House Ag Committee Chair GT Thompson is looking to move a “Skinny Farm Bill” by Fall.
Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley has a list ready to share, and it includes protections for farmers across his state.
“Commonsense payment limits. Then, another one would be working with Senator Ernst and Marshall to pass a nationwide solution to California’s Proposition 12 and Massachusetts’ Question 3. We have those states trying to dictate how Iowa pig farmers should operate their farm.”
The National Farmers Union is also eager to see a Farm Bill cross the finish line, even if it is watered down. The group says while Farm Bills have largely been bipartisan in years past, they hope the current group can keep the momentum going.
“The way things played out this year politically, that’s why we saw things work out this way. So, hopefully, this isn’t the end of the farm bill coalition, or that we move into a way that we can continue to have bipartisan, broadly supported bills,” said Mike Strainz.
House Chair Thompson says he wants to get the Farm Bill done as soon as possible, so lawmakers can get back to serving farmers and ranchers.
Protecting America’s farmland is also top of mind for Senator Grassley. USDA took big steps this month to protect American land from foreign adversaries. However, Grassley wants action from his colleagues in Congress, saying the original guidelines were set in the 1970s and need be to reworked.
“Which was the first reporting of farmland ownership, because we didn’t have any guidance to go on about how much was owned. But that legislation has had to be beefed up since then and needs further beefing up.”
The National Farm Security Action Plan is an effort to keep adversaries, like China, from buying up our farms. The steps outlined by Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins are part of her broader mission to put U.S. agriculture first.
