The bare bones farm bill extension passed earlier this week is another example of the declining political influence of agriculture and rural politicians.

For the past several months, the farm bill has been stalled in Congress. While the House Agriculture Committee and the Senate both passed a version of the farm bill, House leadership blocked a full floor vote, citing a lack of support and a need to focus on the 2012 election.

After the election, Speaker John Boehner still refused to bring a new farm bill forward. After weeks of hurried negotiations, Senate and House leaders agreed on a temporary extension of the expired farm bill, one that was rolled into fiscal cliff legislation.

The extension was a bare bones one. While Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow and Oklahoma Representative Frank Lucas, both the chairs of their respective agriculture committees, both pushed to include several new programs and subsidies in the extension, Mitch McConnell and John Boehner blocked these efforts, insisting on a more limited extension.

Senator Stabenow criticized congressional leadership on the Senate floor, stating, “There is no way to explain this. None. There is absolutely no way to explain this other than agriculture is just not a priority.”

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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer