The comprehensive farm bill passed in the U-S House this afternoon and now heads to President Trump’s desk for a signature. The bill passed on a 369-47 vote. The $800 billion bill aims to help farmers hurt by declines in commodities prices because of the U-S trade war with China. The legal production of hemp is also in the farm bill. Absent from the bill–stricter work requirements for people getting food stamps–which House Republicans had been pushing for. In a statement, Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer says with today’s vote “Congress put farmer’s first.”
Here’s Representative Collin Peterson’s statement on the passage of the bill: “I am very happy to see my colleagues pass the 2018 Farm Bill. As I said in my floor speech, rural America is facing so many challenges and this bill goes a long way toward providing needed certainty to farmers and ranchers. In particular, I am proud of the improvement it makes for our dairy farmers. The bill will provide expanded, affordable coverage options and more flexibility for dairy farmers. It also provides permanent mandatory funding for several of the programs that first got mandatory funding in the 2008 farm bill, when I was chairman. These include the Local Food & Farmers Market Promotion Program, Value-Added Producer Grants, the BFRDP Program, Organic Research, and the Section 2501 Outreach Program. I encourage President Trump to sign the farm bill into law quickly.”
Minnesota Farm Bureau President Kevin Paap (pap) calls the bill “good news for Minnesotans, it’s security for those who need nutrition assistance, you know the farm bill is about 80% nutrition, so it gives you that safety net for those who need it.” And he says the Farm Bureau appreciates the “support from our senators and members of Congress that supported this, not only for agriculture in Minnesota, but for rural Minnesota and all Minnesotans.” Here’s more with Kevin Paap: