Negotiations on what the next farm bill should include are under way, but agriculture specialists and legislators say they believe the bill isn’t likely to be passed until at least September.
A recurring theme in talking with agriculture leaders is the importance of crop insurance.
“Ultimately, itis a food security bill,” said Ohio Farm Bureau President Bill Patterson.
He said crop insurance allows farmers to have a free market. The 2018 Agriculture Improvement Act is scheduled to expire in September.
“We do believe the farm bill is likely to pass in the fall,” he said.
Some of the negotiations indicate the price tag may $1.5 trillion, Patterson said. He said the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which provides food stamps for those in need, is part of the bill.
“The farwm bill has always be a bi-partisan effort,” Patterson said.
He said the organization hopes that will continue.
Jeff Magyar, owner of Magyar Farms in Ashtabula and Trumbull counties, said it is important to keep agriculture and the nutrition prwogram (SNAP) together.
He said the passage of the farm bill includes a wide variety of partners.
“It is a unique coalition of people to pass a farm bill,” he said.
Magyar said another challenge is more than a third of the legislators who will be working on the bill were not in office five years ago when the last farm bill was passed.
Magyar said the safety net for farmers is an important component of the bill. He said the war in Ukraine has shown how volatile agriculture markets can be.
He said the soybean market in Ohio alone is around $2 billion a year and more than 60 percent goes to foreign markets. He said it is important the farm bill provide money for the Farm Market Development Program and the Market Access Program to market commodities around the world.
Magyar said farmers also need assistance as it relates to the high costs of products due to inflation. He said planting costs have doubled in the last several years.
U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) is a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and has been meeting with farmers, ranchers, and agriculture producers to hear about their priorities.
“The best ideas don’t come from Washington, they come from Ohioans, and when writing a Farm Bill, the best ideas come from farmers themselves,” Brown said in a statement. “This year, we’ll build on the last farm bill and on all the work we’ve done to build rural infrastructure and improve our supply chains.”
The senator said U.S. agriculture production is critical.
“Whether it’s industrial production or ag production, more and more people are finally beginning to see what we have known for a long time: That it’s better for the long-term health of our economy and our communities when we produce more in America,” Brown said.
Brown has held a variety of roundtables recently, including one in Geneva last fall. He said he plans to focus on supporting all farmers, including rural and urban farmers.
Joe Logan, president of the Ohio Farmers Union, said it is important the United States Department of Agriculture continue to work with the United States Justice Department to create more competition on both ends of the farming industry.
He said there are a very small group of international companies that monopolize the industries farmers must use to get supplies, including fertilizer and seed. He said there are also international companies that dominate the beef, pork and chicken industries.
“Farmers are being pushed on both ends by consolidation,” he said.
Logan said he believes the Biden administration is starting to address some of the monopolistic tendencies in the market.
Logan also said it is important for the farming industry to adopt better practices to reduce climate control issues.
Source : Star Beacon