Election and Farm Bill

From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. Several elections are still playing out in states across America, and many of the results could significantly impact agricultural policy over the next two years.

Michael Torrey, founder and principal of the Torrey Advisory says, regardless of who controls Congress, the tight margins in the House and Senate may mean it’ll be hard to make changes in the upcoming farm bill …

TORREY … “Are they going to try to pass a farm bill with Republican-only votes, which they've done during the last couple of farm bills, or are they going to try to reach across the aisle and pass a farm bill? And I would tend to believe that their starting point is going to try to be a pass Republican-only farm bill. What kind of farm bill are the Republicans going to need to get out of the House, and that would kind of stand in contrast to will it be kind of the same or will it be different? And if that is the path they choose, then we can see a bill coming out of the House that could be significantly different by just trying to get the votes as a way to get to conference.”

He also expects Senate leadership to work well together to craft a bill they can get to a conference committee. One of the biggest sticking points is likely to be funding for the farm bill programs, especially if Republicans get control of the House …

TORREY … “Coming into this farm bill, the big issue was on funding, you know, and I think we've heard a lot of saber rattling about going after some of the hunger programs because of the significant funding increases in the past years. But I think with a margin this small for House Republicans, it's gonna be difficult to get much reform if I had to guess.”

That’s Michael Torrey, founder of the Torrey Advisory Group.