WASHINGTON - Farm-state members of Congress are facing a tough reality as they begin to consider the next six-year farm bill - a tight budget environment, and the lack of money to significantly add or expand popular programs.

Two House Agriculture subcommittees approved parts of the legislation last week, but several amendments were deferred as committee leaders worried about spending too much money.

To start, Congress will have less money to work with this time around. This is because the last bill, written in 2002, saved the government billions of dollars.

That law pays farmers more when prices are low, and commodity prices have been high. So Congress must start with a lower baseline.

House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said the new bill will address "the changing landscape" of the agricultural economy.

"We understand how important it is for farmers, ranchers and consumers that we all work together and get this farm policy right," he said.

The subcommittees approved the conservation, energy, credit, research, dairy and livestock titles of the bill last week. Other sections of the legislation will be considered in June, and Peterson said he hopes to have the entire bill approved by the full committee before the Fourth of July.

Among the preliminary provisions in the House bill:

3 An extension of most popular conservation programs through 2012, including the Conservation Reserve Program, which pays farmers to idle environmentally sensitive farmland. The bill would cut funding for the Conservation Security Program, which pays farmers who farm in an environmentally friendly way. But Peterson said he hopes to restore some of that funding.

3 A federal loan guarantee program to help with the development, construction and retrofitting of biorefineries and biofuel production plants.

3 A repeal of the prohibition on the use of a mandatory identification system to verify the country of origin of livestock.

3 Federal support for domestic veal producers.

The subcommittee on livestock also debated how to handle dairy programs in the bill. Many members agreed that dairy law needs revisions, but few could agree on what they should be.

As the House debated its bill, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, offered his own proposals. He said he would like to strengthen conservation programs by combining several programs into one streamlined program.

A new Comprehensive Stewardship Incentives Program would "offer a one-stop shopping solution for agricultural producers seeking conservation assistance," Harkin said.

"We need to look carefully at all farm bill programs, including those in the conservation title, to make sure we are making the very best use of the limited money we have available," Harkin said.