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Balanced Reporting. Trusted Insights.
Sunday, October 01, 2023
The federal government and the farm bill play key roles in advancing technology adoption on the farm that benefits farmers and the environment, Democratic senator and Agriculture Committee member Raphael Warnock said Wednesday.
Democrats on the House and Senate Agriculture committees see the farm safety net as broader thanthan the major commodity programs and want to make sure that the next farm bill addresses needs of smaller-scale producers, committee aides say.
The pork industry isn't united over whether Congress should use the upcoming farm bill to overturn California’s Proposition 12, and a proposed legislative fix faces stiff opposition.
For as much trouble as lawmakers agreeing on whether to keep the government shutting down Oct. 1, things aren’t moving any faster with the farm bill, parts of which start expiring Sept. 30.
Members of key House Republican groups reached agreement Sunday on a month-long stop-gap spending bill tied to tougher border security measures, but a government shutdown is still possible when the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1, since the Democratic-controlled Senate would be certain to reject the measure.
The Department of Agriculture has agreed to use Commodity Credit Corporation funds to spend about $1.4 billion on a program to help farm groups market their commodities overseas and about $1.1 billion to pay for commodity-based international food aid, according to sources.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., said he believes if a farm bill is passed before the end of the calendar year it will avoid any “major disruption.”
Lawmakers say they’re far from reaching agreement on a new farm bill, but farmers and consumers needn’t fear. The prospect of $10-a-gallon milk next year likely will ensure that Congress passes some kind of extension of the 2018 farm bill by early 2024.
A congressional proposal to bar states from regulating agricultural products produced or manufactured in other states has divided governors and state agriculture officials.
The Senate this week takes up a package of spending bills that includes the measure funding USDA and FDA, while House Republicans return from the chamber’s long summer recess still divided over how, or whether, to avoid a possible government shutdown when the new budget year starts Oct. 1.
