Farm Bill policy update – One step forward, one step back
It feels like we’re accelerating toward September 30th, the expiration of the current farm bill extension! That date has always been on the long-term horizon, but until recently there’d been hope of real headway on creating a full five-year bill to replace these short-term solutions. Congress is back in home-districts for the month of August, […]
A Brief History of the 2012 Farm Bill
We get a lot of questions about exactly what went down with the Farm Bill last year. (Honestly, it was head-spinning confusion even for seasoned policy experts.) To help shed a little light, here’s a play-by-play recap: For starters, what is the Farm Bill and how does it affect me? The Farm Bill is an […]
A possible fix to stranded farm bill programs (and sequestration) announced in the senate
Late last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) released the Senate Democrats’ proposal to avoid the upcoming sequestration through spending cuts and revenue increases. Included in this “American Family Economic Protection Act” proposal were a number of changes to USDA spending, many addressing shortcomings of the terrible Farm Bill extension passed in early January. […]
A Sharp Twist in Farm Bill 2012/2013
The great Farm Bill saga of 2012/2013 took a major turn for the worse last night as the Senate passed a new Farm Bill extension. In a rapid about-face, the Senate passed a nine-month Farm Bill extension that continues prominently wasteful policies from the last bill and ignores a slew of conservation and beginning farmer […]