Recent agreement on a new farm bill was encouraging at a time of troubling uncertainty for the nations producers.
After much legislative wrangling, Congress passed a five-year, $867 billion farm bill with bipartisan support, and sent it to President Trump to sign.
The bill, which provides for billions of dollars in farm subsidies and extension of crop insurance programs, promises some financial certainty to farmers hard hit by the U.S. trade war with China and other setbacks in the agriculture industry.
All policymakers aligned with the president had cause to feel the pressure from the heartland, where Trumps tariffs have exacted serious financial harm. Bankruptcies have surged across farm country.
Give credit to federal lawmakers, and members of Kansas congressional delegation in particular (notably U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Ag Committee), for working toward a final product that balanced the needs of struggling farmers and low-income families nationwide.
The federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, had been a major sticking point. More than 42 million Americans rely on the anti-hunger program, including some 234,000 in Kansas.
Republicans in Congress wanted stricter work requirements and other eligibility changes for SNAP, which would have eliminated benefits for upward of 1 million households nationwide. Thanks to bipartisan compromise, the stiffer work requirements werent included in the final legislation.
Also in the new farm bill: Hemp would be removed from the federal list of controlled substances and its production legalized, with hemp farmers eligible for crop insurance. Hemp has industrial and therapeutic uses but doesnt cause the high associated with marijuana.
The bill also extends some federal subsidy benefits to farmers first cousins, nieces and nephews even if they dont work on the farm a change pitched as a way to encourage more family members to engage in farming.
FARM BILLS are complex and never perfect. One negative in the latest farm bill is in the bulk of subsidies still favoring large-scale farm operations over smaller farms, where the safety net is most needed.
While theres still much to digest, one things certain: The end result this time around did produce some financial certainty at a time of great turmoil for farmers in Kansas and beyond.
The Topeka Capital-Journal
