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Farmers Union hopeful for an on-time farm bill

A National Farmers Union official is optimistic Congress can craft the new farm bill in a timely manner.  Vice President of Advocacy Mike Stranz tells Brownfield the first House Ag Committee public listening session starts four days after the new Congress is sworn January 7^th. “Hopefully, that momentum continues and that markups and debate and negotiation can get started late in the spring, maybe into the summer, and we can try to get a farm bill done on time.”

He says National Farmers Union would also like to see something new in the next farm bill. “National Farmers Union’s policy process identified a competition title as a good idea for the next farm bill. That could be a way to channel the energy that we’ve seen on having a more competitive marketplace, not just for farmers but for consumers and everybody involved in the economy.”

Stranz says food security and resilience challenges have taught everyone what works and what doesn’t, and he hopes Congress applies those lessons when writing the farm bill.

Stranz says his organization also wants the next farm bill to have a farm safety net that reflects today’s market realities with high inflation and input costs.

Stranz says National Farmers Union also remains committed to having their Dairying Together growth management plan as part of the next farm bill, a supply management concept that several farm organizations do not support.

Stranz says some pre-negotiations have already happened, but the real work starts now that the year of the farm bill is about to start.