Farm Bill Extension?

Colorado Farm Bureau vice president of advocacy Sean Martini says that a new farm bill is unlikely due to the current politics and dynamics in Washington DC, here's Martini explaining why he believes there will not be a new farm bill released, but instead an extension of the current one.

“I think when we're talking about it from a realistic standpoint, with the makeup of the house, both theologically and just coming down to the sheer numbers and where we are in the process at this point in the cycle. With coming up to September deadline, we're probably going to be looking at an extension of the current Farm Bill rather than a new bill writ large, which is disappointing because there's a lot of things that can be and should be adjusted. But again, given the the politics of the situation and how far behind we are in the overall process, we're probably going to be looking at an extension of the current farm bill in September rather than something new.”

Shawn Martini vice president of advocacy with the Colorado Farm Bureau. Every five years Congress passes legislation that sets National Agriculture, nutrition, conservation and forestry policy, commonly referred to as the Farm Bill.

The committee formally kicked off its farm bill process for the 2023 farm bill with field hearings in both Michigan and Arkansas last year. Hearings continued in November and December of 2022 and will continue in their early parts of this year. The current farm bill is set to expire on September 30.