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Farm bill reference prices not keeping up with farm economy

USDA’s Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation wants to give reference prices a boost in the next farm bill. 

During a forum on the farm bill and ag policy issues at Minnesota Farmfest Tuesday, Undersecretary Robert Bonnie said reference prices in the Commodity Title of the farm bill have not kept up with the current ag economy.

“I think we all agree that we need to invest more in agriculture, whether it’s on the Title I side, research side, all those things. The challenge going into the farm bill is how do we pay for it.”

He’s encouraged by the bipartisan nature of farm bill negotiations.

“And at the end of the day, we’ve got to go find money to support our priorities. I think reference prices are going to be part of the conversation, I think some of the things around farm loans are going to be part of the conversation. I think there are other areas (too) where we’re just going to have to sharpen our pencils and get down and figure out how we all work together.”