A quick follow up on the announcement earlier this week that the Senate would be wrapping up debates on Farm Bill amendments:

The Senate approved the change, passing the cloture yesterday morning.  This means, essentially, that there was enough debate and not enough consensus to the point that a super-majority of Senators decided to cut to the chase and skip the amendment process. 

Cloture is normally a process used to cut short filibusters.  In this case, the bill was in its second week of negotiation on the Senate floor with little compromise to show for it.  Meanwhile, the Senate is anxious to move on to the Immigration Bill, which awaits consideration.

Cloture on the Farm Bill was approved with a vote of 76-22.  According to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who filed for cloture, there will be just one amendment vote, the Leahy broadband amendment (a pilot program for increasing internet access in rural areas), before the vote on final passage of the farm bill, on Monday evening.  

Senator Debbie Stabenow, Agriculture Committee chairperson, had ealier attempted to rally Senators together to agree on other amendments, but the passing of the cloture vote indicates that she was not successful.  

As we move closer to that Monday vote we’ll do our best to keep you informed and plugged in to how you can support a fair Farm Bill – stay tuned to the NYFC Farmer Blog to hear the latest!