(WASHINGTON D.C.) — As the clock ticks on the post-election, lame duck session of Congress, indications from Capitol Hill are that we will see another one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill.
Reports this week indicate that House and Senate Ag Committee members are working towards an extension of the expired 2018 law, possibly tied with a disaster aid package, to close out the year. That includes reports that House Ag Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) is eyeing the one-year extension so a new five-year Farm Bill can be passed during the next Congress with Republicans in control of the House, Senate and White House.
On Monday, Senate Ag Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) released her long awaited Farm Bill text that was met with skepticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill. In fact, Ranking Member on the Senate Ag Committee John Boozman (R-AR) said in a statement on social media that “an 11th hour partisan proposal released 415 days after the expiration of the current farm bill is insulting. America’s farmers deserve better.”
Many experts have indicated that the text release by Chairwoman Stabenow could be seen as a marker for Democrats in the next Congress starting in January. Mary Kay Thatcher of Syngenta told us during last week’s NAFB Convention that “I think getting a farm bill done in the lame duck is just maybe 1 or 2% that it would happen. But the fact is that the four corners, the chairs and ranking members of House and Senate Ag, haven’t been talking while they’ve been out of session here in October.”
Thatcher added “And I think now, again, assuming we have a Republican trifecta, there’ll be a push to just say let’s wait till next year. When in general, not that the Republicans won’t have to deal with the Democrats, but they won’t have to deal with them in the same way they are now. And so I think they’re going to view it as we could write a farm bill that’s more to our liking then than we can now. Now, I do think that we’re going to get some weather disaster assistance in the lame duck.”
Speaking of disaster aid, the Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing on Wednesday with officials from USDA and other agencies after the White House proposed nearly $100 billion for a disaster aid package this week. The proposal included some $21 billion dollars for farmers and ranchers. Republicans on the committee are arguing that the aid should include help for farmers and ranchers struggling with low commodity prices and falling incomes.
In a Thursday release, Congresswoman Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) said “the Farm Bill is already more than one year overdue. Vital programs have expired, and Virginia agriculture is feeling the pressure. Leadership cannot afford to delay any longer, especially when communities across Southwest Virginia and the Southeastern United States need additional resources in the wake of Hurricane Helene.”
Rep. Spanberger continued saying “While I am disappointed that Speaker Johnson and the Republican House majority are moving toward yet another Farm Bill extension, Congress must address the needs of the farmers, ranchers, and rural business owners across our Commonwealth and country. Any extension passed in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate must include urgent disaster relief. We need more than just a stopgap measure — we need to address the needs of the millions who rely on the Farm Bill while also helping our rural communities recover and rebuild.”
And again, the talk of disaster aid for farmers and ranchers could all get wrapped up within a end of the year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill.
