The Senate Agriculture Committee approved a farm bill that would save $24.7 billion over 10 years and which represents one of the biggest policy changes in generations.
The plan, based on income protection ideas six decades in the making, would replace a direct-payment program for major crops with a revenue guarantee, while reducing conservation and food-assistance spending. The bill, approved in a 12-4 vote, includes the first broad subsidy cuts in 16 years.
