Farm Bill Set to Expire

A critical bill for farmers is being postponed.

The farm bill, the centerpiece of U.S. food and agricultural policy is set to expire September 30th. The House confirmed the bill will not be dealt with until after the election.

"What that probably means for us at the local level is they’ll probably have an extension of this year’s farm bill for one year because even if they pass the new farm bill after November there’d be no way for the rules to get written in time to enact it next year," said County Farm Service Agency Executive Director, Bill Huston.

That means local farmers will have one more year of direct farm payments. After that, farmers will only get paid if the prices of yields fluctuate dramatically downward.

Huston doesn’t think the bill not going into effect will harm farm programs as much as it will the nutrition program, as it’s going to be harder to show how they can afford all the nutrition programs they have right now.

"Now maybe they’ll find it, because generally one of the only pieces of legislation that go through Congress in a year that gets bi-partisan support is the Farm Bill because it affects so many people," said Huston.

Huston says when the renewal of the bill lands during an election year, it is always a concern it will not pass.