The House Ag Committee told House Budget Committee Members not to cut agriculture further, saying agriculture has done its job reducing the deficit. In the House Ag annual Budget Views and Estimates letter Committee Chair Mike Conaway says the Committee already cut $23 billion over 10 years through the farm bill and across the board cuts, known as sequestration.

Those savings include elimination in the 2014 Farm Bill of direct payments to farmers. However, the appeal to the Budget Committee is not just about earlier agriculture budget cuts…

The letter comes after a successful panel bid last year to turn back $3 billion in crop insurance cuts. The panel told the Budget Committee that other areas that make up 98 percent of government spending should be looked at first when considering additional cuts.

Over in the Senate, Agriculture Committee Chair Pat Roberts and ranking Democrat Debbie Stabenow remained locked on not reopening the Farm Bill, further protecting fiscal year 2017 agriculture spending.