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Farm bill likely put aside during lame duck session

A farm organization lobbyist is not expecting much progress on the farm bill during the lame duck session of Congress. Michael Torrey with Torrey Advisory Group says, “To come back on a 2.15 trillion dollar bill, and do that in 20 days is going to be a pretty high mark to hit.”

Torrey tells Brownfield disaster relief will likely keep the focus off the farm bill. “After the hurricane, they’re talking about a disaster bill and just before the hurricane happened, legislators from California introduced a bill also wanting disaster money, so I think we see a big disaster bill headed our way in terms of what Congress is going to do and how they’re going to address all of these needs.”

Torrey says many factors will influence what Congress accomplishes during that 20-day lame duck session. “I do think the disaster bill will take up a lot of oxygen (in the room) and of course, keep in mind, there’s a lot of Members of Congress that either lost their election or they’ve retired, so their enthusiasm to be fully hands-on for 20 days is going to be limited.”

Torrey works with Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, and he spoke to Brownfield during World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin.

Audio: Karen Gefvert from Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative and Michael Torrey from Torrey Advisory Group discuss election and policy issues at World Dairy Expo in Madison, Wisconsin