Joco Today

U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D., a member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, expressed his thoughts on the recently released Democrats' Farm Bill framework. Senator Marshall highlighted his concerns and priorities regarding the bill.

"Putting pen to paper on the Farm Bill is long overdue and is welcomed by our farmers and ranchers as the next step in negotiations. As you might expect, the proposal, in its current form, largely reflects the Democrat priorities of more spending in the nutrition title and the addition of many new climate change provisions. Unfortunately, it doesn’t put the ‘Farm’ back in the Farm Bill and falls short on the crop insurance and commodity reference price needs of the farmer," Senator Marshall stated.

Regarding the nutrition programs, Senator Marshall mentioned, "We generally support nutrition programs, but they have grown from $60B a year under the last Farm Bill to a staggering $180B yearly, with minimal accountability." He further added, "On the other hand, while farmers have seen exploding input costs, high-interest rates, and a record drop in farm income, it appears my colleagues across the aisle still did not include a modest $400M a year request to help the farmer."

Expressing a willingness to negotiate, Senator Marshall emphasized the importance of having a partner who focuses on the full-time farm family and shared priorities. "We are more than willing to negotiate, but we need a partner that wants to focus on the full-time farm family and comes to the table to discuss our shared priorities," he said.

Senator Marshall also addressed conservation policies in the bill, stating, "Beyond these issues, there remains overly prescriptive conservation policies that will block many producers from using successful programs like EQIP." He acknowledged the work ahead and expressed confidence in the ability to succeed, emphasizing the importance of a bill that best supports producers for the next five years.

The release of the Democrats' Farm Bill framework has sparked discussions and negotiations among lawmakers, with Senator Marshall advocating for a bill that addresses the needs and priorities of farmers and ranchers.