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Analyst: Farm bill fight could be ‘ugly’

One ag policy analyst says American agriculture is too diverse for a one-size-fits-all safety net to work.

Joe Outlaw of Texas A&M commends the leaders of the House and Senate Ag Committees for developing a farm bill outline that would have given producers a choice between shallow-loss revenue protection and higher target prices.  

But Outlaw predicts that is going to lead a fierce farm policy battle between various commodity groups in 2012.

“It does look like ‘producers’ choice’—that term—is going to be used quite a bit,” Outlaw says, “and the process is going to be very, very ugly this coming spring—because not every group is ready to not have just one program.”

In fact, Outlaw foresees the “regular order” farm bill debate becoming so toxic that he believes an extension of currently farm law is likely.

“I do not expect this process to end this coming year.  I expect it to be pushed back into 2013—which for those of those of you who don’t want to give up direct payments so fast—that’s your best hope.”

Outlaw serves as co-director of Texas A&M’s ag and food policy center, which has analyzed over two dozen safety net options for the next farm bill.

The NAFB News Service contributed to this story.