U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says it appears Farm Bill negotiations have become more complex. House Speaker Mike Johnson says a majority of House Republicans oppose a Senate plan to take nearly $10 billion in unspent funds from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and use it on conservation programs.
“It would have actually provided additional resources for congress to increase the level of disaster assistance and emergency assistance that could have been provided to producers in Iowa and across the country,” Vilsack said.
Current budget rules would allow congress to make that $10 billion transfer, according to Vilsack. The sad reality is, by not protecting those resources, potentially congress could redirect them from farmers and ranches towards some other priority,” Vilsack said.
Funding for federal conservation assistance was increased dramatically by the Inflation Reduction Act. “This is a historic opportunity for us to significantly reduce the backlog of farmers who have been waiting for a while for resources to be able to do on their land what they know needs to be done,” Vilsack said, “to protect it and to enhance it.”
Neither the House nor the Senate brought a new Farm Bill up for a vote this year. If congress fails to reauthorize the 2018 Farm Bill this month, federal farm policies revert to laws passed eight decades ago. Vilsack said that would create chaos in the markets.
“I’m sure that something is going to get done, the question is whether it will get done in a way that provides the best benefit and the most opportunity for farmers and ranchers and producers who work so hard for the rest of us,” Vilsack said.
Lawmakers from states hit by Hurricane Helene in late September are seeking federal disaster aid for farmers who lost crops, livestock and farm buildings.