On December 21, Congress passed a resolution that extends the 2018 Farm Bill for another year.
Jason Keck, a farmer from Owatonna and member of the Farm Bureau Young Farmer and Rancher Committee, says the bureau is focused on pushing for a new farm bill next year. However, he’s relieved to see the current bill extended for now.
We’re glad it was extended. The farm bill includes important programs like crop insurance. This extension gives us more time to work on a new farm bill that will better prepare us for the future, Keck said.
With Minnesota having two representatives, Rep. Brad Finstad R and Rep. Angie Craig D, on the House agriculture committee, along with Sen. Amy Klobuchar D on the Senate committee, Keck is optimistic about the chances of a new bill passing soon.
For now, Keck is pleased that the bill extension includes farm relief programs to support farmers who’ve had tough seasons.
This includes nearly $21 billion in disaster relief for farms affected by flooding, wildfires, and drought during 2023 and 2024, as well as $10 billion in economic aid to help farmers facing higher supply costs and lower commodity prices.
The Iowa Farmers Union also welcomed the extension. However, Aaron Lehman, president of the union, believes many agricultural issues still need to be addressed next year.
It was important to get extra help for farmers, but we still didn’t do enough. Congress had plenty of time to pass a better farm bill that would have improved our food system, said Lehman.
With potential tariffs and a new agriculture secretary coming soon, Lehman points out that the industry faces a lot of uncertainty.
Both groups are hopeful Congress will consider some of the issues that were left out of this year’s extension.
The Farm Bureau is particularly interested in securing year-round support for ethanol products like E-15, which benefit Minnesota crops like corn and soybeans. Meanwhile, the Iowa Farmers Union wants to find more ways to help farmers use federal conservation dollars on their farms.