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Will the farm bill get finished before 2024?

INTERVIEW: U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley

There is a lot of uncertainty if Congress can get a farm bill finished before the end of the year, but an Iowa Senator says he’s optimistic it can be done.

U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley says lawmakers will need to prioritize the legislation after the August recess. “Chair of the (Ag) Committee, Debbie Stabenow, she said that’s to be done by the end of the year because I said, ‘are we going to have to have a one year extension of the farm bill?’ She didn’t think so.”

He tells Brownfield farmers need certainty. “If a farmer starting in the 2024 crop year can look ahead five years at what the program is, that’s better than a one year extension like we sometimes do when you don’t get a bill done.”

Grassley says maintaining crop insurance is one of his biggest priorities. “The one thing that I keep hearing from farmers about the farm bill is just leave crop insurance the way it is.”

He spoke to Brownfield at the Iowa State Fair on Friday.