We are just two and a half months out from the Farm Bill expiring, and the House and Senate appear to be holding two different timelines on their goals.
House Ag Committee Chair GT Thompson recently told AgriPulse his goal is to have the Farm Bill text ready to go by early September and take it to a floor vote soon after. Senator Chuck Grassley says on his side, it is still unclear if the end of September deadline could be met. He says if that is the case, he supports extending the 2018 Farm Bill by one year so producers have a program to work from.
Grassley says both chambers have big-ticket items that need close attention.
“Should preference prices be increased, how much are we going to spend on food stamps, how are you going to handle CRP? Those are the things that I think would be tough to be writing things, until you have members sitting down with each other and discussing them.”
Grassley notes Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow has indicated a new Farm Bill might be able to clear the Senate by the end of the year.
