There is finally movement on the farm bill as the House and Senate Agriculture Committees leaders unveiled competing farm bill proposals. Both plans could allow changes to reference prices, possibly permit farmers to add new base acres and expand crop insurance coverage.

Divisions over nutrition and conservation remain the main sticking points. House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson, R-Pa., plans to fund program changes across the USDA with an estimated $28 billion over ten years that would come from limiting projected spending increases in nutrition programs. Many Democrats oppose this move. The bill is scheduled for markup on May 23.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow is taking a different approach in the hopes of garnering bipartisan support. Stabenow’s plan doesn’t make any changes to the Thrifty Food Plan. Instead, she said her proposal squeezed some efficiencies out of USDA’s nutrition programs. A date for markup of the Senate plan has not yet been scheduled as bipartisan negotiations continue.

Find more details on the competing farm plan proposals here.

Find a summary of the House Committee on Agriculture bill here and the Senate Agriculture Committee section-by-section overview here.