Senate farm bill stalls, leaving farmers in limbo

(WASHINGTON) - Today, the Senate Agriculture Committee did not advance a farm bill during markup.

"Farmers and ranchers need the U.S. to invest in innovation, voluntary conservation programs and technical assistance so they can weather more challenging growing and market conditions," said Joanna Slaney, Vice President for Political and Government Affairs at Environmental Defense Fund.

"Unfortunately, the bill as it currently stands leaves farmers with fewer resources to manage risk and build more resilient operations.

"The bill redirects billions of dollars from popular and oversubscribed voluntary conservation programs, including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which already turns away three out of every four producers who want to participate. Rather than meeting this growing demand, the bill considered today cuts nearly $2 billion out of EQIP, leaving more than 56,000 farmers who have already been approved for this assistance without it.

"We continue to support efforts to pass a farm bill that meets the needs of America's farmers and ranchers."