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Lots of work left on the farm bill

Republican lawmakers on the Senate Agriculture Committee say there’s a lot of farm bill work ahead that could go beyond the September deadline.

John Thune from South Dakota says lawmakers are ironing out farm bill priorities. He says there’s not much extra money and if reference price increases are a priority, the money must come from somewhere, including the nutrition title.

“I’m sure that will be a tough sell with a lot of the Democrats on the committee, but when you’ve got one title on the bill that soaks up 80 to 85% of all of the money, you have to make sure the dollars there are being spent efficiently. I think there are practical recommendations on how to be more efficient.”

He says the work requirements included in the debt ceiling deal were controversial, but made sense and it’s easier to fund other areas of the farm bill if adjustments are made to the nutrition title.

Joni Ernst from Iowa says a lot of work is needed on all titles and she expects an extension of the current farm bill.

“I would anticipate the farm bill would be wrapped up or completed by the last part of 2023 or early 2024.”

Congress is out of session for the next two weeks and lawmakers are expected to get more farm bill feedback during that time. The current farm bill expires September 30.