An agricultural markets analyst says the down economy could actually benefit farmers as Congress debates the 2018 farm bill.
Dan Basse with AgResource Company says there’s a chance agriculture will be more favored in terms of safety nets going forward.
He says Congress wrote the last farm bill during an uptick in the farm economy and that didn’t fare will for farmers.
He tells Brownfield heading into 2018, the 2012 crop year will drop off of the five-year average for the Agriculture Risk Coverage program and the safety net will decline.
“At that point, as we write a new farm bill, I hope that legislators understand the diminishment of our farm revenue and what we need to do to provide a safety net or opportunity for our U.S. farmers,” he says.
Basse says if a drought or crop shortage were to occur before the 2018 farm bill is completed – that, too would have an impact on safety net programs.
Source: brownfieldagnews.com