Farm bill discussions could continue to be contentious with another government funding deadline in November, Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., said on the latest episode of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers.
The continuing resolution that has been funding the government since the new fiscal year started Oct. 1 expires Nov. 17, setting up a possible shutdown of departments and agencies. Lawmakers are not expected to consider a new farm bill until there is a resolution to the fiscal 2024 appropriations process.
A member of the Agriculture Committee and the second-ranking Republican in the Senate, Thune said Congress will likely need to pass an extension of the 2018 farm bill, parts of which expired Sept. 30.
“I think we will have to do some sort of extension at the end of the calendar year, if a farm bill hasn’t passed,” Thune said. “I think right now that could be a very real possibility.”
It’s easy to be “in the know” about what’s happening in Washington, D.C. Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse news! Simply click here.
Thune also talked about ways that Congress could improve the producer safety net within the upcoming farm bill.
“What we need to do on base acres is … align the risks associated with planting certain crops with the payments that come,” Thune said. “You’ve got so many farming areas around the country that are no longer planting certain crops that still get payments because they still got base acres allocated.”
Also on the show this week were Sam Kieffer with the American Farm Bureau Federation and Bev Paul with Davenport Policy. The two spoke about a possible extension of the farm bill and how the race for House speaker may affect discussions around that issue.
For more news, go to www.Agri-Pulse.com.
