Farm Bill

Will a new Farm Bill be passed by congress this year? Some congressional leaders say yes, and it could even be passed by Christmas.

You can be sure of one thing. Any new Farm Bill will not have more money tied to it, so existing and new programs alike, will be wrestling over the same dollars.

Sen. Pat Roberts is the committee chairman and says there have been a number of changes made to the Farm Bill over time, but protecting crop insurance is high on the list of items to keep.

As far as getting to a new farm bill, recently Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, who is also the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, said the biggest problem facing congressional farm bill negotiators, beyond plain old financing, is going to be what to do with SNAP, the federal nutrition program that used to be called food stamps. He also said, negotiators are also going to have to work out new ways to support the dairy and cotton industries.