Farm Bill Conference Could be Slow

Lawmakers are back on Capitol Hill this week but getting the farm bill to the finish line may be a slow process. The Hagstrom Report speculates the process will be sluggish, based on statements from the office of Pat Roberts, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee. His office stated: Chairman Roberts “looks forward” to working with his counterparts to “provide certainty and predictability,” for farmers, adding that the work includes identifying common ground and “working through differences in the weeks ahead,” and the work " takes time" to get right.

Both chambers of Congress passed a version of the bill last month. House Agriculture Committee Chair Mike Conaway's office says staff is working through the legislation and "hope to begin the formal conference as soon as possible." The current farm bill is set to expire later this year.

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