The budget and a rift between Senate and House Ag Committee leadership may shape the new farm bill. House Ag Committee Chair Mike Conaway says he’s working with the budget committee right now to shore up at least the same amount of funding as they had for the 2014 bill.

Conaway says after losing their battle this week with Senate leaders, including Ag Committee Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, on getting dairy and cotton assistance included in the Omnibus, there is a rift that may make farm bill negotiations difficult.

He says the fact that Stabenow and other members of the Senate Ag Committee are up for re-election in 2018 may also impact negotiations.

Both Conaway and House Ag Committee Ranking Member Collin Peterson say they thought they had an agreement on including dairy and cotton provisions in the FY 2017 omnibus appropriations language. Conaway says Senators Patrick Leahy and Stabenow were responsible for killing the deal by insisting on an $800 million plan for dairy that was introduced at the last minute and was unpaid for.

A staffer with Senate Ag Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow’s office says there was never a deal brokered on assistance between House Ag and Senate leaders.