(WASHINGTON D.C.)– This week, over 300 farm and ranch groups sent a letter to House and Senate leaders calling for Congress to pass a new five year Farm Bill. Along with that, a coordinated effort among multiple commodity groups saw numerous ag stakeholders on Capitol Hill this week to apply pressure on lawmakers to get a new Farm Bill done as they returned from the August recess.
Amid falling commodity prices and a downward spiral in the ag economy, many in farm country are saying that “kicking the can down the road” on a new and updated five year Farm Bill is not feasible. Many say there is “no road left” to kick the can down.
Chuck Conner, President and CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, highlighted the need to get a new Farm Bill completed while speaking on Wednesday’s episode of Agriculture of America (AOA).
“I think during the month of August with the commodity price decline we saw, you know, based upon some of the initial crop reports and demand circumstances, an extension becomes very, very problematic I think for producers,” according to Conner. “Because what you are extending is reference prices that really have no bearing whatsoever to the cost of production for this 2024 and the upcoming 2025 crop. They want a farm bill and they want a better farm bill, particularly as it relates to title 1 and reference prices.”
“This is no longer an ask. It’s a, if you don’t do it, you know, there are going to be major, major consequences across rural America,” Conner added.
Iowa banker Caleb Hopkins, vice chairman of the Ag and Rural Bankers Committee with the 果冻直播 Bankers Association, was reported by Politico as saying, 鈥淚f the farm bill is not passed this year, agricultural producers will struggle to obtain credit during the 2025 production year. That will come as a blow to farmers who have experienced low commodity prices and high input costs.鈥
Joe Gilson, director of government affairs for the 果冻直播 Farm Bureau, said the letter that was signed by over 300 farm and food groups earlier this week had a clear message. 鈥淐ongress needs to pass the bipartisan farm bill this Congress that makes meaningful investments in the farm safety net,” according to Gilson. “The other key point of the letter was that so many organizations signed on to the same letter that Congress needs to do something and get to work on this farm bill with just a few months left鈥
Meantime, as farm groups push to get a new Farm Bill done, things such as government spending and the election stand in the way of getting a new bill passed this year.
When asked about the issues standing in front of getting a Farm Bill done in this Congress, NCFC’s Conner pointed to several years of gridlock on Capitol Hill. He said in part “we have had a Congress that, you know, now running on several years has really had, you know, no ability to really pass any major legislation. And they consider it a victory just simply to keep the doors of government open. You know, the problems that need to be addressed in our country and particularly on the farm and in rural America, require more than just simply keeping the doors of government open. It requires action and a vibrant legislative circumstance that we just have not had in many years and things are piling up.”
Congress needs to pass legislation to keep the government open by September 30th which is also when the current one year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill is set to expire.
You can hear the full conversation with NCFC’s Chuck Conner from the Wednesday episode of Agriculture of America below at the 10:00 mark of the podcast:
