When the House and Senate Farm Bill conference committee was named, the optimism on passing a bill went way up, but Rick Tolman, CEO of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) says since then that optimism has been slipping.
"Unfortunately the last little bit of news we've been getting is not very optimistic," said Tolman. "They still haven't resolved the differences in the nutrition title and every day that goes by we're less and less optimistic that something will get done as we move into the holidays."
Which is why, Rick Tolman says, it is still important for farmers continue to talk with their Congressman and Senators.
"We've got to demand that the Farm Bill get done," Tolman says. "It's not just the Farm Bill, there's just no compromise in D.C. and we've got to get these guys to understand that they can stand by their principles, but part of their principles need to be let's get something done, in my mind, not acting is the worst option of all the options on the table and we just keep going to that worst option."
But it's not just the Farm Bill, the NCGA is also dealing with the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) and the recent Associated Press story that contained a lot of misinformation.
"We have been working with other ag groups, reaching out to our members and state associations, getting the facts out and trying to get them to raise their voices," said Tolman. "But where we don't have strong membership, New York and the West coast we just have no leverage."
Source: brownfieldagnews.com