House passes one-year Farm Bill extension

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - A potential shutdown has been avoided after the U.S. House of Representatives recently extended the Farm Bill to 2024.

The Farm Bill, which expired Sept. 30 for the fiscal year, is extending meaning that SNAP benefits and crop insurance programs are safe for now.

“The Farm Bill we’re operating under is pretty good. It needs a few updates, particularly for reference prices, because we’re in a much higher-cost environment. For producers than we were five years ago. But extending the Farm Bill for a year is going to give producers some predictability they need right now,” said Dustin Johnson, the U.S. Representative for South Dakota.

Of the current Farm Bill, a $428 billion package, more than 75 percent of that money goes toward food assistance programs, 9 percent covers crop insurance, 7 percent covers commodities and another 7 percent covers conservation.

Every few years, Nebraska farmers and ranchers have the opportunity to work with Congress to address one of the most important pieces of legislation affecting agriculture, the Farm Bill. While our preference is always to get a new Farm Bill done on time, it is more important to get it right. We appreciate the extension of the Farm Bill but encourage Congress to continue its work and pass a five-year Farm Bill to provide the needed support for farm and ranch families. Nebraska Farm Bureau thanks all five members of Nebraska’s Congressional Delegation for their tireless efforts to ensure a solid agricultural safety-net, working-lands conservation programs, disaster assistance programs, and everything else that makes a Farm Bill work for Nebraska’s farm and ranch families
Mark McHargue, President, Nebraska Farm Bureau Federation

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