Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 12/11/18

The long-awaited conference report was finally unveiled late Monday night, a dozen days after House and Senate negotiators struck a bipartisan deal. The farm bill compromise avoids major changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program sought by House Republicans, as well as a Senate effort to crack down on subsidies for wealthy farmers, Catherine and Helena report.

The sprawling 807-page legislation, H.R. 2 (115), has an estimated price tag of $867 billion over 10 years, according to congressional sources. Ag policy wonks, check out the explanatory statement for yourself, but here are some of the topline details:

— Commodities: The conference report lets farmers adjust their average crop yields on file with USDA, a compromise to the standoff between Midwestern senators and House Ag Chairman Mike Conaway over his narrower proposal that would have largely helped Texas cotton growers, Catherine reports this morning.

— Nutrition: The deal leaves out major SNAP changes sought by House GOP members, like stricter work requirements, tighter eligibility standards and language to rein in state waivers for existing SNAP work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents. Read Helena's deep-dive on the nutrition title.

— Forestry: The farm bill would waive environmental reviews for activities like clearing diseased or insect-infested trees — but the changes are far short of what House Republicans had proposed. Forest management and wildfire prevention was one of the last issues holding up negotiations in November.

The legislation also includes a small boost for trade-promotion efforts, a new initiative to combat animal diseases (including a livestock vaccine bank), grant funding for urban and indoor farming, and a provision returning the top USDA position on rural development to a Senate-confirmed post. Controversial provisions to ease pesticide restrictions and endangered species protections were left out.

— Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Monday called Rep. Mark Walker, chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, to urge support for the farm bill by promising administrative action on SNAP work waivers after it's enacted.

What's next: The bill heads first to the House Rules Committee to be prepped for a House floor vote, likely Wednesday or Thursday. House Ag ranking member Collin Peterson said he expects a "big vote," per Helena and Liz. (Peterson predicted at least 320 "yes" votes, which he said would be the most ever.)

— The Senate vote is likely to be drama-free. The final farm bill was seen as closer to the Senate version, S. 3042 (115), which sailed through the chamber 86-11 in June, than to the partisan House plan.