Some 400 farm groups are appealing to the House and Senate Budget committees to provide “sufficient budgetary resources” to write a new farm bill.
“Just as there are many pressures on the federal budget, there are many pressures on U.S. farmers and others throughout the agricultural supply chain who provide food, feed, fuel, fiber, and other products to consumers across the United States and abroad,” the organizations say in a letter Tuesday to the chairmen and ranking members of the budget panels.
Congress is not expected to agree on a budget resolution this year, but the House at least could vote on a version. Republicans, who narrowly control the House 222-213, are trying to agree among themselves on a blueprint for slashing spending on many domestic programs.
The farm groups’ letter says rising tensions with China “underscore the need in the next farm bill for a more meaningful, predictable farm safety net and the need to invest more into trade promotion programs to help diversify agricultural markets.”
The letter goes on to say that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, “COVID-19 and other supply chain disruptions, non-tariff trade barriers erected by multiple countries, and devastating natural disasters have tested the effectiveness of current farm policy. Increased production input costs have as well, with USDA projecting that most expense categories will remain above their 2021 levels in 2023 both in nominal and inflation-adjusted dollars.”
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The letter says funding also is needed to address issues such as crop insurance, conservation, rural development, food security and research.
“As you work to build the federal budget for fiscal year 2024, we seek your support for providing sufficient resources to the committees to craft the next farm bill," the letter concludes.
The farm groups’ appeal follows the House Agriculture Committee’s approval last week of a letter that called on the House Budget committee to provide "adequate resources" for the next farm bill to compensate for the “ineffectiveness” of existing commodity programs.
The 400 groups have a variety of different priorities for farm bill spending, Christy Seyfert, the American Soybean Association’s executive director of government affairs, told Agri-Pulse.
“At ASA, we want to improve the Title I farm safety net for soybean producers, protect and enhance crop insurance that is critically important for risk management, and increase investments in trade promotion programs to help diversify and expand agricultural markets, among other needs,” she said.
Jacqui Fatka contributed to this report.
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