AFBF Looking for a New Farm Bill in the New Year

A new year is a fresh chance to do what farm leaders hoped for the last two years, and that’s to develop a new Farm Bill. But how soon that gets done in the new year is a key question. And how quickly can agriculture recover from the legislative setbacks and uncertainty of a lack of a Farm Bill is another question that remains. 

American Farm Bureau’s Director of Government Affairs Joe Gilson recently told the Pacific Northwest Ag Network that if the legislation will help the U.S farmer, he believes Congress can get a Farm Bill accomplished quickly. 

But Congress, with its last-minute stopgap funding bill, extended the 2018 Farm Bill through the end of September, taking pressure off lawmakers to rush a new Farm Bill in 2025. Gilson acknowledges there are challenges ahead.

“There’s a million hang-ups in a farm bill. It’s a massive bill with 12 different titles, so who knows what could hang up Congress. There is a litany of issues," Gilson said. 

Read more here.