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Congresswomen Slotkin plans for bipartisan farm bill

A U.S. House Agriculture Committee member says 2023 Farm Bill discussions are expected to get serious in July.

Michigan Democrat Elissa Slotkin tells Brownfield, “We’ve heard different things from the chairman, I know he wants to get going and wants to have the conversation in July, and if it doesn’t happen in July, I’m guessing we will get started in earnest in September.”  “We all know what our deadline is. Our deadline is the end of the year,” she says.

Slotkin says her farm bill priorities include adequate safety nets for farmers, especially specialty crop farmers, ag research, conservation, and nutrition security.

And she says broadband internet needs to be treated like a utility.

“We want our rural communities to thrive,” she says.  “We don’t want them to lose young people and the way that you turn around some of that drain on our population is to allow people to be entrepreneurial and start their awesome business in a small community. Allow them to participate in some high-speed job in a city without having to live in a city.”

Slotkin tells Brownfield the process could be a bit of a nail-biter near the end but says the committee wants to work in a bipartisan matter.

Slotkin is serving her first year on the House Ag Committee and resides on her family’s farm in Holly.  Earlier this year she announced plans to run for Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow’s seat in 2024.