By Landee Kieschnick
TFB Communications Intern
As Congress begins shaping a new farm bill, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway stressed the need to complete the farm bill on time and eliminate uncertainty for an already depressed farm economy.
He spoke earlier this month to farmers attending this year’s Commodity Classic in San Antonio and afterwards answered questions at a press conference with agriculture media.
“Every chairman who has ever stood here has said they’re going to get it done on time. I’m just going to do it,” Conaway said. “If you want the drama associated with short-term extensions or expirations and permanent law, I need you to go to a different theater.”
President Donald Trump has stated he also wants a strong farm bill completed on time, according to Conaway.
The Texas Republican discussed the source of funding for new programs, but his concern for commodity groups is where the money will come from.
“If you’re going to ask for something new, then you’re going to have to help me figure out where we are going to get the money to make it happen,” he said.
Conaway cited a letter he and Rep. Collin Peterson, the committee’s ranking minority member, sent to the budget committee asking for the same resources they received for the 2014 Farm Bill.
He added that agriculture voluntarily agreed to save $23 billion over 10 years when the 2014 Farm Bill was developed, but the latest estimates showed savings around $104 billion.
About $92 billion came from reduced participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), but Conaway is opposed to splitting SNAP from the rest of the farm bill.
“The only people I hear talking about separating them is the ones who want to defeat the farm bill,” Conaway said.
Other issues Conaway addressed in his speech were the county variability in payments made under the Agriculture Risk Coverage program.
He also vowed to get cotton back into Title I programs since the Stacked Income Protection Plan has not been working.
The congressman also said a proposed safety net for dairy farmers will be discussed since the Margin Protection Plan set during the 2014 Farm Bill has suffered from low participation rates.
Conaway said he anticipates tough decisions in the next farm bill, but is ready for the task at hand.
“We’re all in this together,” Conaway said. “The 2014 Farm Bill was put together by giving farmers a lot of choices. It sounded good in 2014 but didn’t sound that great in 2015 or 2016 when they actually make the choices. But we’re going to work with the programs and address those issues.”