Ag groups, lawmakers, and farmers are eager to see action on the Farm Bill. While it likely will not see much movement until later this year, ag advisors say it is important to put pressure on lawmakers.
“There is still hope. And we are witnessing, and we hear this from the leadership in Congress, that they still intend to bring it forward this year. They need to stay positive with that, and it’s a way to ensure that we’re still engaging on the Farm Bill. Nothing’s officially done and closed. So, this is a reminder to the ag community that you still need to get out there and talk about the importance of what matters to you with that farm bill, despite whether or not it’s taken up this year or gets kicked to next year,” said Cassandra Kuball, vice president of the Torrey Advisory Group.
The Farm Bill is currently running on the second one-year extension of the 2018 legislation, but it could be some time before it makes any big moves. One former Washington insider says there is a lt happening right now, and it all directly involves agriculture.
“We’ve got trade, tariffs, we have to deal with the budget deficit, we have to try to pass a new Farm Bill. We’ve got to try to get new trade agreements. We have immigration issues that obviously affect the impact and the supply of ag labor. There is no rest for the weary in Washington,” said Randy Russell.
Russell says this all shows how badly we need leadership at USDA. He is urging senators to quickly confirm Brooke Rollins for U.S. Ag Secretary.
