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POTUS misses call for farm bill in SOTU

Some ag groups are disappointed that President Biden failed to mention the farm bill in his recent State of the Union Address.

Renewable Fuels Association CEO Geoff Cooper tells Brownfield the President provided very little detail on his energy or agriculture policies.

“We were hoping farm bill would be included in that list of legislation that he sort of rattled through and said, hey, there’s a bill, you know, a bill out there that would solve this issue, pass it,” he says. “We were hoping farm bill would be included there and it wasn’t.”

Cooper says he was pleased to hear him mention the need to keep family farms in good economic condition.

AUDIO: Geoff Cooper, Renewable Fuels Association

Chuck Conner with the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives says the speech was typical for a president in an election year.

“I didn’t really expect the president to specifically mention the farm bill,” he shares. Typically, they don’t get into you know the details of specific legislation pending before Congress. Occasionally they do but that’s often not the case.”

Conner says the partisan divide in Congress leaves him wondering if a farm bill is even a possibility this year.

“These are highly, highly partisan times,” he says. “They’re not looking to work together very often and so once we get through this next month of very, very difficult wrapping up the 2024 budget here, it’s going to be tough to pass additional legislation.”

AUDIO: Chuck Conner, National Council of Farmer Cooperatives

Chandler Goule, the head of the National Association of Wheat Growers says rising costs are a concern for many farmers and he wants a stronger farm safety net, enhanced trade promotion programs, and support of voluntary conservation programs.