The recent failure of the 2013 Farm Bill, and the increased likelihood that a new farm bill is all but impossible to pass at this point, is increasing the precarious positions that many small farmers across the country are finding themselves in.
A year after the 2012 Farm Bill stalled in Congress, famers and legislators were optimistic that new farm legislation could be passed. The Senate quickly passed their version of the farm bill (one that trimmed about $4 billion from nutritional funding over the next ten years) while the House Agriculture Committee approved a draft of the farm bill that included more than $20 billion in nutritional cuts.
Despite the fact that the Majority Leader and the Speaker of the House threw their support behind the bill, a number of Republicans, joined by most House Democrats, opposed the bill, leading to its defeat on the floor.
With nearly all Democrats opposing the bill for cutting too much from food stamps and with a sizeable Republican minority opposing it for not cutting enough, it appears unlikely that a new bill can pass in the House, let alone be reconciled with the Senate bill.
The failure of Congress to pass a new farm bill is putting small farmers in an increasingly difficult position. Small dairy farmers, who have been pummeled by fluctuating prices, would significantly benefit from the farm bill’s new dairy policies; organic farmers, who have seen their business skyrocket over the last decade, will be hurt by the expiration of congressional aid to organic and natural farms; new and beginning farmers, desperately needed to reverse the graying of the farm sector, will find it increasingly hard to find necessary starter capital without a new farm bill authorizing new grants and loans.
To learn more about agricultural financing opportunities contact a Farm Plus Financial representative by calling 866-929-5585 or by visiting www.farmloans.com.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer