WASHINGTON – There are stark differences between the House and Senate Farm Bills. And faced with the lowest farm income in 12 years, the country’s two largest farmers’ advocacy groups are calling on congressional negotiators to find a quick compromise.
The Farm Bill provides support to farmers, ranchers and rural communities, and also funds the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. House Republicans and President Donald Trump are pushing for stricter work requirements for SNAP that opponents say would make things harder for those in need.
Dale Moore, vice president of public affairs with the American Farm Bureau, said tariffs, trade disruptions and lower commodity prices are taking their toll on the farm economy.
“Our job as farmers and ranchers is to feed the world,” Moore said. “So you know, again, we’re looking for programs that work, programs that make sense, just as the same kind of approach is applied to a number of the other provisions in the farm bill.”
There is no work requirement for SNAP recipients in the Senate version of the bill. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, has said he wants a final bill ready for votes in the House and Senate shortly after Labor Day.
Much of the 2014 Farm Bill expires at the end of September.
Both the Senate and House bills claim to be budget-neutral, but the House version would eliminate the popular Conservation Stewardship Program and make changes in crop insurance subsidies. The Senate bill would retain the conservation program and leave crop insurance payment caps and income limits the same.
Moore said it’s those kinds of differences that need to be ironed out.
“We know there’s going to be some tough debate on conservation, on ways to improve crop insurance, and certainly some of the regulatory reform issues that are so critical to helping farmers minimize the impacts of the economic stress that they get under just dealing with federal regulation,” he said.
Even if the current Farm Bill expires, he said, crop insurance is permanently authorized, and commodity programs generally remain in effect for a commodity’s marketing year. But without more certainty in farm policy, Moore warned some farmers will go out of business.
