Lawmakers appear far from reaching agreement on a new farm bill, but farmers and consumers needn’t fear the possibility of $10-a-gallon milk next year. That prospect will almost certainly ensure that Congress passes some kind of extension of the 2018 farm bill by early 2024.
Debating pros and cons of an issue intensifies when a bill is before Congress for consideration. With the farm bill front and center in the halls of Congress, this opinion piece typifies the kinds of issues that come up as a bill is under consideration.
Rep. Dusty Johnson, a member of the House Ag Committee and chairman of the Republican Main Street Caucus, told reporters Wednesday he doesn't believe members of the hard-line Freedom Caucus are "interested in delaying" this year's farm bill.
Former House Ag Committee Chair Collin Peterson is calling on House GOP leaders to find the votes to pass the next farm bill not in the conservative flank of the Republican Party, but among the chamber's more moderate members.
Mike Seyfert, president and CEO of the National Grain and Feed Association, a broad-based, non-profit trade association that represents and provides services for grain, feed and related commercial business, recently spoke with AgriPulse about his views on Conservation Reserve Program (CPR) reform.
Despite many legislative and political challenges, Jordan Dux, Director, Federal Policy, Nebraska Farm Bureau told the National LICA Committee he is remaining optimistic that an agreement can be reached on a new five-year farm bill. Dux expertly analyzed the positions of the House, Senate and Administration in putting together one of the most important bills facing Congress this year. Dux also explained the American Farm Bureau’s continued legal and legislative fight to protect farmers and ranchers from overzealous regulations like the Water of the U.S. ruling.
House Democrats are charting a new path to writing a farm bill this year with the formation of a special leadership-appointed task force that’s working on recommendations for the legislation. The Democrats’ task force is conducting roundtables and listening sessions with plans to create a list of Democratic recommendations for the upcoming farm bill, according to Rep. Bennie Thompson, a veteran Democrat from Mississippi, who is chairing the group. The group is aiming to compile its recommendations by the end of this month, he said.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, plans to attempt once again to reform the existing farm bill payment limits, seeking to tighten the amount of people eligible for the government's agricultural programs. Grassley said he’ll propose more restrictive payment limits in the upcoming reauthorization process, repeating similar efforts he's championed in previous bills.
The Debt Bill now under consideration by the Senate has implications for the outlook of the farm bill. Leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture committees say the debt limit agreement should remove SNAP work requirements as a potential sticking point in the upcoming farm bill debate, but also said the deal takes away some potential funding.
Senate Agriculture Committee member Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and a bipartisan group of House members are proposing to revive a $5-per-acre subsidy program for cover crops that USDA offered for two years using pandemic assistance funding.
As with the temporary program, the proposed payments would work as subsidies for crop insurance premiums.