House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) indicated this week there will not be a new Farm Bill this year, according to his interview with AgriTalk radio. He explained that there is a “really strong chance” that the 2008 Farm Bill will be extended for another year.
Looking at the process and procedures required to pass a new farm bill, including writing the law, rules and regulations, as well as ensuring that producers understand what is involved in a new farm bill are all issues that compound the challenges of timely congressional passage, Lucas said in the interview. “We’re kind of late in the game right now to have a new farm bill in place for the fall planting season,” he added.
Lucas said that, if the 2008 Farm Bill is extended, it would have to carry forward the same set of farm support provisions currently in place “not just pieces and parts.” “I can’t have farmers and ranchers caught in the twilight zone between the old farm bill and the new farm bill. You have to extend the safety net that exists in the 2008 Farm Bill until the 2012 or 2013 Farm Bill can kick in,” Lucas said. Both the 2002 and the 2008 Farm Bills were passed after one-year extensions, according to Lucas.
