We still have a little more than a year and a half left on the 2018 Farm Bill. It doesn?t seem like it was that long ago that we were talking about getting everything passed and implemented.
While a year and a half certainly seems like a long time; when you are crafting the largest piece of food and agriculture legislation, you cannot do it at the last minute. There have been listening sessions held all over the country already. One was held at last year?s Iowa State Fair. Listening sessions are beneficial for members of the House and Senate Ag Committees to hear from producers all over the country and get input on what is needed and what can be changed. The biggest difference between this go round is that this time prices are much better for commodities. However, just because prices are one way while crafting the bill, doesn?t mean they will stay like that. Case in point, prices were rotten when the 2018 Farm Bill was created. To that end, many producers are cautioning that crop insurance programs need to stay a part of this legislation.
House Ag Committee Ranking Member Congressman Glenn ?GT? Thompson was at a listening session last week in Indiana, and he talked about the ground he has covered for listening sessions. This was the 29th state he has visited. One thing that has been a constant is the concern over crop insurance. Many opponents of the programs have often tried to strip the programs from the Farm Bill in Congress. With prices being much better this time around, they may finally have a footing in their argument to cut the cost by removing the safety net programs. Ranking Member Thompson says this cannot happen, and that non-producers realize that having crop insurance is not the same as other types of insurance policies.
Thompson says he is being proactive in trying to educate all members of Congress about the importance of these programs.
The Ag Committees are normally a safe haven for bipartisanship because their actions affect every single person in the country. However, Thompson says that partisan politics have been leeching into the chambers more often. He says it isn?t coming from members and their staffs, but rather the current Democratic leadership that is pushing all members where they traditionally do not want to go on Ag-related discussions.
Thompson concluded by saying that he feels they are behind schedule on getting the 2023 Farm Bill crafted, because listening sessions are just not happening in D.C.
