U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-SD, a longtime member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, recently met with Sen. Pat Roberts, R-KS, chairman of the committee, to discuss the eight farm bill proposals he introduced over the past year. Thune’s proposals, which are intended to be wrapped into the larger, yet-to-be-released farm bill package, include increasing the Conservation Reserve Program acreage cap to 30 million acres and creating a new short-term conserving use program that would build soil health and increase farm income when commodity prices are below production costs.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to meet with Chairman Roberts to discuss my farm bill proposals, which I believe will make a real difference for farmers and ranchers not only in South Dakota, but throughout the entire United States,” said Thune. “During this ongoing effort, I’ve emphasized the importance of having a farm bill that’s done right and on time. I look forward to working with the chairman and my colleagues on the committee to accomplish these goals and I thank him for taking the time to meet with me.”
Thune also discussed his proposals to add haying and grazing flexibility to CRP and improve livestock disaster programs, including providing additional assistance to individual Native American livestock producers. To learn more about these and other Thune farm bill proposals, please visit the farm bill section on www.thune.senate.gov.
