A Capitol Hill lobbyist believes Nebraska farmers will be happy with the compromises reached on the Farm Bill.
American Farm Bureau Federation Director of Congressional Affairs Andrew Walmsley says he’s anxious to see the final product from Senate and House negotiators, but he doesn’t expect to be surprised.
“Hopefully, enough tweaking and refinements around the edges that we’ve improved a lot of the commodity programs,” Walmsley tells Brownfield Ag News.
Walmsley says agricultural lobbyists succeeded in killing amendments which would have changed crop insurance.
Senate-House negotiators reached tentative agreement on the new Farm Bill once expanded work requirements to the food stamp program passed by the House were dropped. Also, a last-minute attempt for wide-ranging changes to forestry management in wake of the deadly California wildfires have been softened considerably.
It appeared the Farm Bill was on the verge of passing prior to the September 30th deadline. Then, problems arose and attempts to re-fashion the bill for passage were postponed until after the mid-term elections. Congressional leaders would like to wrap up work on the bill before adjourning. Otherwise, Congress would have to start all over again.
AUDIO: Brent Martin reports [:40]