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Farm bill draft in the works

An ag advisor and former chairman of the House Agriculture Committee says the new farm bill is being drafted in the House and Senate.

Collin Peterson says he’s been in contact with committee leadership and the non-controversial parts of the bill are being added. And when lawmakers return to Washington D.C. after the August break, he says more controversial parts of the farm bill will be addressed.

“There’s stuff people are bringing to the table that costs money and maybe causes division within agriculture, like the base acre update,” he says. “And there’s still people out there trying to cause trouble with SNAP and the nutrition title even though lawmakers dealt with it in the debt ceiling bill.”

Peterson says the biggest issue for this farm bill is still funding.

“Right now, there’s no one who has identified any new money that’s not controversial and Senator Stabenow says she doesn’t see any new money available. I agree with her, that’s how I see it, too.”

Peterson says a new farm bill must be bipartisan to make it across the finish line and right now, he thinks there’s enough Democrats to support the bill. He says committee leaders are optimistic to have a bill completed by the end of 2023.