Marshall: Putting the ‘farm’ back in the Farm Bill

Washington, D.C. – Kansas U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. released the following statement on Republicans releasing the Farm Bill framework that puts the ‘farm’ back in the Farm Bill:

“Today’s Republican Farm Bill Framework is an excellent proposal that puts ‘Farm’ back in the Farm Bill,” Senator Marshall said. “For years now, we have been fighting to ensure our Kansas Farmers and ranchers’ voices are heard at the highest levels of government; I believe this framework reflects those efforts and Kansans’ priorities. Senate Agriculture Committee Ranking Member John Boozman and House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson have done an excellent job listening to groups in the barnyard and grain bin, putting together a proposal that prioritizes our rural communities.”

“Unlike the Democrats’ bill, we do not force farmers to choose between crop insurance and Title One funding while providing farmers with increased coverage levels for crop insurance. We also meaningfully increase the reference prices for ARC and PLC to ensure those programs actually help full-time farmers. We remove Biden’s climate guardrails on conservation funding to allow the real conservationists, our farmers and ranchers, to make decisions that best fit their farm,” Senator Marshall continued. “This proposal also empowers farming communities by bolstering rural broadband funding and improving access to rural health care and childcare. This framework promotes trade access and doubles agricultural research funding, a huge success for Kansas State and our state’s research universities like Fort Hays, Wichita State, and our Kansas community colleges. We enhance the integrity and oversight of the nutrition title to ensure these dollars are allocated to the communities who need it most, with zero cuts to SNAP benefits. I am truly impressed by how each title of this farm bill framework reflects our deep commitment to Kansas farmers and outlines viable pathways to fund those commitments responsibly.”

“Our framework is a team effort to put more farm in the farm bill. I appreciate Senator Marshall’s leadership, as Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources, to find workable common-sense, science-based solutions to the challenges farmers face on issues ranging from drought to wildfire prevention and beyond,” Senator John Boozman (R-AR), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry said. “Senate Republicans remain committed to passing a farm bill that reflects the needs of rural America and addresses the challenges farmers and ranchers face. Senator Marshall’s efforts to that end are greatly appreciated.”

A short summary of Senate Agriculture Committee Republicans’ Farm Bill framework is available HERE.

An overview of the key priorities of the framework is available HERE.

Background on Senate Republicans’ Farm Bill Framework:

• Fully paid for with no new spending;
• Enhances Title One Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs by increasing statutory reference prices for all commodities. References prices on all commodities are increased by an average of 15% for all commodities under this proposal;
• Improves crop insurance coverage and affordability while allowing farmers to maintain access to Title One without requiring farmers to choose between crop insurance and Title One;
• Reinvests Inflation Reduction Act conservation funding into the Farm Bill conservation programs and provides full access to those dollars for all producers. Access to this funding is not conditioned on participating in the Biden Administration’s climate change agenda;
• Prevents the abuse of the Conservation Title to phase out livestock production, which is the largest contributor to the Kansas Ag economy;
• Protects the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from future cuts and ensures a modest cost of living increase to benefits each year;
• Doubles agriculture research funding and trade promotion programs to combat America’s record ag trade deficit;
• Invests in rural infrastructure, rural child care, rural health care, community facilities, and small business development;
• Increases loan limits for producers struggling to keep up with record input costs and higher operating costs;
• Keeps farmers at the forefront of agricultural innovation by decreasing red tape for the approval of crop protection products;
• Improves America’s capability to prevent and respond to foreign animal disease threats;
• Reins in the wild and reckless use of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Credit Corporation slush fund to redirect funds for farmer priorities;
• Makes Rural Broadband a permanent priority and focuses efforts on households with no internet;
• Creates a pathway in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the approval of new and innovative feed additives that improve efficiency in meat and dairy production; and
• Puts whole milk back in schools.

A title-by-title summary is available in the links below:

Title I – Commodities, Title II – Conservation, Title III – Trade, Title IV – Nutrition, Title V – Credit, Title VI – Rural Development, Title VII – Research, Title VIII – Forestry, Title IX – Energy, Title X – Horticulture, Title XI – Crop Insurance, Title XII – Miscellaneous