Congress continues to take input on changes to the next farm bill which will be drafted next year. Below are some comments from Rita Hite, president and CEO of the American Forest Foundation, on changes her organization would like to see in farm, specially forest, programs.
As mentioned last week, the puzzle pieces to develop a new farm bill funding reauthorization are being put in place by Congress and industry groups. This past week, the American Soybean Association's 2023 farm bill priorities were announced with a focus on safety net language as well as conservation, trade, energy and a handful of other aspects of the legislation.
Like most major reauthorization bills – infrastructure, defense, health, housing, tax, etc. – the development of the multiyear farm bill brings out all the agriculture interests to advocate for their programs. Most recently, it was the specialty crop groups that had the attention of Congress as it pursues a farm bill proposal.
The Senate Agriculture Committee will hold its first 2023 farm bill hearing later this month in Michigan, Chair Debbie Stabenow (-MI) and Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR) announced this week.
Producers and landowners will be able to start signing up for the Conservation Reserve Program at the end of the month as the department tries to expand the acreage to reach the 2018 farm bill’s goal for fiscal 2022.
The National Association of Conservation Districts and a coalition of 165 leading agriculture, conservation and wildlife groups sent a letter to Congress urging them to ensure that the proposed $28 billion investment into U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) agriculture conservation programs and conservation technical assistance remains in the final budget reconciliation package.