Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley said the Senate Agriculture Committee may produce a farm bill before the end of this year, months ahead of the expiration of the 2014 farm law. “We probably will be working on the farm bill by the end of October,” Grassley said during a teleconference with ag reporters.
“It would be nice if we get the bill out of committee before Christmas,” said Grassley, so that a final House–Senate compromise can go to President Trump in early 2018. Committee staff are currently working on some of the less controversial parts of the bill. The committee has a hearing set for Thursday on rural economic development and energy programs. An aide to Senate committee chairman Pat Roberts was not immediately available for comment on the timeline for the bill.
A farm lobbyist said Republicans and Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee have assembled separate proposals for the farm bill. One outstanding question was how to pay for new cotton and dairy supports expected to cost $2 billion a year. Rep. Michael Conaway, chairman of the House committee, has said he will not schedule a committee vote on the farm bill until he is sure the bill would see prompt debate on the House floor — a step to limit criticism of the bill.