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Farm Bureau stresses farm bill need with Congress

Farm Bureau members are redoubling their efforts pushing lawmakers to pass a new farm bill with only five weeks left on the calendar in Congress.

Michigan Farm Bureau’s National Legislative Counsel John Kran tells Brownfield, “We know that the farm economy looks very different today than it did five years ago when the 2018 bill was written.”

“We’ve had one extension and we’re really looking forward to getting a new farm bill, something that’s built for the next 5 years, not the last,” he says.

If Congress cannot pass new legislation or an extension before January 1st, Kran says farm policy from the 1930s could go back into effect.

“This is a system where the government was supposed to buy upwards of 25 percent of the milk supply and the estimated cost is about $19 billion,” he explains. “We know that this isn’t a reality and that Congress needs to act before this could happen.”

He says the need for ad hoc programs like the FARM Act could be more common if farmers can’t get long-term certainty on farm bill-supported programs.

The Michigan Farm Bureau and American Farm Bureau Federation currently have action alerts out for members to call on their members of Congress.