News
No lame duck farm bill
It seems time has run out on getting a farm bill done during the lame duck session of Congress.
Democratic and Republican farm bill negotiators have reportedly started formal talks on an extension, and National Farmers Union president Rob Larew tells Brownfield.
“What we can I think most hope for at this point is a package that includes some sort of disaster assistance over the last couple of years, as well as some measure of economic assistance for farmers and ranchers out there.”
Minnesota Farm Bureau president Dan Glessing says the federation will continue pushing for the certainty of a five-year farm bill.
“Our message is let’s get this thing done. We want a good farm bill, we’ve talked about improvements all along for the last several years. And when you think about our current farm bill, it’s getting to be aged.”
Larew calls the farm bill framework released last week by Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow “late” but says there are some provisions that should be useful in future negotiations.
Brownfield interviewed Larew during the Minnesota Farmers Union Convention in Minneapolis Saturday and Glessing during the Minnesota Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in Minneapolis Friday.
Rob Larew interview:
Dan Glessing interview:
Disappointed that Sen. Stabenaw sat on the farm bill for months. They played politics with American farmers, many of whom lost money feeding America this year.