Congressional Ag Committee Holds Listening Session on Farm Bill

The Congressional Agriculture Committee is traveling the nation to hear directly from farmers and ranchers as they continue the long process of negotiating a new Farm Bill.

About 50 ag producers testified at the most recent listening session in Minnesota.

Representatives heard concerns about Crop Insurance, Organics, International Trade and feeding the poor.

To the last point Chairman Michael Conaway of Texas said Food Stamps is an important programs but not without its faults

"We're going to take care of the frail, elderly, mentally and physically disabled, the children. That's not the group that we're interested in hurting at all. The group that needs to go back to work, they need to go back to work. So Success should be how many people get off the program, back on their own two feet, making more money. That should be success opposed to how many people are on the program or how much money we spend. We're not going to hurt the folks who we'll always help but we want to strengthen the work requirements so we avoid those moral hazards associated with the program."

Conaway said he hoped to get something to the floor of the House by early 2018 or possibly by the end of 2017.

"The goal is to have it signed by the president before it expires in September of 2018,"