Dive Brief: - The U.S. House of Representatives passed its draft of the farm bill on Friday. The legislation sets the budget for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and is typically passed every five years, though this installment is three years late. - A last-minute amendment to the bill designated composting as a conservation practice under USDA standards, which could unlock expanded federal benefits for the industry. Several provisions backing food loss and waste diversion policy, as well as biogas programs, remained intact. - The Senate has yet to introduce its own farm bill draft this year, though the Senate Agriculture Committee may start the process in late May or early June, Agri-Pulse reported. While the farm bill process has become contentious, its food waste provisions have typically received broad support in Congress. Dive Insight: The most recent 2018 farm bill became a vehicle for significant food waste policy, establishing the food loss and waste reduction liaison position and a pilot establishing the Composting and Food Waste Reduction cooperative agreement program. In the years since, food waste reduction advocates have latched onto the next farm bill as a vehicle for expanded policy support. The current iteration of the farm bill was passed out of committee in March. It includes several provisions solidifying support for food loss and waste reduction efforts within the federal government. That included making the CFWR program permanent and requiring the liaison to submit an annual report to Congress on their work. It also included instructions to study microplastics and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances on farmland, as well as to study food loss and waste. Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Calif., also introduced an amendment approved on the House floor that bolsters the connection between composters and farmers. Specifically, it ensures compost is considered a soil carbon amendment under