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Congress targets lame-duck session for farm bill work

A U.S. Senator from Wisconsin says there’s renewed interest in getting a five-year farm bill done in the lame-duck session of Congress.  Tammy Baldwin tells Brownfield farmers need certainty. “We’ll see how those conversations and negotiations go,” she says.  “But they have started anew in recent weeks, and my understanding is that they will continue through October recess, too.”

The extension of the 2018 Farm Bill expires Monday, Baldwin says getting a deal done in the lame duck won’t be easy.  “I’d like to see us get the job done rather than kick the can down the road,” she says.

Earlier this month, more than 300 farm and ranch groups sent a letter to the U.S. Senate and House majority and minority leadership urging Congress to pass a farm bill this year. 

There has been growing concern that failure to reauthorize a farm bill without meaningful investments in commodity programs and crop insurance would be detrimental to family farms and ranches.

Senate Ag Committee Ranking Member John Boozman of Arkansas says the 2018 Farm Bill isn’t adequate, and if an extension is passed, ad hoc assistance would be crucial to provide farmers with the support they need. 

U.S. House Ag Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, of Pennsylvania, tells Brownfield Congressional leadership and the USDA determined only a few ag-related issues needed resolved before the current extension expires.  He says the focus is now passing a new five-year farm bill in the lame duck session.

AUDIO: U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin on the farm bill