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Balanced Reporting. Trusted Insights.
Thursday, September 29, 2022
The top Republican on the House Ag Committee is making clear he wants nothing to do with some proposals by fellow conservatives to slash farm bill programs.
Farmers in Ohio expressed strong support for crop insurance during a listening session with members of the House Agriculture Committee on Monday, but some producers wanted the policies to be means-tested or more focused on encouraging climate-smart practices.
Farm input costs are likely to remain at elevated levels well after commodity prices come off their historic highs, and farm bill programs could provide only limited help, economists warned lawmakers Thursday.
Leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee heard from Michigan producers who represent a broad range of commodities, scale and farming practices as the panel formally started hearings on the next farm bill.
With the government finally funded for fiscal 2022, lawmakers can turn their attention to other policy issues and begin work on funding legislation for FY23.
Leaders of major crop groups say the farm bill commodity programs won’t adequately protect their margins at a time of skyrocketing input costs, but the organizations aren’t ready to propose specific changes.
USDA says a record 1.77 million contracts were signed by producers for the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs for the 2019 crop year.
China’s commitments to dramatically increase its purchases of U.S. commodities have raised new questions for farmers as they face decisions about which farm bill program to enroll in and pencil out their finances and risk management for the year.
Government payments to farmers are forecast to hit their highest level in more than a decade because of the trade assistance being provided to producers this year, and the total could go even higher if Congress, as expected, authorizes a new round of disaster aid.
