Special Report

Spending has to be part of the conversation

Following the last-minute extension of the Farm Bill in December, Congress now has 9 months to craft a new Farm Bill. 

American Farm Bureau Chief Economist Bob Young says before that can happen – Congress will first have to deal with the Debt Ceiling.  “We do have folks on the Hill being very vocal and basically saying ‘by God we’ll take the country to default’ if we can’t get some resolution on spending,” he says.  “Spending does absolutely, positively, 100 percent need to be part of the conversation.”

So what does that mean for agriculture? “Agriculture will end up with some different numbers then what they started the process with,” he says. “And they’re probably going to be lower numbers to spend.”