2018 farm bill
Fischer and Smith named to Senate Agriculture Committee
With the 2018 farm bill on the horizon, Senate leaders have re-jiggered membership of the Senate Agriculture Committee, adding Republican Deb Fischer of Nebraska and newly appointed Democrat Tina Smith of Minnesota to the panel.
Extreme weather raises cry for crop insurance
The recent spell of extremely cold weather in the Midwest’s wheat-producing states reaffirms “the need for a 2018 farm bill and strong federal crop insurance program,” declared the High Plains/Midwest Ag Journal.
Food stamp revisions possible but not radical change, says key House Democrat
States have abused their discretion in order to keep able-bodied adults on the food stamp rolls, said Collin Peterson, the Democratic leader of the House Agriculture Committee, suggesting that some changes were possible in the anti-hunger program but also warning that attempts at radical reforms could blow up the 2018 farm bill.
CBO lists ways to carve savings out of costly crop insurance
As Congress expanded the role of crop insurance over the past couple of decades, the cost of the federally subsidized program tripled, to $9 billion annually over the past five years. The Congressional Budget Office says that if lawmakers are worried about costs, they could alter the program to cut outlays by 25 percent or more, with the likely consequence of reducing participation in the largest program in the farm safety net.
House passes disaster bill to aid Florida farmers, revamp cotton and dairy supports
The House passed an $81-billion disaster relief bill that includes $3.8 billion for farmers and ranchers, with Florida expected to get a large share of that money, said The Hill newspaper.
House disaster bill includes aid to Florida growers — and a food stamp cut
The $81-billion disaster bill written by House Republicans includes $3.8 billion in disaster relief for farmers and ranchers, with Florida expected to get a large part of the money.
USDA may revamp food stamp time limits for able-bodied adults
When Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said this week that food stamps should not be “a permanent lifestyle” for able-bodied adults without dependents, he may have hinted at a forthcoming USDA proposal.
Small-farm group proposes $50,000 limit on premium subsidies for crop insurance
The Nebraska-based Center for Rural Affairs says the 2018 farm bill should improve USDA land stewardship programs, expand programs for rural economic development and beginning farmers, and target crop insurance toward small and medium-sized farms.
One-fifth of land in Conservation Reserve enrolled two decades ago
More than one-fifth of the 24 million acres now in the Conservation Reserve, a long-term farmland retirement program that pays landowners to idle fragile land, have been in the program for 20 or more years.
House farm bill website: Stronger safety net and food stamp ‘ladder of opportunity’
In preparation for the 2018 farm bill, the House Agriculture Committee unveiled a website that will serve as a central location for its activities on the panoramic legislation.
Perdue wants farm bill to end ‘permanent’ food stamps for able-bodied adults
Reviving a White House budget theme, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said Americans do not believe food stamps should be “a permanent lifestyle” for able-bodied adults without dependents.
R&D for ag deserves more funding – get it from subsidies, says AEI
Agricultural productivity growth is slowing down in the United States because of a decline in spending on food and ag research, says the free-market American Enterprise Institute, presenting a long-term threat to domestic food production and international competitiveness. The authors of an AEI position paper said funding on research and development should double and said it could be offset by cutting "wasteful farm bill spending" in crop insurance and crop subsidies.
Peterson sees farm bill ‘sooner rather than later’ in 2018
Hard choices for the 2018 farm bill are on the horizon, says Conaway
The House could debate the new farm bill as early as January or February, said House Agriculture chairman Michael Conaway, meaning that very soon farm-state lawmakers “are going to have some hard decisions to make.”
Block grants would undermine food stamps, says free-enterprise think tank
The perennial Republican proposal to convert food stamps into a block grant "would severely undermine" the anti-hunger program's ability to respond immediately to economic downturns, says the American Enterprise Institute, an exponent of free enterprise. In a paper aimed at the 2018 farm bill, AEI says "the program could be strengthened by doing more to assist participants with finding employment and rewarding work."
Make stewardship mandatory on farms, says free-enterprise group
Since the 1930s, the government has relied on voluntary conservation efforts by farmers, often supplemented by federal payments, to reduce erosion and protect water quality. That approach is no longer sufficient, says the American Enterprise Institute.
End farm subsidy payments to people who aren’t farmers, says Grassley
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, who nearly succeeded in tightening the eligibility rules for farm subsidies in the 2014 farm law, says he’ll try again with the 2018 farm bill to end payments to city dwellers who never set foot on the farm or take no role in running it.
Ag and food research is short-changed, says report
The USDA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, a program for competitive grants, is running on half of the money that was anticipated when Congress created AFRI 10 years ago, says a report by a group of ag researchers. "Federal investment in food sciences has remained flat as the number of threats to our food system continues to climb," said Thomas Grumbly of the Supporters of Agricultural Research (SoAR). The groups says ag research should be a top priority in the 2018 farm bill.