Both the Senate and House have passed and sent forward their 2020 agriculture spending bills. Now a conference committee will have to meld the two. There is a spending difference between the pair as the discretionary spending called for in the Senate measure is $58 million more than in 2019, while the House’s version is $1 billion more. South Dakota Farmers Union President Doug Sombke the amount of spending isn’t the biggest concern, it’s how it’s allocated.

National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson says there are positive components in both measures including funding for farm stress and ag mediation among those.

Johnson says what he’s really concerned about is that the Senate bill funds the new USDA research agencies moving to Kansas City while the House doesn’t.

Once the conference committee meets and approves the legislation, then it’ll have to be signed by President Trump.