The traditional urban and rural coalition that carried the farm bill to passage in the past is losing its appeal, said farm policy expert Jonathan Coppess on the farmdoc daily blog, pointing to partisan polarization and “negative-sum factional polarization.” Coppess, an associate professor at the University of Illinois, said agreement on a new farm bill will be difficult to achieve, “extension of the current law becomes increasingly convenient, more politically palatable, it will become the default.”
Leaders of the Senate and House Agriculture committees said recently that they hoped to break the months-long impasse over the new farm bill. “I believe we have a small window of opportunity to broker a deal,” said Georgia Representative David Scott, the senior Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, in a letter to committee Democrats. If the committee leaders make progress this month, “the hope would then be for the package to be included in must-pass legislation” after the November 5 election.
Some farmers say a new farm bill running two years with an updated safety net would be preferable to a second extension of the 2018 farm law that expired last September 30, according to Scott.
“If further proof is needed that farm bill reauthorization is not going to happen in the 118th Congress, the impasse over funding the government proves it,” wrote Coppess. Just as disagreements over government funding persist for months, lawmakers cannot find accord on elements of the farm bill. And the knowledge that it would be relatively easy to extend current law removes the impetus for agreement on a farm bill, according to Coppess. The threat of reverting to high commodity supports, if the farm bill is allowed to expire, no longer compels action as it has in recent years.
EDITOR’S TAKE:
You may have heard the old saying, “Thank goodness we’re not getting all the government we pay for.” Well, in some instances we just want government to do its job and, yes, we want what we’re paying for. The so-called farm bill is one example where in the past bi-partisan coalitions made passage in a timely manner possible. Looks like that is out the window these days. It would be beneficial to farmers/ranchers if a new farm bill would pass before this session of congress ends. However, it appears that kicking the can down the road is more acceptable these days. Make sure you take a different approach than kicking the can down the road. Take the earliest opportunity to let farmers/ranchers know how much they are appreciated. Let it be widely known that only you, a CAD member, can offer AgPack®. This great program offers your customer up to $40,000 in exclusive rebates and discounts when they purchase or lease a new or used qualified truck or SUV from you. In turn, the program allows you the opportunity to beat any other deal in town with what we like to call “hood cash”! You can maintain margins and still beat the other non-CAD dealers’ best offers!
