AFBF Pushes for a New Farm Bill Sooner Than Later

Leadership changes in Congress and government funding issues caused turmoil in trying to pass a new five-year Farm Bill, prompting a one-year extension of the 2018. Bill. The American Farm Bureau Federation's Executive Vice President Joby Young remains optimistic in the passage of a new bill.

“We're certainly pushing for a new farm bill just as soon as possible. We would love to have seen it, you know, before the end of this year, I think the most likely scenario is that it comes in the new year, we would push and hope and really advocate for having one just as soon as possible in the new year, certainly in the first quarter, if we can, there's ongoing debate about some policy issues that need to be worked out. But where we stand right now, there's a lot of work that's been done. So you know, despite all the turmoil that led to not being able to pass a new farm bill in the last couple of months, there was still a lot of work being done. So there's a lot of working through language examining programs, seeing what changes need to be.”

Mike Johnson's appointment as the new Speaker of the House has sparked optimism at AFBF. Given his favorable stance towards agriculture, and repeated recognition as a friend of the Farm Bureau, Young anticipates that the speaker's support will accelerate the passage of a new farm bill.

“And one of the first things he did when he was running for Speaker he laid out a handful of priorities and put that right at the top of the list passing the Farm Bill. So we're really pleased about that. That can't be understated how important it is to have the senior leaders include that on their list of priorities and he definitely did that.”

Joby Young with the American Farm Bureau Federation.