In a few weeks, the current farm bill is set to expire, but since many political officials are busy working on campaigns for the upcoming elections, the renewal of this legislation will be pushed back, causing worry among the agriculture industry. On Sept. 20, Speaker of the House John Boehner announced the vote for the new farm bill, H.R. 6083, would be delayed until after the November election, according to the Des Moines Register. Boehner explained there is uncertainty whether there are enough votes to pass the bill in the House, even though the Senate passed it in June.
"Right now 16 million people that work in agriculture are being left hanging by the House leadership," Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) explained to the Register.
U.S. News and World Report claims that the farm bill plays a major role in the country's agriculture industry, as it extends crop insurance and conservation programs as well as the food stamp program. While many farmers, ranchers and agricultural businesses are calling for immediate action concerning the legislation, the news source indicates that the delayed renewal would not affect every project that depends on it. Food stamps, commodity programs for farms and certain research and conservation projects would be unaffected at least until spring of next year.
"The certainty provided by a five-year farm bill is particularly valuable to farmers, business owners and investors with an interest in rural energy initiatives," read a letter from the Agriculture Energy Coalition (AgEC), according to the Herald Online. "Inaction by the house on H.R. 6083 will introduce a grave level of uncertainty to a growing segment of the U.S. economy, deterring private sector investments and threatening good paying jobs."
Many conservation and research programs, including the wetlands and grassland reserve programs, a number of energy programs, rural development projects and some nutrition assistance programs, would lose their federal funding at the end of the fiscal year if the renewal is delayed. The dairy sector of the agriculture industry could be hit hard as well. The Milk Income Loss Contract, in which the government buys excess dairy products, is threatened, and this could put many dairy farmers out of business.
Advocates continue to push Congress to take action and pass the new farm bill before the current one expires. In the meantime, farmers and other businesses in the industry can take steps to protect themselves, such as selling unneeded agriculture equipment and purchasing used items they may need. This can help them to maximize their profits, which may provide some certainty should the bill be delayed and cause issues.
