An American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) official says it may take some creative budgeting to meet producer needs in a ?no-new-money? farm bill. Andrew Walmsley, AFBF senior director of government affairs, said the issue is how to meet producer needs for the next five years with those needs much different than during the 2018 farm bill and with few, if any, new dollars.
?There?s a lot of different ways to move some money around, change some timelines that could free up some additional dollars, so we definitely think there?s a pathway forward,? Walmsley said.
However, that?s despite a budget squeeze, an already record farm bill baseline, and partisan fights over SNAP funding.
?It?d be great to find some new dollars,? Walmsley said. ?Otherwise, we?re looking at opportunities to stretch a dollar a little bit further. We?re certainly open to that – ways to improve programs, make them run more efficiently.?
SNAP is an obvious target after USDA reported an almost 12 percent nationwide error rate for last year that prompted complaints from all four Ag panel leaders. Walmsley said he believes that Congress will find a way to make an effective farm bill.
?But at the end of the day, we will need a meaningful farm bill that does invest in safety net programs, commodity title in particular, and that protects crop insurance, and we?re confident that Congress can find a way to do that,? Walmsley said.
This leaves the only other question of when, after leading Ag lawmakers acknowledged in June, they probably will need an extension to rewrite the farm law expiring on September 30th.
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