USDA: Farm bill implementation started on Feb. 7

The farm bill provisions that call for implementation of certain programs 30 days after enactment took effect immediately when President Barack Obama signed the farm bill on February 7, an Agriculture Department spokeswoman told The Hagstrom Report.

USDA sent a memo to state administrators of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday telling them that as of Monday, March 10, states must follow the farm bill provision that says states must make Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program payments of at least $20 per household for those payments to trigger a higher SNAP (food stamp) benefits based on the household’s assumed utility costs. F

–the Hagstrom Report