Farm Bill Hopes Continue to Dwindle for 2024

Farm Progress’ Joshua Baethge reported at the end of last week that “it’s hard to find anyone optimistic about passing a new farm bill this year. While the two political parties don’t agree on much, there’s a growing consensus that nothing is going to happen this year. All signs point to another (farm bill) extension when the current one expires Sept. 30.”

“The chance of a new farm bill is now 12%,” he wrote. “In June, I wrote that the chance of a new bill was a bit under 20%. In hindsight, that was probably too optimistic. Over the past month there’s been plenty of talk about needing a new bill. As for progress, that’s a different story. So why 12%? Well, it’s higher than zero.”

Lawmakers and Industry Groups Not Optimistic

Brownfield Ag News’ Brent Barnett reported that “U.S. Senator Joni Ernst says a new farm bill isn’t likely to get passed this year.”

“‘I do applaud our friends over in the House and Chairman GT Thompson,’ Ernst said. ‘They passed a strong bipartisan bill, but I just don’t see that bill moving in the United States Senate.’ The Iowa Republican tells Brownfield she’s frustrated with Senate Ag Committee leadership. ‘Chairwoman Stabenow and the Democrats, they don’t want to focus on the farm bill. What they are doing is focusing a lot on other priorities,'” Barnett reported.

In addition, Brownfield’s Carah Hart reported that “U.S. Congressman Dusty Johnson from South Dakota said there’s been no recent tally of support for the legislation. ‘If we’re going to get a farm bill done before the end of the year, we’ll need a lot more than just votes in the House, we’re going to need a work product in the Senate and votes in the Senate,’ he said. ‘We’ll need to go to conference committee to work out the differences and there will be differences,'” Hart reported.

Brownfield’s Meghan Grebner also reported that Ethan Lane, the head lobbyist for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said that “I still think we’re spring of next year before we really are having an honest conversation about passing a farm bill.”

“He tells Brownfield the current tone in Washington, D.C makes any progress a challenge. ‘With the Freedom Caucus antics and all of the other problems we’re all highly aware of, with those tight majorities there just isn’t going to be, I don’t believe, the time on the schedule or the right political environment for that bill to move in a responsible way across the House floor,’ he says.  ‘Never mind whatever is going on in the Senate.'”

Two Months Have Passed Since House Farm Bill Passage

Baethge reported that “it’s been nearly two months since the House Ag Committee approved a Republican farm bill framework submitted by Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson. Since then, there has been nothing but crickets. Speaker Mike Johnson still hasn’t said if he plans to schedule a vote.”

Progressive Farmer’s Jerry Hagstrom reported this past Thursday that “Rep. David Scott, D-Ga., ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee, on Wednesday called on House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., to push the Republican leadership to bring the committee-passed farm bill to the House floor for a vote.”

“Scott said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has not shown any signal that he plans to bring up the bill ‘because it was not written as a serious bill. It was written to be used as a campaign slogan, nothing more!’ Hagstrom reported.

“‘Since the divisive markup almost two months ago, there has been no progress on Chairman Thompson’s partisan bill,'” Scott said, according to Hagstrom’s reporting. “‘This delay hurts the American people, especially in our rural communities where our farms are. And it injects uncertainty into our nation’s economies, both rural and urban. The willingness to delay the bill to play election-year politics is selfish and disrespectful to our farmers. They depend on us to pass a bipartisan farm bill.'”