Lawmakers will soon make their way back to the nation’s Capitol, and they have got their work cut out for them.
With the election now behind us, Congress will begin working on passing government spending bills. Those must get passed before December 31st in order to avoid a government shutdown. Once done, work can resume on the Farm Bill.
However, a Farm Journal report citing Washington insiders says the ag legislation only has a 15 percent chance of getting done this year. The Farm Bureau says America’s producers have waited long enough, and deserve answers.
“So, we’re just going to continue to make the point that farmers have waited two years for a farm bill, and that hasn’t gotten done, regardless of the political outcomes,” said Joe Gilson.
It is not just farmers waiting for answers, it is an industry-wide concern. The ag trade deficit continues to grow, and AFBF tells aginfo.net that several key programs are on hold until Congress can pass a Farm Bill.
“Title 3 is often called the Trade Title and accounts for less than half a percentage of overall farm bill spending. Half of that goes to an aid program called Food For Peace, which uses U.S. commodities to do capacity building, and the other half goes to export market development. These export market development programs have major bang for their buck, and a 2022 study found for every dollar spent on these programs an additional $24.50 of our cultural exports resulted,” said Betty Resnick.
The Farm Bureau says these programs benefit U.S. agriculture as a whole, and they urge Congress to get back to work for America’s producers.
