AFBF: This Is A Big Week For The 2018 Farm Bill

If you ask the American Farm Bureau, they’ll tell you this is a key week for the 2018 farm bill, as House and Senate staff and principal negotiators try to bridge differences in time to pass a compromise bill.

"Basically by the middle or the end of the this week, we kind of got to get a compromise put together, if we want to hopefully in reality get a bill to the president’s desk,” said AFBF’s Andrew Walmsley.

He remains optimistic after last week’s only required public farm bill meeting of House and Senate negotiators.

“I think there is a lot of need, obviously, in farm country, and a lot of pressure to get a Farm Bill done, and I think you’re seeing that effort is hopefully getting us beyond any partisanship, and really taking the seriousness of the Farm Bill done now.”

Walmsley said progress has been made in weeks of behind the scenes talks.  He said Congressional Budget Office cost-scoring may be needed on some items, but if those are the types of issues outstanding, there’s reason for optimism to complete a farm bill by the end of September.

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