Senators Approve Farm Bill Package

By a vote of 66 to 27 the Senate approved a half trillion farm bill package. The legislation includes significant cuts in direct subsidies to farmers and roughly a $4 billion cut in the $80 billion federal food stamp program over the next decade.

Officially introduced as the Agriculture Reform, Food and Jobs Act of 2013, the measure includes funds for training new farmers, promotes biomanufacturing jobs to replace oil-based products, and increases the ability for farmers to sell what they grow in their local markets.

“I don’t think you can have an economy unless you make things and grow things. This bill is about growing things,” said Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee. “We are very proud of the work we have done on a bipartisan basis and we are anxious to work with the House to get the final product to the president’s desk.”

Senators passed a similar version of the farm legislation last year, but the House never held a vote on its version of the legislation, requiring both chambers to pass a one-year extension of existing policy.

“Long-term ag policy is a necessity for our farmers and ranchers,” Johanns said. “While this isn’t the farm bill I would have drafted, it’s better than no farm bill at all. Our ag producers work hard to provide food, fuel and fiber for Americans and for the rest of the world. We have a responsibility to give them the certainty they need to continue feeding a growing population.”

Meanwhile, most of the nation’s leading farm groups praised the Senate’s approval of the farm bill. American Farm Bureau President Bob Stallman said the legislation provides needed risk management tools and a viable economic safety net for America’s farmers and ranchers.

Stabenow said she expects that Congress will ultimately pass a Farm Bill this year.