Worries of SNAP Cuts and Educating Farm Community on Opiods
From the Ag Information Network, I'm Bob Larson with your Agribusiness Update.**The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, is being hotly debated as the 2018 Farm Bill takes shape.
Projected to increase the deficit by $1.5 trillion over 10 years, the tax reform bill could give Republicans reasons to slash red ink by making cuts to things like Medicare, Social Security, and welfare programs like SNAP.
As reported in Agri-Pulse, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says Senate Republicans have no interest in welfare reform.
https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/10403-snap-debate-likely-limited-to-farm-bill-despite-gop-welfare-reform-push
**Good weather boosts expectations that Brazil's 2017/18 soybean crop will surpass 110 million tons, the second-largest in history.
That's according to the average of 11 forecasts in a Reuters poll.
U.S. farmers are likely to collect 110.19 million tons this season, above the 109.43 million from a previous Reuters poll, but below last year's all-time record of 114 million.
Most forecasters either revised projections upward or kept estimates for yet another bumper harvest in Brazil, the world's largest exporter of soybeans.
https://www.agriculture.com/markets/newswire/update-1-brazils-201718-soybean-crop-seen-second-biggest-in-history
**The American Farm Bureau Federation and National Farmers Union are joining forces to increase awareness about the nation's opioid epidemic and its impact on farming communities.
As reported on agwired.com, the "Farm Town Strong" campaign aims to provide resources and information to rural Americans and to encourage farmers to support one another when affected by the crisis.
The groups have launched a website at FarmTownStrong.org with information and resources to help farm families and rural communities affected by the opioid epidemic.
http://agwired.com/