Lawmakers stress need to compromise quickly to get Farm bill to President

Conferees on the farm bill understand the economic challenges facing farmers and want to get a farm bill done to provide certainty — a popular word among them — to farmers and rural America.

Leading lawmakers on the House and Senate Agriculture Committees met in the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, committing to get a farm bill done by Sept. 30; however, many of the conferees had significant reservations about specific provisions or differences between the House and Senate bills.

“Getting a farm bill done is paramount to any other issue or concern,” said Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., who is working on his eighth farm bill. Roberts said he is committed to compromise.

“A sudden death in the family can unravel a family farm that’s been running for generations,” said Rep. Ralph Abraham, R-La. “And I support including nieces, nephews and cousins in the definition of actively engaged.”

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