The current extension of the 2018 Farm Bill expires in less than two weeks. While leaders of both ag committees are pushing to get a new one passed before the year is up, ag policy experts have their doubts.
According to Dr. Joe Outlaw with the Agricutural and Food Policy Center, “There’s a window after the election before the Congress turns over that people are pointing to that we have a window there to potentially get a Farm Bill done, and I just don’t think that— well, I just point to history and we’ve never been able to do that time period either. So, I truly believe that the Farm Bill will move into early next year.”
Despite the doubts, some ag groups are holding out hope.
The Nebraska Farm Bureau says that a delay is unfortunate because farmers need help right now.
“An extension means a delay, a delay in the reforms that the House was able to put in place, reforms that farmers and ranchers and ag organizations across the country have asked for. A delay in all of those, and there’s a lot of agreement really on both sides of the aisle on a majoirty of the bill. It just comes down to those big sticking points. Obviously, the nutrition title and some reforms that one side of the aisle would like to make to that versus the other is probably the the largest sticking point. But ultimately, it’s a delay. It’s a delay in getting reference prices increased. It’s a delay in some of the reforms needed on the conservation title to make sure mandates and climate mandates aren’t a part of that. It’s a delay in the double of trade promotion programs,” Jordan Dux explains.
Wheat growers are also watching progress on the hill. They’ve let ag lawmakers know several times items need to be addressed.
“Of course our first one would always be crop insurance and then our second would be to strengthen the Title 1 program so that it actually reflects what the cost of production would be, continue to maintain our voluntary conservation programs, double map and FMD, and then of course continue to move into credit, and all the other titles along those lines. But crop insurance, stregnthening Title 1, conservation and their promotion programs, those would be the main issues that we continue to work with both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees,” Chandler Goule with the National Association of Wheat Growers adds.
Several farm groups have asked lawmakers about passing temporary relief, but Sen. Boozman says that ad hoc assitance is no substitute for a new five year Farm Bill.
House Ag Committee leadership agrees.
Boozman says that Congress needs to double-down its efforts beofre the year is up to get a new Farm Bill on the books.
