The President of the North Dakota Farmers Union says he’s hoping Congress will agree on a new farm bill yet this year.
Mark Watne said the debate over the debt ceiling temporarily derailed discussions on major spending issues, including a farm bill.
"So now, here we are — we're trying to get input and trying to get the farm bill to move, knowing that the current bill will actually expire next year," Watne said in an interview. "We certainly don't want to do an extension."
Watne said an extension would just cause a lot of uncertainty among farmers.
"I don't know if we ever get the truly good dialogue on what's working, what's not working, what can we enhance and make it function better for taxpayers, consumers and farmers," Watne said.
Watne also said agriculture itself is a "miniscule" part of the bill, because it contains the food stamp program, or SNAP.
"It's amazing we still call it a farm bill," Watne said.
Watne said one of the priorities his organization has for a farm bill is strengthening the “safety net” for farmers.
"First of all, the support levels are way too low," Watne said. "They don't function properly when we have a disaster and a price collapse."
Source: prairiepublic.org
Categories: North Dakota, Business