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Time to finish the farm bill

The chief lobbyist for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association says the 2024 elections could very likely delay a farm bill beyond a year. 

Ethan Lane tells Brownfield it could take longer than the 1-year extension to get it done.  “That will be the first time me and Chuck Grassley agree on something like this,” he says. “He said it might be 18 months, I would agree that if they need to go that long to get it done.  Better to do it right than to do it fast.”

He says the farm bill is a complicated process that involves stakeholders who wouldn’t normally work together.   “You have that nutrition piece, you have that farm production piece,” he says. “Those aren’t natural allies and fits,” he says.  “But it does bridge two very important constituencies.  People who grow the food and people who eat the food.  I think that’s a marriage that’s going to persist in some format.” 

Lane says that doesn’t mean a farm bill won’t get done sooner, but the chances of that happening are dwindling.