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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Wednesday, May 01, 2024
If history is a guide, there’s little chance Congress will enact a new farm bill this year. Congress hasn’t enacted a farm bill in the same year it was first introduced since 1990, which is what lawmakers are trying to do this year.
House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway hopes to finally get his farm bill to the Senate this week, but the outcome hinges on House Republican leaders going forward with plans to debate a pair of competing immigration measures.
The Senate Agriculture Committee approved its farm bill on a near-unanimous vote, 20-1, sending the bill to the Senate floor for a debate by the end of the month.
The Senate farm bill offers changes to crop insurance that could benefit the largest as well as the smallest farms while also clearing the way for research that could lead to premium discounts for conservation practices.
Leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee this week will seek to get a strong bipartisan vote for their farm bill draft from the panel, giving the measure momentum as it heads to the Senate floor in the following days.
The Senate Agriculture Committee’s draft farm bill would make additional improvements for dairy producers and the Agriculture Risk Coverage program while expanding the Conservation Reserve Program and renewing a research foundation and other popular programs that are slated to run out of money when the current farm bill expires.
Trade was a major topic at this year’s World Pork Expo in Des Moines, Iowa, where USDA Undersecretary Greg Ibach and Gregg Doud, chief agriculture negotiator for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, were among the speakers. But other topics, including a Foot and Mouth Disease vaccine bank, were up for discussion.
The Republican chairman and the top Democrat on the Senate Agriculture Committee hope to release a draft of their farm bill this week, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell promises to move it quickly to the floor.
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