On a state and national level, the passage of a new Farm Bill is at the forefront of every discussion. On September 30th, the current Farm Bill expired, resulting in huge gaps in what is realistically the roadmap and security to the greatest industry in Louisiana and America as a whole. There is no excuse for this.
Failure to pass the Farm Bill has created uncertainty during a time of many challenges, as well as contributing to weak commodity prices and markets. It has also played a major role in the inability of the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to hire new employees and sign new contracts with producers, resulting in negative consequences for many years to come.
New enrollments for most of the USDA’s conservation programs, including the Conservation Reserve Program, livestock projects under EQIP, the Grassland Conservation Initiative, and several wetland, forest and watershed restoration programs, have ceased to operate. Also programs for socially disadvantaged, Veterans, young and beginning farmers, and the National Organic Certification Cost -Share program, have shut down.
Failure to pass a new Farm Bill will further erode our ability to sell commodities on the world markets. Additionally, if an extension is not instituted by the end of this year, we could see a reversion of programs and reference prices back to when the programs were first introduced in previous Farm Bills.
Some areas of the Farm Bill, such as crop insurance programs and nutrition programs, operate under permanent law without a sunset date. These programs will continue to operate, albeit without any necessary updates and improvements.
We have been promised for more than a year that it would be done and now we are being told that it will be sent to a new Congress for consideration. The bottom line is… failure to pass a new Farm Bill will harm American Agriculture. It will decrease profitability and sustainability. And it will inevitably result in higher food prices at the grocery store.
We need a new Farm Bill… now.
Mike Strain
Commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry | CAST Board of Trustees
