The Council’s farm policy committee said it found several things to like in the bill: specifically, continuation of AMTA payments, a counter-cyclical income protection feature, a successful marketing loan program, oilseed assistance and cottonseed assistance.
But the committee also made some suggestions for improving the document.
“Also, with regard to the soybean program provisions in the House proposal, any farm that chooses to maintain its historical base, instead of a modified base, should be eligible for the same program base eligibility and benefits on soybeans as the farmer who chooses the option of modified base,” a committee resolution said.
Delta Council is also urging Congress to provide whatever funds are necessary to expand the Environmental Quality Incentive Program, in addition to supporting the Conservation Reserve Program and the Wetlands Reserve Program.
“This EQIP program is one of the few remaining conservation programs which is available to all landowners and farm operators interested in combining conservation features into ongoing farming operations through a partnership with the federal government,” the resolution said.
The resolution was passed after speakers at the meeting outlined the language of the House Ag Committee bill and previewed prospects for a new farm bill in the Senate.
But another speaker said farm organizations still face a number of hurdles before a new farm bill becomes law.
“The House gave us a good package to work with, but we’re going to have our work cut out for us keeping what we have in the Senate,” said Craig Brown, vice president for producer affairs with the National Cotton Council.
Moorhead cautioned that the Senate package might look a little different from the House proposal.
According to Moorhead, Sen. Tom Harkin, D, Iowa, the Senate Agriculture Committee chairman, hasn’t set a deadline for the release of a Senate farm policy proposal. He’s optimistic, though, that the Senate version will likely be released sometime in late August or early September.
Another likelihood is that the Senate version will contain additional conservation provisions with a price tag that Moorhead estimates could be as high as $4 billion.