Major U.S. agricultural production groups are pulling together their requests for the next farm bill — the massive legislation that Congress rewrites every five years to set farm and food policy — with crop insurance and disaster assistance on the top of their lists.
A panel of executives from farm groups detailed some of their concerns and requests for the next farm bill Tuesday at the Minnesota FarmFest, an agribusiness fair organized by the American Farm Bureau.
The panel brought together major agriculture groups representing pork, cattle, corn, soybean and other growers. The groups all have a vested interest in supporting agriculture but some different priorities for where Congress should invest in farm policy.
Every five years, Congress sets programs and mandatory funding levels for crop subsidies, crop insurance, farmland conservation programs and energy programs in the farm bill. The farm bill also includes nationwide food and nutrition programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, and assistance programs for low-income parents and children.
The current farm bill expires in September 2023. But given the size and implications of the programs, it is already farm bill season for the groups with a stake in the bill.
The American Farm Bureau Federation, one of the large groups that represents a variety of farm producers, has a farm bill task force with representatives in each state.
They will coalesce by the end of the year around a set of official recommendations. Other large agriculture groups have a similar process. But even as the groups work on their specific recommendations, they shared some early priorities – including funding, crop insurance and a forward-looking view for the next farm bill.