Post-Election for Ag Pt 2
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson with today’s Fruit Grower Report. While we didn’t see as big a Red Wave as predicted in the past election, having Republican control of the House should be a benefit for agriculture.But, Syngenta’s Mary Kay Thatcher says don’t expect a lot of changes …
THATCHER … “You know, I don’t know that I think that much is going to change on that respect. Because, if you look, Nancy Pelosi had what, a four or five vote margin depending on what day you talked about it and now you’re probably going to have Kevin McCarthy with a two or three or six or seven vote margin. It’s going to be kind of the same.”
And if you’re expecting a break from political ads, Thatcher says …
THATCHER … “I know the election just finished, but we’re already looking at the next election. There’s 24 Democratic Senators up and only 9 Republicans, and quite a few of those Democratic Senators are in purple states so they’re going to have tough races. So, I think a lot of the next two years is going to be trying to set the table for the 2024 elections. So, you have former President Trump already announcing. You’re probably going to have President Biden announcing, you know. So, probably not a lot gets done.”
But, Thatcher says, first things first …
THATCHER … “I think we can get a farm bill done. But we’ve always recognized in agriculture that that’s got to be bipartisan. I don’t think it will happen by October 1st, but I think we can get a bipartisan farm bill done just like we did in 2018.”
Thatcher says the biggest challenge in the next farm bill will be the budget as they look for ways to divvy up the available funds.