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theory, if they haven’t passed the farm bill by November, they have a window of about a month and a half to get this done in the lame duck period.” In a statement, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said the House and Senate agriculture committee proposals acknowledge that programs used by farmers and ranchers require additional investment in the face of falling commodity prices and increased inflation.
“While there will inevitably be disagree- ments on specific provisions and funding levels of several programs, we encourage both chairs to hold a markup this month,” Duvall said. “We urge lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to work together in a bi- partisan manner to find consensus and pass a farm bill before the extension ex- pires this year.” Reflecting on his first trip to the na- tion’s capital, Honig said, “It was really
eye-opening to be in Washington, D.C., and see where everything gets done and just to talk to the politicians. “It was a really incredible experience,” he added. “I had several congressmen ask me specifically about my family operation. I think that they want to learn so that they can try to represent us better.” (Christine Souza is an assistant editor of Ag Alert. She may be contacted at csouza@cfbf.com.)
rural communities, nutrition and hunger advocates, researchers, conservationists and the climate community.” In California Farm Bureau discussions with lawmakers in the nation’s capital, “members of our delegation reminded them that waiting another year to pass a farm bill is very much to our detriment,” said Matthew Viohl, Farm Bureau’s direc- tor of federal policy. “It may be easy to kick the can down the road with short-term extensions, but the consequences are real for farm- ers in California and across the coun- try,” Viohl added. Discussions with lawmakers, he said, reflected a general uncertainty about what could be accomplished during a presiden- tial election year. “Each office has its own different outlook on what they think might happen. Some are very hopeful and some not hopeful at all,” Viohl said. However, despite the uncertain polit- ical landscape, Viohl said, “it was a very productive advocacy trip,” adding that lawmakers appreciate hearing from farm- ers who provide a “boots-on-the-ground perspective” on federal policies. Sutter County rice grower Sy Honig of Robbins, a member of the Leadership Farm Bureau class, said the delegation emphasized that federal crop insurance needs to be expanded in the farm bill to include more specialty crops. “We grow more than 400 varieties of crops in California and only a frac- tion of those are covered,” Honig said. “Expansion of crop insurance for crops that are not typically covered could help (for example) those farming small grains and specialty rice.” Honig said politicians from both par- ties were receptive to suggestions brought by California farmers and acknowledged that they are trying to pass the farm bill this year. “They’re trying to work through their differences,” Honig said. Each framework, Viohl said, con- tains improvements for farmers and ranchers with expansion of crop insur- ance protections, particularly for spe- cialty crop producers, an expansion of the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and more money for trade and market access programs. Other priorities for California farmers, he said, include expanded risk-manage- ment tools and programs, fixes to ad- justed gross income limits, an updated definition of rural, support for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and more ro- bust forestry programs. A key sticking point to negotiations, Viohl said, is nutrition program funding, which represents more than 80% of the total cost of the farm bill. The 2024 Farm Bill is estimated to cost $1.5 trillion for 10 years, Viohl said. “Changes to the nutrition title remain a key roadblock between both sides, with Democratic leaders suggesting the Republican proposals on adjusting the base food plan for SNAP recipients are a complete nonstarter,” Viohl said. “In
TWO FAMILIAR BRANDS.
ONE COMMON GOAL.
8 Ag Alert May 15, 2024
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