement before the session ends.

“It’s looking less likely that we’ll get one depending on what the House does,” Goodwin said. “The Senate approved its version. They’re both similar [but] with important differences. The House Agricultural Committee approved a markup to be sent to the floor, but the amount of time left in session is pretty tight.”

Familiar with the complexities of government spending and agriculture, Goodwin realizes the gravity of the bill’s passing.

“This is a big decision,” Goodwin said. “It’s almost a trillion dollars over 10 years.”

Goodwin predicted that direct payments to farmers would eventually end.

“There are a set of basic program commodity crops that were established in the Great Depression, and that’s where the vast bulk of government payments go,” Goodwin said. “There are different mechanisms for making payments, but the direct payments are the most controversial. At $5 billion per year, it’s hard to justify.”

Goodwin said more of the money and support is being directed toward crop insurance, an area that is traditionally heavily subsidized.

“The ambition of Congress is to raise the support level there,” Goodwin said. “There’s a lot of noise about shallow losses and increasing the coverage level that growers are afforded under the crop insurance program. That’s available for nearly every crop, from corn, wheat and cotton to dairy, and minor crops like strawberries, raspberries and pecans.”

Kayla DeWald , a junior in middle grades education and the owner of a small farm, supports these subsidies in theory, though not always in practice.

“The government gives bigger subsidies to crops like corn and cotton,” DeWald said. “Pretty much, if you’re not a major agricultural provider, you’re going to get barely anything from the government.”

Ginny Daniels, a junior in biological sciences, agrees.

“My family has a tobacco farm, but crops are an important industry and should receive government help,” Daniels said.

Nicole Arnold, a junior in food science, said her experience at the University has given her a greater appreciation for the farming industry.

“As a Food Science major and also someone who is minoring in agricultural business management, I have a much deeper appreciation for farmers,” Arnold said. “They are hard workers and have very little monetary support.”