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The opportunity to pass the farm bill that works for farmers

The president of the American Farm Bureau Federation says the farm bill extension provides an opportunity to do the bill correctly.  

Zippy Duvall says Congress needs to pass a bill that meets farmers’ needs.  “In doing it right – it means we recognize the cost of production,” he says.  “And we update the Title I targets in there so that it is a true safety net and not just a program that makes farmers think it’s helping them.”

But, he tells Brownfield, updating reference prices is likely going to be a sticking point in negotiations. “What we’re hearing is there no other money that’s there to be gotten,” he says.  “Where are they going to get that money from?  Will it come from nutrition, or conservation?  Will it come from climate?  Wherever it might be, at the end of the day it’s a food and farm bill.  And we have to produce food.”

Duvall says the Title I programs are critical to food production in the country. 

AUDIO: American Farm Bureau president Zippy Duvall