Rural farm leaders are criticizing the House of Representative’s defeat of the 2013 Farm Bill, saying that it places US farmers in a precarious situation.
After more than a year in congressional limbo, this summer saw sustained federal action on the farm bill. With the Senate rushing to pass new agricultural legislation and with House leaders promising to bring the bill to the floor, farmers finally had hope that Congress would take the necessary action to protect their economic interests.
The House’s defeat of the bill, however, has dashed those hopes, leaving many farmers to wonder if they will ever be able to pass new farm legislation again.
In rural states like Oklahoma, farmers are still bemoaning the defeat of the House bill. “Well, we liked what we had in the House version of the farm bill,” said the executive director of the Oklahoma Wheat Growers Association. “It was better than the Senate version. We knew there would be difficulties in getting it passed, just as there were problems in putting it together.”
Other Oklahoma farm advocacy groups have expounded on the need for a new five-year bill rather than relying on constant extensions of the old farm bill.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer