YOUR TEXAS AGRICULTURE MINUTE
Priorities for 2023 Farm Bill
By Gary Joiner
Publisher
The most significant piece of legislation that impacts farmers and ranchers is on the calendar next year—the 2023 Farm Bill.
The right package is needed to reduce food insecurity, bolster national security and encourage long-term stability for farm and ranch families.
The American Farm Bureau Federation released its priorities for the bill. It is among the first national organizations to do so.
There are four priorities:
- continuing current farm bill program funding
- maintaining a unified farm bill that includes nutrition programs and farm programs together
- prioritizing risk management tools that include federal crop insurance and commodity programs
- and ensuring adequate USDA staffing and resources to provide technical assistance.
The priorities include more than 60 recommendations over multiple titles of the farm bill. The recommendations include reference price increases for commodities, more transparency for milk checks, funding for conservation programs, rural development and streamlining of nutrition programs to get food to those who need it most.
The current 2018 Farm Bill has worked well, but tweaks are needed. The 2018 package expires in September.
A lot of work lies ahead for the agriculture committees in the new Congress. They must cobble together a new farm bill that earns enough support in the House and Senate to cross the finish line.
It will likely be a sprint to get there.
The preceding commentary is brought to you by Texas Farm Bureau, the “Voice of Texas Agriculture.” Called “Your Texas Agriculture Minute,” TFB will issue thought-provoking editorials each week—via print and audio—to spark understanding of agriculture in the Lone Star State and its impact on each and every Texan.
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