Kicking the can down the road might have been fun as a kid, but for farmers looking for some semblance of stability, Congress kicking the Farm Bill down the road is pretty much the opposite. After all, there was time for hearings on UFOs and aliens. Instead, a continuing resolution was signed, extending programs through Sept. 30, 2024.
Alabama Cooperative Extension ag economist Adam Rabinowitz says Title I crop programs, crop insurance and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will continue in their current form.
“With the Farm Bill extension, Congress is providing certainty in agricultural policy for next year, including knowing what farm safety nets and nutrition policies will be in place,” he says. “The continuing resolution also provided funding for the feral swine pilot program that ran out of money Sept. 30. This is especially important to our row-crop producers who need assistance combating this threat to their crops.”
Rabinowitz says Alabama farmers, like all others, continue to have a lot of concerns about the next Farm Bill.
“The way input costs have increased for crop production over the past few years has not been addressed by the current safety net programs. Labor issues are especially important for specialty crop producers, and new or beginning farmers continue to have challenges accessing land and capital,” he says.
“The big question now is when we can expect the next Farm Bill,” Rabinowitz says. “The longer the process lasts through 2024 and gets closer to the presidential election, the less likely we get it next year. Our agricultural producers, especially, need assurance of what government policies will affect their operations.”
In other words, expect the can to get kicked again.