AFBF analyst talks farm bill in web chat
Compiled by Kathleen M. Dutro
Public Relations Team
Mary Kay Thatcher, American Farm Bureau Federation farm policy specialist, in mid-November participated in a Thomson Reuters live Web chat to talk farm bill. Interest was high, as more than 350 participants listened in to the Q&A.
According to Thatcher, there is about a 15 percent chance that Congress will pass a farm bill by year’s end.
“The most likely scenario is a one-year extension, although there is also talk of a six-month extension,” said Thatcher. “Either way, writing the bill next year will be more difficult than this year as there will be less money available to write a bill with a good safety net.”
And what if Congress doesn’t act? “Much of the farm bill would revert to the 1949 act,” said Thatcher. “Dairy prices would be supported at $40/hundredweight. Other commodities, like soybeans, would have no support. It is just really too outrageous to let it totally expire.”