As Congress debates the reauthorization of the Farm Bill, Californians may wonder how it affects their lives. The Farm Bill isn't only of interest to farmers in the Midwest and South, who receive the bulk of the federal support, the Farm Bill is vitally important to everyone who cares about food, nutrition, trade, rural development and poverty, and the productivity and competitiveness of American agriculture.

To help people understand how the complex legislation affects specific industries and issues, the University of California Agricultural Issues Center has prepared a set of Farm Bill briefing papers that are now available on the Web (see below).

This material does not advocate policy positions. UC economists and scientists summarize information and data about the Farm Bill issues from a California perspective.

Farm Bill Brief #1, "The Farm Bill and California Food and Agriculture," provides an overview of key issues in the Farm Bill and a review of the budget situation and implications, including what is at stake for California.

Other briefs focus on nutrition, organic food and agriculture, research, dairy, environmental quality and energy issues. More policy briefs will be added.

The Web site provides useful background on the issues and links to related material.