Pointing to forecasts of a second year in a row of falling farm income, Republican senators called for more money for farm subsidies on Wednesday. “We’ve got to get it right for production agriculture” in the new farm bill, said North Dakota’s John Hoeven at a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warned against dipping into SNAP or climate-mitigation funding to pay for the Republican priorities of raising so-called reference prices, which would make it easier to trigger crop subsidy payments, and broadening the crop insurance program, the largest source of farm assistance.
“That’s where I think you have some challenges, which is why I have suggested let’s be more creative than that,” said Vilsack. Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat, said on Tuesday that she would delay the farm bill into 2025, if need be, to prevent cuts in SNAP and climate funding.
Farmers are coping with record-high production costs, declining commodity prices, high interest rates, and a downturn in farm exports. While net farm income would run 15 percent above its 10-year average this year, it would still be $70 billion below the record set in 2022, according to USDA forecasts. Farm groups say reference prices are too low to provide an adequate cushion against falling crop revenue.
“We need a safety net that works,” said Arkansas Sen. John Boozman, the senior Republican on the Agriculture Committee. “We need better risk management tools.” Sen. Roger Marshall, a Kansas Republican, said, “I’m concerned we’re not spending enough on the front end” of the food supply.
Progress on the farm bill has been stymied for months by disagreements over crop supports, climate funds, and SNAP outlays. “It’s time to get together on a bipartisan farm bill,” said Stabenow at the start of the three-hour hearing with Vilsack.
Also during the hearing, Vilsack said there were more questions than answers about a proposal for a pilot project that would limit purchases using SNAP benefits to so-called nutrient-dense foods. House Republicans have linked the pilot project to addressing a shortage in funding for the Women, Infants, and Children program, or WIC.
Congressional leaders said they have agreed on the terms of legislation to provide money for the USDA and FDA for the rest of the fiscal year, although text of the bill would not be released before Monday. Funding for the USDA and several other federal departments would be extended until March 8, averting a shutdown on Friday and allowing time for the House and Senate to vote on long-term funding.
If the SNAP pilot is part of the legislation, said Vilsack, the USDA would follow the parameters set in the bill. “We would obviously look for a partner in a state or states, depending on what you tell us to do.” The USDA would have to determine if supermarket equipment could distinguish nutrient-dense foods from items that would be rejected for payment with the EBT cards carried by SNAP recipients, he said. There was also the possibility that the USDA would have to come up with a definition of “nutrient-dense” food.
“So I think there are a lot of unanswered questions about this,” said Vilsack.
To watch a video of the hearing or to read Vilsack’s written testimony, click here.