Sugar Provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill (P.L. 113-79)

The 2014 farm bill (Agricultural Act of 2014, P.L. 113-79) continues the sugar and the sugar-toethanol programs without change for another five years (i.e., through FY2019).The sugar program provides a minimum price guarantee to sugar crop processors and is structured to operate at no cost to the federal government using two tools: marketing allotments that limit the amount that sugar processors can sell, and import quotas that restrict the quantity of foreign sugar allowed to enter the U.S. market.The sugar-to-ethanol program is intended to be used if marketing allotments and the administration of import quotas do not succeed in keeping market prices for sugar above minimum guaranteed levels.If activated, it ensures that stocks of sugar are not carried over to the following marketing year so as to continue to depress prices.