By Clint Thompson
The long-awaited farm bill is more than a year past due. Its next version may be on the horizon, however. At least that’s the hope shared by legislative leaders, says Bob Redding, who works for the Redding Firm and serves as a lobbyist for ag groups in Washington, D.C. He discussed the ongoing negotiations with the important piece of legislation.
“Chairman (GT) Thompson, I talked to him (recently), and he was very clear, he wants to move forward as soon as possible in the first quarter. We’ve got a lot of members interested in it, from not just the Southeast but the Midwest, West; they want to see this done,” Redding said. “We have a really good template. The bill that passed the House Ag Committee, a bipartisan bill that’s supported by republicans and some democrats. Sanford Bishop and Don Davis were key southeastern members that were on board. That bill would be a good template for moving forward.
“We’re glad we got that in the bank before the end of the year. It would be a great starting place. The Southeast, both row crop and specialty crop, will fare well if that is the end product.”
The farm bill is a piece of legislation that is scheduled to be renewed every five years. President Trump signed the Farm Bill into law on Dec. 20, 2018. But it expired at the end of September, 2023. The 2018 farm bill totaled $800 billion. The next farm bill could approach $1.5 trillion.