Several agricultural groups including the Center for Rural Affairs are expressing disappointment at the failure of Congress to approve a new farm bill before the 2014 one expired on September 30. Rural Affairs Program Manager Anna Johnson says a farm bill extension should have been passed but now the chances of them approving a new farm bill yet this year is looking bleak.
She says not only are there close to 40 programs in the farm bill that lost both authorization and funding when the 2014 measure expired but also some needed conservation programs are left hanging in limbo.
House Ag Committee Chairman Mike Conaway says he’s willing to stay in negotiations this month even though the House has left for a pre-election recess. He says farmers need the certainty a new farm bill would bring and Johnson agrees.
The major snag in getting a farm bill passed prior to September 30 was work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program included in the House version but not in the Senate and failure of conferees to come to agreement.
