USDA is due out today with its latest forecast for farm income, and the numbers are expected to be bad. Look for more new calls for Congress to pass a new farm bill to shore up incomes of row crop producers.
The last forecast, issued in February, estimated net cash farm income would drop by nearly 26% this year, well off the 20-year average.
Commodity prices have tumbled amid expectations for bumper crops this fall. The latest Purdue University-CME Group Ag Economy Barometer shows farmer sentiment dropped sharply in August.
But lawmakers still face the challenge of figuring out how to pay for increasing Price Loss Coverage reference prices and making other changes to commodity programs and crop insurance that would benefit farmers.