Mission Accomplished - or is it?

Can you believe it!? A LONG overdue Farm Bill has been approved in the House of Representatives and now moves on for approval from the Senate and then eventually onto the President’s desk for his signature. The Farm Bill has been on the minds of many farmers and ranchers for the last couple of years, and any time it seemed like progress could be made, it got derailed by partisanship.

Now with a new Farm Bill, farmers and ranchers will have certainty of what programs they can expect from the government over next five years. Many farm organizations supported the bill with a few groups in opposition. Many of the groups that supported the bill supported the reforms to safety net programs as well as the investment in Ag research and renewable energy. Those that opposed the bill were unhappy that the COOL measure (Country of Origin Labeling) was still part of the new Farm Bill. They cite that the COOL measure is not compliant with the World Trade Organization’s rules and regulations. Because of that it could cause conflict with some of our trading partners, such as Canada and Mexico.

Although the passage of the Farm Bill in the House has led to the feeling of accomplishment by some, it makes me wonder what future Farm Bills will be like. It took nearly three years for Congress to finally reach an agreement on the new Farm Bill. That was three years of partisanship between two parties who couldn’t seem to find common ground. Instead of doing what was right for America’s hardworking farmers and ranchers as well as ALL Americans, congress put its party and ideology first. So far partisanship in Washington has only grown worse and makes me ask what it will be like when the new Farm Bill expires. If it took nearly three years to pass this bill, will it take even longer for the next one? Will congress kick the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers around like a soccer ball until something disastrous happens and forces them to do something? Will urban congressional delegates become even more out of touch with America’s agriculture industry? These are questions I keep asking myself and I think others need to consider as well. 
 

While we can consider the new Farm Bill an accomplishment, we still have not accomplished showing those in Washington how important working together is and the impact their policies can have on the livelihoods of our farmers and ranchers. All of us involved in producing a safe and abundant supply of food need to continue to educate those who represent us in Washington as well as the general public. We also have to stand up for what we believe in and not let those who do not understand what we do determine our future. America’s agriculturalists are some of the hardest working people in our country who love what they do, which is growing food for the nation and world. So let’s consider the passage of the new Farm Bill an accomplishment but realize we as an industry still have a lot to accomplish in the years ahead!

Getting a New Farm Bill Completed!

Like everyone else involved in the Ag industry, I was starting to wonder if our politicians were ever going to work on a new Farm Bill. However, it seems like we have finally gotten our answer, and it looks like our Senators and Representatives are now serious about getting a Farm Bill passed after letting the previous Farm Bill expire, which led to an extension of the 2008 Farm Bill.

When we hear the word “Farm Bill”, a lot of the time people will think that it is a bill that is just for farmers and the farming community. While the first Farm Bill may have started off that way, it has transpired into a much broader bill that now includes nutrition, trade, commodities, conservation, and more. Because the Farm Bill includes so many different things these days, it makes it much more complicated to get a Farm Bill passed that addresses the issues that our country currently faces. In 2012, over 80% of the Farm Bill spending went to nutrition while the rest of the Farm Bill spending went towards the agriculture industry and rural America.

So then what should a new Farm Bill look like? Well that is a tough question to answer and it actually depends on who you talk to. Some might say that a new Farm Bill will not make any cuts to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and will reform how farmers are assisted when disasters strike. Another person might say that the SNAP portion of the Farm Bill needs to be reformed and the farmer assistance programs left alone. Like I said before, it just depends on who a person talks to and what they believe in. The way it sounds, the next Farm Bill will definitely have cuts made to different programs, however, at this point no one knows how big those cuts could be.

While I could go on and on about the Farm Bill and what could be cut and what might not be cut, one of the biggest concerns for me in the next Farm Bill will be how our Senators and Representatives handle crop insurance. Crop insurance has become one of the greatest risk management tools for farmers, and can provide assurance that when a farmer has a bad growing year; they can still keep their family farm going and hopefully be able to recover in the following year. The best example of this so far is the drought of 2012. Even though there was a large crop insurance payout in 2012, it should be remembered that this isn’t a year to year thing and the reason for such a large payout was due to the drought in 2012 that devastated America’s crops. Another key point that should be remembered is that due to the crop insurance program, there was no need for a disaster assistance bill, something that could have cost more than what crop insurance paid out in 2012. Also, farmers aren’t getting crop insurance for free. They have to pay a share of the premium as well, and buying crop insurance doesn’t mean they will get a payout every year. It will only be in the years where they struggled to get a crop grown.

As I mentioned before, I could go on and on about a Farm Bill and what could be in it and what might not be in it. But at the same time there is already plenty of that going around. However, I encourage everyone to let their Senator and Representative know the importance of a Farm Bill! A Farm Bill is a bill for jobs, food, feed, energy, fiber, and can be a powerful economic engine for Rural America! A Farm Bill is what can lead to a bright future for not only the agriculture industry, but also our nation!