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Agri-Pulse Ag & Food Policy Summit
Last week, I attended the annual Agri-Pulse Ag and Food Policy Summit in Washington, DC. The speakers covered a variety of topics that included trade, regulatory impacts, and the Farm Bill.
Highlighting the Farm Bill discussion was Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow, (D-MI) and Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR) who discussed the importance of providing farmers with adequate crop insurance programs as well as economic stability for rural America.
Stabenow, who is retiring at the end of this year, warned that attempts to fund the commodity programs at the expense of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would fracture the bipartisan, urban-rural coalition needed to pass the Farm Bill.
Stabenow believes there is consensus on eight of the twelve Farm bill titles. The contentious issues include increases in commodity program reference prices and earmarking funds in the Inflation Reduction Act, which she opposes.
Farm groups, for their part, say they need a boost in reference prices following five years of inflation for most farm inputs.
“I will not have as my legacy cutting food assistance for Americans … or taking away conservation money from farmers. If that is the way you have to get a farm bill, then, you know, we’ll continue [the] 2018 [farm bill] for another year,” said Stabenow.
Senator Boozman, who would likely become chairman of the committee in 2025 if Republicans win control of the Senate, said passing a Farm Bill will be as easy to do this year than next year. He also acknowledged “how important it is for rural America to give our farmers stability.”
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