Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Farm Bill Still Mired

There’s still no agreement on a federal Farm Bill.  Representative Kristi Noem says lawmakers are close to coming up with a complete package to send to President Obama.  Noem says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has not given a deadline for crafting the bill, which has not been done despite various extensions.  Eventually, the nation’s Ag policy would revert to a standard from 19-49 if the House and Senate don’t hammer out a measure.  Noem says that’s not likely.

“We haven’t had that discussion.  I think everyone believes if it goes into February, it’ll still be wrapped up within a week or two, and that won’t be an issue.  We have had no discussions here, as members of Congress, over any kind of a proposal that would need to take up legislation that would bridge the gap.  So we really believe we’re on track and that won’t be necessary—and if the Secretary has confidence that we’re fairly close to our original time frame, we’ll get the job done,” says Noem.

          Noem says Congress is hung up on the dairy portion of the Farm Bill, since supply management is favored by the Speaker of the House and opposed by the Senate.  She says members have compromised on budget reductions for the SNAP program, amounting to seven to ten billion dollars in reductions.

In the other house of Congress, US Senator Tim Johnson he hopes the committee can come to an agreement.  He wants to see a Farm Bill passed rather than another extension.    Johnson says any extension would not include key components needed for South Dakota producers.   

“I’m still hopeful that negotiators will be able to reach an agreement shortly so we can avoid any sort of extension.  It should be noted that a simple extension of the 2008 Farm Bill wouldn’t include the livestock disaster programs.   We need complete action on a  comprehensive long term farm bill,” says Johnson.

Johnson says a strong livestock indemnity program in the Farm Bill is vital for South Dakota as ranchers continue to struggle with losses in the early fall blizzard.

Johnson says he hopes an agreement on the Farm Bill can come by the end of the month.