WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate Friday passed a 286-billion-dollar farm bill, expanding subsidies for domestic crop growers.

    The new five-year bill, approved by a 79-14 vote, expands subsidies for wheat, barley, oat, soybeans and several other crops and creates new grants for growers of vegetables and fruit.

    Meanwhile, it raises loan rates for sugar producers, extends dairy programs and provides more dollars for renewable energy and conservation programs to protect environmentally sensitive farmland over the next five years.

    Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a multi-billion dollar farm bill, despite a veto threat from the White House.

    The House's package devotes money not included in past farm bills to conservation, renewable energy, nutrition and specialty crop programs but leaves in place, and in some cases increases, subsidies to producers of major crops such as corn and soybeans at a time of record-high prices.

    Significant differences between the Senate and House bills will have to be reconciled before the measure is presented to President George W. Bush for signing.

    Subsides are one of the major obstacles blocking the World Trade Organization's Doha Round global trade talks. President Bush has threatened to veto the legislation, saying it costs too much and should instead be cutting subsidies at a time of record-high crop prices.

    The old farm bill expired on Sept. 30, the end of the 2007 fiscal year. The new measure covers five years from 2007 through 2012.