Talks regarding the 2018 Farm Bill are heating up. Major players in the agriculture industry agree that now is the time to develop your strategy ensuring that your viewpoints are heard.
Sam Willett with the National Corn Growers Association says it is not too soon to discuss the next Farm Bill. He notes “the current bill was written during a time of profit, but this next bill will be written during a time of falling farm income.”…
The Agricultural Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-79), or “2014 Farm Bill” authorizes the continuation of agricultural and other programs of the Department of Agriculture through September 30, 2018. Since the Great Depression in the 1930’s Congress has typically adopted a comprehensive Farm Bill every 5 years. However, since the mid-1990’s Congress has struggled to timely adopt farm bills.
Consider:
With farmers under financial pressures due to extraordinary low commodity prices farm organizations across America are gearing up for battle for the upcoming Farm Bill. The next Farm Bill will need to authorize programs for crop years 2019-2023. Ideally, a new farm bill should be adopted before any new crop harvest. The earliest crop harvest in 2019 will occur in mid-to-late May of 2019 when wheat harvest begins in South Texas. Dependent upon the complexities of policies adopted in the new Farm Bill the U.S. Department of Agriculture would likely need anywhere from 9-months-to-1-year to implement the Farm Bill. That means for the next farm bill, Congress should reauthorize farm programs by roughly September 2018.
Zippy Duvall, President, American Farm Bureau Federation
The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is among leading farm organizations including the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA), American Soybean Association, NationalCotton Council, USA Rice Federation, National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) and National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) that are encouraging their respective members to begin developing policies for the next Farm Bill. Zippy Duvall, President, AFBF posted a blog late last month to their members stating, “…it is time to sound the bell for preparation (of the 2018 Farm Bill).
Mary Kay Thatcher, senior director of congressional relations with AFBF, told Hoosier Ag Today in a recent interview that their organization is anticipating testimony before the House and Senate Ag Committees as early as next spring.
Thatcher explained “..we’ve heard from our cotton producers and our dairy folks, that they don’t think the new programs that were put into effect are working for them. Fairly low participation in both programs and most folks feeling again like they just don’t provide an adequate safety net.”
According to Thatcher, here are some of the biggest challenges in writing a new farm bill:
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