Election and Agriculture Pt 2
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. The upcoming election will determine which party has the majority in both the House and Senate where policies will be created that impact agriculture, including the next Farm Bill.
Michael Torrey, founder of Michael Torrey and Associates, says with more and more urban lawmakers on the Ag Committee, it changes the game …
TORREY … “For example, hunger and feeding programs are significantly more than traditional farm programs, as far as the Farm Bill goes in terms of spending dollars, and so working to find a balance between the left and the right, there not going to be able to pass a Farm Bill with Republican votes only or Democratic votes only. So, it’s going to have to be a bill that’s passed where they’re working together.”
The Farm Bill expires September 30, 2023, and Torrey says that will come quickly …
TORREY … “Just extending a Farm Bill is not easy in this environment. So they’re going to be working very hard to get the job done. But if you take a look at the makeup of the House Ag Committee since the 2018 Farm Bill, and not including this election, on that committee there’s 27 new members of the House Ag Committee that have never done a Farm Bill. And on the Senate, it’s seven new Senators, and those numbers are going to be higher. So, the question is, we have all these new faces, we have a short period of time to tell our story.”
That’s Michael Torrey of Michael Torrey and Associates, a Washington D.C.-based Ag advisory group.
