Both House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders have agreed to an extension (i.e. until 30 September 2013) of certain provisions of the current farm bill. At the time of this report, the measure has not yet been brought to the floor and the details have not been worked out. In fact, there are still three drafts in the House. All three address dairy policy in one form or another after the widespread mainstream media reports about $6/gallon retail milk.

The first option is a one-year extension through 30 September 2013 or an explicit expiration date included in the language for a particular program. This version includes the Senate farm bill's dairy markets stabilization act and all the titles of the farm bill. Effectively, it is a...