JUNE 13, 2024:
Reaction continues to be mixed to the farm bill framework released (June 11, 2024) by Senate Ag Committee Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR).
Farm Credit Council applauded Senate Ag leaders for putting out ideas to move the farm bill forward. “Economic conditions in agriculture are tightening, and America’s farmers and ranchers need the certainty of a five-year farm bill,” says FCC President and CEO Todd Van Hoose. “We need that certainty this year.”
Response from Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) was more mixed, saying that she and Boozman have had many conversations about getting ideas on paper and that this is a welcome development. “Now it’s time to do the hard work,” she says.
JUNE 12, 2024:
Senator John Boozman (R-AR), ranking member of the Senate Ag Committee, unveiled (June 11, 2024) the Senate Republican-drafted framework answering the call for a “farmer-focused” farm bill. “From the onset of this process, we have sought to draft a farm bill that reflects the needs of stakeholders,” Boozman says. “The world has changed dramatically since the 2018 bill became law, and the unprecedented challenges and economic uncertainty that farmers now face are only projected to get worse in the coming years.” He also says that’s why farmers have been calling on senators to put more farm in the farm bill. The Senate Republican Committee members say the framework modernizes the safety net, facilitating the expansion of access to overseas markets, fosters breakthroughs in agricultural research, and grows the rural communities that farmers, ranchers, and foresters call home. They also say it does all that while making historic investments in conservation and protecting nutrition programs.
House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member David Scott released the following statement after Senator John Boozman published a farm bill summary that mimics the House Republicans’ partisan farm bill:
“By copying the approach taken by House Agriculture Republicans, the Senate Agriculture Republican minority has chosen to ignore Democratic warnings by putting forth policies, particularly on nutrition, that Democrats cannot and will not accept. The worst-kept secret in the agriculture community is that a farm bill with the Republican proposal on the Thrifty Food Plan will never become law. Who will acknowledge this reality first, House or Senate Republicans? Or will they continue to place their ideological obsession with making massive cuts to SNAP over the real need of our farmers to enact a farm bill this year?”
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) welcomed the Farm Bill framework released by Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR). Included in the framework are top priorities for cattle producers, similar to the bipartisan House Farm Bill, such as funding to protect the U.S. cattle herd from foreign animal disease, continued support for voluntary conservation programs, and other critical food security provisions.
“Thank you to Ranking Member Boozman for building on the successful, bipartisan work of Chairman GT Thompson, to put forward a Farm Bill that cattle producers across the country can proudly support,” said NCBA President and Wyoming rancher Mark Eisele. “This Senate Farm Bill framework understands the full threat of a foreign animal disease outbreak on U.S. soil and acknowledges that cattle farmers and ranchers carry out vital work, through voluntary conservation programs, to preserve our Nation’s natural resources. NCBA welcomes this positive step forward and urges the Senate to follow the Ranking Member’s lead, as the policy ideas in this framework have already received bipartisan support in the House.”
National Farmers Union (NFU) President Rob Larew issued the following statement:
“I appreciate Senator Boozman’s work on advancing the farm bill and look forward to continuing the process. Farm bills do best when they are the product of bipartisanship, which requires collaboration and negotiation. Ranking Member Boozman outlined his policy priorities in today’s framework, which represents another important step towards passing a farm bill. We hope that further talks with Chairwoman Stabenow will result in a farm bill that enhances and ensures competitive markets, strengthens voluntary conservation programs, maintains strong support for nutrition programs and boosts the farm safety net while directing benefits to family farmers and ranchers. We’re ready to keep working together in the weeks and months ahead.”
Statement of NCFC President Chuck Conner on Farm Bill Framework from Senator John Boozman:
“I would like to commend Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member John Boozman for putting forward a draft farm bill framework earlier today. The proposal would make significant investments to strengthen farmers and ranchers and bolster rural communities. Having the Senate committee taking up a farm bill is the next logical step in the process of passing a farm bill this year. With both the majority and minority leaders of the committee having now released frameworks, we hope that they will come together soon to work on a farm bill that can gain strong bipartisan support.”
National Sorghum Producers Chairman Craig Meeker, a sorghum farmer from Wellington, Kansas, released the following statement in response:
“National Sorghum Producers (NSP) warmly welcomes Senator Boozman’s forward-thinking farm bill proposal, tailored to meet the urgent and evolving needs of America’s hardworking farmers and ranchers. It is imperative now more than ever to ensure that the next farm bill truly reflects the essential role of farming within our national infrastructure. The message has been clear: ‘we need more farm in the farm bill,’ and this framework sets a strong foundation for delivering on that need.
We are encouraged by this action in the Senate, and look forward to working with the full committee as details become further refined, ensuring reference prices accurately mirror the real and rising costs of production for U.S. sorghum farmers and that the overall safety net is enhanced.”
The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) supports the 2024 Farm Bill framework introduced by U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR).
“On behalf of America’s 60,000+ pork producers, we thank Ranking Member Boozman for a farm bill framework that listens to and answers producers’ calls for foreign animal disease prevention resources, market access expansion, relief from burdensome multi-state regulations, and more,” said NPPC President Lori Stevermer, a pork producer from Easton, Minn. “After a successful markup of the House Agriculture Committee’s Farm Bill, we urge swift action by Chairwoman Stabenow and Ranking Member Boozman to protect producers from a patchwork of regulations across 50 states and provide certainty to the food supply chain.”
“NACD appreciates that Ranking Member Boozman’s framework calls to integrate all IRA conservation investments into the conservation title, which will allow more producers across the country to adopt effective, locally led conservation practices for decades to come,” said National Association of Conservation Districts President Kim LaFleur. “We are thrilled that this request has bipartisan support from the leaders of the agriculture committees, but Congress has limited time to take advantage of this huge opportunity to integrate IRA funding. We urge these leaders to work together to pass a final bill this year that includes this proposal and additional priorities supporting our country’s locally led conservation delivery system.”
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