Leaders of the House Agriculture Committee said they aim to enact the new farm bill on time in 2018, “the first time in 16 years we will have done that,” according to chairman Michael Conaway. The Texas Republican said the slump in farm income that began in 2013 “shows no signs of letting up.”
“Our farmers and ranchers are facing hard times,” said Conaway. “During the 115th Congress, we will waste no time in getting started on the next farm bill.” The senior Democrat on the panel, Collin Peterson of Minnesota, joined Conaway in saying the farm bill was at the top of the list for action. It is essential, they said, to complete work before the current farm law expires on Sept. 30, 2018. Congress was tardy in writing the 1996, 2002, 2008 and 2014 laws.
Conaway’s description of farm income — the largest percentage drop in net farm income since the Depression — aligned with arguments by farm groups, mostly from the South, who want larger funding for farm subsidies. “Right now, the outlook does not look better for 2017,” says Farm Policy Facts, whose members include sugar, cotton and rice groups, a crop insurance trade group, corn growers in Minnesota and agribusinesses in the Southwest.
“Farm policy investment has remained low by historical standards even during these past four years of decline, and now it is diminishing further at a time when it is needed most,” said Farm Policy Facts. Cotton growers and dairy farmers are loudest in calling for more federal supports to counteract low market prices. Budget savings demanded by Congress in the 2014 farm law “left some critical holes that have yet to be filled,” says Farm Policy Facts, linking low U.S. grocery prices with “continued commitment and investment in sound farm policy.”
Some analysts, however, say the connection is debatable because a minority of farmers receive crop subsidies and producers of livestock, fruit and vegetables do not receive direct subsidies.
The USDA is scheduled to forecast 2017 farm income on Tuesday. Already, it has projected another year of large crops with little overall change in commodity prices, suggesting no more than marginal change in farm income. USDA economists pegged net farm income at $66.9 billion last year, the lowest since $62.2 billion in 2009. Yardsticks of financial health, such as the debt-to-asset ratio, are rising, but remain low by historical standards.
Conaway did not specify a starting date for farm bill work by the House Agriculture Committee. In its list of work this year, the House Agriculture Committee says it will “spend considerable time” in a review of the successes and failures of the 2014 law. “Farm bill preparation will begin with hearings, both in Washington and in the field, to hear from producers and USDA about how the programs are working,” says the House committee.
The Senate Agriculture Committee is to hold its first field hearing on the 2018 farm bill at Kansas State University on Feb. 23.
To date, discussions of the 2018 farm bill have involved modifications of the 2014 law rather than sweeping change. Field hearings traditionally are followed by a series of fact-gathering hearings in Washington before lawmakers begin drafting a farm bill.
To watch a video of the committee meeting or to read the committee’s oversight plan, rules and list of staff workers, click here.