In updated comments on a new farm bill, Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) says the House proposal claims to enhance the farm bill but disproportionately benefits a few sectors. She says it heavily invests in commodity programs, which make up 80% of the House bill, with 73% of that directed at reference price increases for 22 crops. This leaves new and beginning farmers out and risks inflating land costs, she notes. Half of the investment benefits just 2% of U.S. farms, increasing taxpayer-funded subsidies by $22 billion over the next decade. She again charges the proposal favors southern crops like cotton, rice, and peanuts, exacerbating regional disparities. For balanced support, she concludes, a farm bill must equitably distribute resources across all regions and commodities.
Meanwhile... worried that “it may not be logistically or politically feasible to advance a farm bill early in the next Congress,” more than 500 state and national farm, sportsman, conservation and ag retail groups asked congressional leaders to pass a farm bill this year rather than extend current law.
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