From the fields to Capitol Hill, ag lawmakers are also hard at work on getting a new Farm Bill written and passed, but leaders say it has been an uphill battle on some of the legislation’s biggest topics.
Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow says there is bipartisan agreement on most of the Farm Bill titles but trouble still surrounds reference prices as well as changes to SNAP. Some lawmakers are looking at removing climate-related restrictions written into the Inflation Reduction Act and moving that money elsewhere.
Senator Chuck Grassley says time is ticking.
“I think as a practical matter, if you don’t get a bill out of committee pretty soon, this is a political year. You know, Schumer only scheduled before Christmas of last year. The calendar for this year was 125 working days. You’ve heard me talk about how you can’t get much done if the Senate is only meeting as a group of 100 for 2.5 days a week. And so the summer is pretty well shot with conventions and the summer break during the month of August. So you got to move a Farm Bill pretty soon or there’s not going to be a Farm Bill, and then there will be that one-year extension.”
