Sept 9 (Askume) – More than 300 U.S. agriculture and commodity groups wrote to Congress on Monday urging it to pass a long-delayed farm spending bill before the end of the year as farmers are expected to face lower incomes.
Why is this important?
The Farm Bill is a package passed every five years that funds agricultural products and subsidy programs, as well as nutrition and conservation programs.
A new bill providing stronger agriculture supports would provide certainty to farmers who face obstacles like high input costs and extreme weather, according to a letter signed by groups including the National Corn Growers Association, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the American Soybean Association.
The US Department of Agriculture last week estimated that farm income would fall 4.4% in 2024, the second consecutive year of decline.
situation
The 2018 Farm Bill expires in September 2023, and Congress failed to pass a new package last year as Republicans and Democrats deadlocked on key issues such as funding for nutrition assistance.
Instead, lawmakers passed an extension of the 2018 law , which is set to expire at the end of this month but will keep most farm programs in effect through the end of the year.
The Republican-led House Agriculture Committee passed a new farm bill in May with little Democratic support . The House and Senate agriculture committees draft a version of the farm bill and must coordinate before the full Congress votes.
Key Quotes
“Without meaningful investments in commodity programs and crop insurance, failure to reauthorize the Farm Bill, or simply extending current law, thousands of family farms will have no option to continue paying for the produce they produce nationally in 2025 and beyond,” the agency said in the letter.
