Congress generally gets away with Farm Bill cronyism with little to no public outcry. This could be in part because its creators advertise the bill with pictures of rolling wheat and young farm families and suggest that the bill helps keep American agriculture alive. But it may also be because the bill itself is gigantic and difficult to summarize. It covers commodity subsidies, land conservation, agricultural trade policy, food stamps, farm credit loans, rural economic development, agricultural research and teaching policy, forestry and horticulture programs, pesticide use and federal crop insurance policy.

The first “farm bill” was passed in 1933 in response to the ravages of the Depression and the Dust Bowl. It offered farmers a combination of commodity price supports and supply controls while seeking to reverse the catastrophic damage to soil and grassland caused by overproduction. In the 85 years since then, the Farm Bill has turned into an $800 billion-plus fusion of complex programs and policies.

House Republicans, even those in the fiscally conservative Freedom Caucus, have demonstrated a widespread apathy for true agricultural reform. Democrats denounced Republican cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly food stamps) but rarely highlight the hypocrisy inherent in Republicans’ willingness to pour taxpayer dollars into the pockets of large agribusiness corporations — indeed, they often side with Republicans in promulgating these programs.

This year’s bill could be worse. The House’s iteration of it, which was passed on a party-line vote in May, would have made it possible for 10 percent or more of the nation’s commodity farms to become eligible for unlimited subsidy payments overnight. It axed funding and authority for the Conservation Stewardship Program, cut funding for several conservation programs, and failed to renew mandatory funding for several local and organic food-encouraging programs — including a farmers’ market promotion initiative, a grant program for young and beginning farmers, and a cost share program that helps farmers procure and maintain organic certification.

Most notoriously, the House bill’s creators introduced stricter work requirements for users of food stamps, requiring able-bodied adult beneficiaries to work or participate in work training for 20 hours per week. The reforms could have caused as many as two million food stamp recipients to lose benefits or see them reduced.

The final bill maintains most of this coverage. It folds the farmers’ market and young and beginning farmers grant programs into a Local Agriculture Market Program that will get $60 million in permanent funding going forward. It also combines the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program with Section 2501, which serves socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers into a Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach Program. That will provide $50 million yearly over the next four years to help these groups get started in agriculture — a growing need as the average farmer’s age continues to increase and as American farmers continue to skew white and male.

The final bill does make some changes to food stamps aimed at work force development programs, better case management and encouraging nutritious food purchases, but leaves out House Republicans’ broader plans for work requirements.