Some ag group leaders are not totally convinced that Congress will keep its promise to exclude crop insurance cuts from the upcoming omnibus budget bill.
Ag leaders in the House and Senate say they have assurances that those cuts, which are part of a Congressional budget agreement, will be restored. But some question just how secure that deal really is.
According to an article on the Texas Farm Bureau website, one of the concerns is that the deal appears to have been struck with retired House Speaker John Boehner rather than current Speaker Paul Ryan. Another concern is that both Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi have indicated they were not part of the agreement.
Luther Markwart, executive vice president of the American Sugarbeet Growers Association, says ag groups must stay vigilant.
“Not just crop insurance, but there other anti-farmer groups and individuals—member of Congress—that want to go in and harm farm policy,” Markwart says, “and all the commodities and commodity groups need to stick very close together to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Texas Farm Bureau president Russell Boening says agriculture made a major contribution to budget savings in the 2014 farm bill. In Boening’s words “Congress cannot balance the federal budget on the back of the American farmer”.
Source: www.brownfieldagnews.com