Senate Targeting Late May, Early June for Farm Bill Markup

Agri-Pulse’s Oliver Ward, Kim Chipman, and Lydia Johnson reported that “all eyes are shifting to the Senate following the House passage of a farm bill (this past) Thursday. Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman, R-Ark., is targeting the end of May or early June for a bill markup as Democrats prepare for fights on pesticides and food assistance.”

“The House ‘going ahead and passing something was really helpful to us,’ Boozman told Agri-Pulse at the Capitol Thursday. ‘Congress wants to get a farm bill done,'” Ward, Chipman and Johnson reported. “The Senate is not expected to be in session the last week of May. A recess is slated to begin May 23, with lawmakers returning June 1. Unlike in the House, where the bill could pass with a simple majority, the Senate version will require 60 votes to clear the filibuster, which means securing at least seven Democrats.”

Boozman told Brownfield Ag News in mid-April that “he likes House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn GT Thompson’s version of the ‘skinny farm bill.’ ‘I think what’s going to happen is we’re basically going to take his bill, maybe change it just a little bit working together, so we can have a product we agree on so we can move it expeditiously.'”

The Ag Information Network’s Bob Larson reported that Boozman said “‘I think the most important thing that we need to do is increase the credit limits. The 2018 Farm Bill was actually based on 2012 data. The world is totally different now than it was in 2012.'”

“Loans, Boozman says are a big part of farming,” Larson reported. “‘If you’re building a structure on your farm or making a loan for something, those loans, because the cost has increased so much, just don’t work anymore. The good news is those things don’t cost a lot, okay, as far as us backing it from a federal standpoint,'” Boozman said.

“Boozman says it will need to be a bipartisan effort,” Larson reported. “‘So, those are things we’re going to concentrate on, and we’re working with Senator Klobuchar, and we have a very, very good working relationship. We’ve done some really important things in the past. She’s a good partner, certainly coming from Minnesota, she understands how important agriculture is and is committed, so that’s where we’re at,'” Boozman said.

House Passed Their Version of the Skinny Farm Bill Last Week

Progressive Farmer’s Chris Clayton reported that “the House of Representatives on Thursday passed its newest version of the farm bill in a 224-200 vote without including provisions to allow for year-round E15 sales. The vote came after lawmakers also voted to strip provisions from the bill that would have benefited the pesticide industry.”

“After a contentious day on Wednesday driven primarily by Republican divisions on E15, lawmakers began debating amendments to the bill essentially overnight. The House then came back Thursday morning to vote on several amendments and pass the bill. Fourteen Democrats sided with 209 Republicans to pass the bill,” Clayton reported. “The farm bill now advances to the Senate, which will need to either take up the House version of the bill or draft its own version. The Senate will need a bipartisan 60-vote majority to pass.”

Politico’s Grace Yarrow reported that “the House’s successful vote marks the farthest a farm bill has made it in Congress since the most recent reauthorization was signed into law in 2018. The legislation still faces long odds against becoming law due to policy disagreements in the Senate. Thursday’s vote came after weeks of pressure from farm-state Republicans and agriculture lobbying groups that have stressed the need for largely bipartisan updates to help farmers facing high production costs, increasing bankruptcies and economic uncertainty.”