WAS HINGTON / REUTERS / The U.S. Senate has passed a bill to bar farm subsidies to wealthy Americans.

The provision in a funding bill would halt subsidies to people with more than $1 million a year in adjusted gross income. It must be reconciled with House legislation, which has no limit, before becoming law. It would affect about 3,000 farmers.

It means the Farm Bill has to get serious about payment limits or it will not get majority support, said Ferd Hoefner of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.

House and Senate Agriculture committees are currently working on a plan that would cut Agriculture Department spending by $23 billion. It is expected to have revenue protection replace traditional price supports. One senator is calling for a $125,000-per-person limit on farm subsidy payments.