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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Thursday, May 16, 2024
A battle is brewing over a proposed expansion of the Conservation Reserve Program as the House Agriculture Committee prepares to move its version of a new farm bill.
Mississippi Sen. Thad Cochran, a former chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee and the current chairman of Appropriations, says he will retire April 1, citing health reasons.
Lawmakers have reached agreement on new assistance for cotton and dairy producers, potentially clearing the way for House and Senate Agriculture committees to begin moving a new farm bill by spring.
Republican leaders are rushing to pass another short-term spending bill to keep the government funded into March, and the prospects for moving a new farm bill by early spring could hinge on whether some cotton and dairy provisions get thrown into the spending measure.
Historically, new farm bills have not been approved in a timely fashion and often expire before a new one is written. But both Agriculture Committee chairmen are committed to aggressive timelines in 2018.
A government shutdown threatens to continue into the work week with lawmakers and the White House deadlocked over a short-term funding extension amid Democratic demands for an agreement on legalizing the Dreamers.
The new year is bringing new blood to the Senate Agriculture Committee as it welcomes Nebraska’s Deb Fischer, a Republican, and Minnesota’s Tina Smith, a Democrat.
The senators are joining just as the committee is preparing to ramp up efforts to bring home a massive new five-year farm bill, so there will be plenty of work and not much time for acclimation.
In a development with major implications for the next farm bill, House Republicans inserted provisions in a $81 billion disaster aid package to make cotton growers eligible for the Price Loss Coverage Program and expand an insurance program for dairy producers.
