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Peterson not expecting farm bill anytime soon

The former chairman of the House Ag Committee is not expecting Congress to pass a farm bill anytime soon.

Collin Peterson of Minnesota says, “It’s hard for me to see how it’s going to come together as someone who’s had to do that in the past, you know.”

Peterson has remained engaged in ag policy as a consultant since leaving office, and says the two parties are talking, but remain far apart. “The conservatives on the Republican side, they don’t want to spend any more money. Democrats, you know, don’t want to spend the money the way the Republicans do, and so you’ve got all of this cross current going on and I just don’t see how they’re going to pull this together.”

Peterson tells Brownfield that until a new farm bill is finished, the current extension of the 2018 Farm Bill is a good thing. “I’m hearing from my farmers that this bill is not too bad, you know, and we can live with it, and so if we end up with an extension in our part of the world, I don’t think it’s the worst outcome.”

Peterson spoke with Brownfield during the National Association of Farm Broadcasting convention last week in Kansas City.

Audio: Collin Peterson discusses dairy policy and the farm bill with Brownfield’s Larry Lee