NORWICH – Despite drawn-out negotiations, United States law makers are optimistic a new farm bill will be put in place as early as next month, giving farmers and dairy consumers alike reason to breath a sigh of relief.
The long-awaited U.S. Farm Bill was a topic of discussion during a visit from Congressman Richard Hanna to the local yogurt manufacturer Sunrise Farms in Norwich last week. While it’s become clear the federal legislature will not pass a farm bill before the end of the year, hopes are high that the Senate and House of Representatives will reach an agreement on a new bill by the end of January, he said.
A new federal farm bill is adopted every five years. However, farmers nationwide have been without one since the 2008 Farm Bill expired in September after being given a year-long extension in 2012.
If a new farm bill isn’t passed soon, the federal government, by law, will revert to an outdated 1940s era agriculture policy that will require it to purchase dairy products at prices high above the market rate in order to keep dairy farms afloat. That policy, put in place by the federal government in 1949 to support farmers and provide dairy farmers a price floor for their products, will subsequently lead to a steep hike in dairy prices for consumers who could pay as much as $8 per gallon at the grocery store.
Although the House and the Senate have each passed their own versions of a farm bill this year to prevent what’s been coined “the dairy cliff” by federal officials, there’s real discrepancy as to how much should be invested in food stamps and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) included as part of the Farm Bill. A new farm bill is likely to cut $8 billion over a decade to the food stamp program, although many Republican lawmakers want stricter eligibility rules that would disqualify nearly four million food stamp recipients and save $40 billion over 10 years. That, said Hanna, has been the sticking point in negotiations.
“I was one of seven members who did not support the $40 million in cuts,” Hanna added.
Despite slow-moving progress of a farm bill, many Chenango County farmers are optimistic they will see a new bill as early as next month. “The fact that a bill will go to a conferencing committee is a good sign” said Bradd Vickers, president of the Chenango County Farm Bureau and local leading advocate for the U.S. Farm Bill. “Our Farm Bureau members have continued to put pressure on this issue and we’ve made several trips to Washington to support it.”
Vickers also pointed out that failure to provide food stamp assistance through a farm bill would result in increased stress on local taxpayers who would have to fill the gap created in food assistance programs. Plus, the farm bill provides money for soil and water conservation districts to fund federally mandated initiatives to clean up the Chesapeake Bay, and offers assistance for farmers to recover from natural disasters which, if not covered, would lead to increased prices on grocery store shelves and school lunches, he said.
Vickers added, “The Farm Bill is kind of a trickle down, if you will. It has a major effect on our local communities, from the field to the fork. It’s going to cost local taxpayers more not to have a farm bill.”