Farmers across the Midwest and the Corn Belt are in desperate need of a new farm bill, farm advocacy groups argue, and continued congressional delays and partisan infighting will only hurt the farm sector and the overall economy.
For the last two years, the farm bill has been stalled in Congress. While the Senate has managed to pass two bipartisan farm bills in the last two years (bills that reduce farm spending and cut food stamps by about $4 billion), both have died in the House. While last year’s farm bill never made it onto the House floor, the 2013 bill managed to barely garner the support of House Republicans (at the cost of stripping food stamp provisions from farm legislation). However, House Republicans have been reluctant to appoint a conferral committee and Senate Democrats have questions their House colleagues’ commitment to a new farm bill.
The constant delays, however, are bad for farmers, particularly farmers in the Corn Belt. Midwestern farmers greatly benefit from Farm Bill conservation funding, from rural energy programs, and from nutritional funding. Groups like the Indiana Farm Bureau have redoubled their efforts to pressure reluctant representatives to speedily pass a new bill that will help protect the farm sector.
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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer