Deal reached on 2018 farm bill

House and Senate agriculture leaders said late Nov. 28 they had come to a tentative deal on the 2018 farm bill.

House Agriculture Committee Chairmen Mike Conaway, R-TX; and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-KS; along with House Ranking Member Collin Peterson, D-MN; and Senate Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow, D-MI; made the three-sentence announcement in a joint statement issued by Cowaway’s committee office.

“We’re pleased to announce that we’ve reached an agreement in principle on the 2018 farm bill,” the statement said. “We are working to finalize legal and report language as well as CBO scores, but we still have more work to do. We are committed to delivering a new farm bill to America as quickly as possible.”

After a hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee Nov. 28, Roberts and Stabenow told reporters that that they are closer than ever to finishing the farm bill conference report.

They said congressional leadership has settled the issue of what, if any, forestry provisions will be included in the bill. They also said the Congressional Budget Office still has to figure out how much the bill will cost. The overall bill, including nutrition provisions that are to make up most of the spending, is expected to cost about $900 billion over 10 years.

Noting that he had said Tuesday “we’re close,” Roberts said that now “we are very, very close.”

Stabenow said she agreed with Roberts that “we are very, very close”, and added that it is “helpful” that the congressional leadership is in favor of getting the bill done before the legislative year ends.

The Senate and House top leaders—Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY; House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-WI; and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-CA—resolved the forestry question Nov. 27, the senators said. The issue had been bumped up to the leadership level because the issues were broader than those over which the agriculture committees have jurisdiction.

No major forestry provision

Roberts said that there was not time to write a major forestry provision, and that forestry would be “a minimum bill.” Stabenow noted that forestry has sometimes been handled outside the farm bill.

Neither of them was willing to say whether forestry would be handled in the farm bill or in separate legislation. They were also unwilling to go into any other specifics such as whether the question of payment limits on farm subsidies has been settled.

Members of the mostly Republican Congressional Western Caucus had been pushing for inclusion of House-passed provisions that would make it easier to clear forest floors and to thin forests, but environmentalists said those proposals would lead to questionable logging practices. Stabenow told Hill reporters that the bill could not pass the Senate if the House provisions were included.

Early in the day, Erik Wasson of Bloomberg News tweeted Peterson, “says forestry dispute in farm bill worked out overnight. House GOP still objecting to other aspects of deal. Says he is ready to vote on farm bill and can bring most Democrats to yes.”

Later in the day, a Peterson spokesman told The Hagstrom Report, “We’re very close and very encouraged.”

Later in the day, Roberts said it would be premature to describe the deal as final, because “there’s still some things out there that people have to agree on. We’re not at a place where I can say that there’s full agreement,” Politico reported.

At their meeting with reporters, both Stabenow and Peterson said that the process has been typical for farm bills.

“This is called the legislative process,” Stabenow said. “It is no different than any other year. Without an extension it’s a very big success.”

Asked what they would want to be known for in this bill, Stabenow said “getting it done with no extension.” (The 2014 farm bill expired Sept. 30, and if a new bill is not passed by Dec. 31, Congress would need to pass an extension to avoid problems in the dairy industry.)

Roberts said that writing a farm bill is “like pushing a rope.” He also recalled that in 1996, when he chaired the House Agriculture Committee and wrote the Freedom to Farm bill that “remade” farm policy, he took the bill to then Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-KS, who praised the bill and then said “here are the changes” that would have to be made.

Although he had not seen the bill, freshman Rep. Roger Marshall, R-KS, issued a statement, saying, “This legislation has been years in the making, and I am proud that Sen. Roberts and Chairman Conaway have struck an agreement that will give certainty to millions of farmers across the country and especially in Kansas.” 

Farm groups offer support

Already, farm groups are out with comments, even though they, too, had not seen the final bill. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said, "The 2018 farm bill emerging from the conference committee is good news for farmers amid a prolonged downturn in the agricultural economy. Chairmen Roberts and Conaway and Ranking Members Stabenow and Peterson made the bill a priority for this Congress, and all Americans—farmers and consumers—are better off for it.

“Continued access to risk management tools, assistance in foreign market development, and conservation and environmental stewardship programs within the legislation are especially important for farmers and ranchers. These programs will help provide certainty to rural America at a time when it is much needed given the financial headwinds so many family farms now face. Additionally, the bill continues to help low-income children, families, seniors and military veterans access the high-quality foods produced by farm families.

National Farmers Union President Roger Johnson said, “Getting a farm bill through the finish line before the end of the year is critical for the long-term viability and sustainability of family farmers and ranchers across the country. Farmers are enduring a growing financial crisis in the farm economy, and programs that support farm sustainability and diverse markets for family farmers have expired.

“Senate and House agriculture leaders and their staff have worked tirelessly to resolve differences in the chambers’ respective farm bills, and we’re optimistic they’ve come to terms on a farm bill that begins to provide the relief and certainty farmers need amidst struggling markets due to oversupply and trade volatility. We urge Congress to approve a farm bill before the end of the year.”

National Corn Growers Association President Lynn Chrisp said, “It’s imperative that farmers and rural communities have a new farm bill this year. NCGA is grateful for (the) announcement that sets the steps in motion to ensure that happens. Our grower members have been making phone calls and sending emails to Capitol Hill urging lawmakers to reach a deal before year’s end. We thank them for heeding this call and look forward to fully reviewing the conference agreement.”

National Association of Wheat Growers President Jimmie Musick said, “NAWG appreciates conferees diligently working together to reach an agreement to strengthen the agriculture industry. This past year our growers have dealt with the impact of the trade war between U.S. and China, extreme weather conditions, and a struggling rural economy and more. Farm bill support programs provide them with some certainty during these volatile times.

Larry Dreiling can be reached at 785-628-1117 or [email protected].