A Late Farm Bill

With your Southeast Regional Ag News, I am Haylie Shipp. This is the Ag Information Network.

This is not a program with political commentary, but I think we all saw this one coming. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell now says that Congress will deliver a farm bill, but that its not likely in September. Roll Call says McConnell told the Kentucky Farm Bureau that Congress is running out of working days on the legislative calendar before the current law expires on September 30.

McConnell is one of the highest-ranking members of Congress to admit the timeline for a new farm bill is shifting past September. When asked about reauthorizing the five-year farm bill, McConnell says, “We’ll figure it out.”

While the current bill runs out on September 30, it looks like the new deadline for farm legislation will be December 31. On January 1, some American farm policies will revert to 1940s-era controls on production and costly price supports. If the farm bill does get pushed to 2024, a one-year extension becomes likely as, of course, it’s a presidential election year.

Again, that’s Senator Mitch McConnell now recognizing publicly to the Kentucky Farm Bureau that a 2023 Farm Bill authorized before the current legislation expires is not likely.