Feds Hold Farm Bill Listening Session in Decatur
The Farm Progress Show in Decatur last week drew more than farmers and manufacturers. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue was there with members of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee to host a listening session on what the ag industry needs in the 2018 Farm Bill.
T
he message from one Illinois farmer captured much of the meeting: “Crop insurance is working,” he told the committee. “Don't screw it up.”
Crop insurance was indeed the most frequently mentioned issue during the three-hour session. Also top of mind among participants was a vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease, more incentives for implementing conservation strategies, trade programs, research funding, and immigration and labor issues.
U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), said the listening session is an indication that the agriculture committee is in much better shape now than it was in 2014.
In 2014, when the last Farm Bill was being debated in Congress, the agricultural industry suffered through multiple delays and false starts from partisan fights over the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program and crop insurance subsidies.
Perdue and federal lawmakers also have hosted listening sessions in Minnesota and Texas.
Sources: NowDecatur.com, Herald & Review