Farm bill compromise unveiled, clearing way for vote

Staff and wire report

Lawmakers have reached an agreement on the Farm Bill, a mammoth package that will fund key safety net programs for the next five years.

Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., said the compromise measure will benefit Montana.

“The new Farm Bill includes a strong safety net for Montana farmers and ranchers, provides them with greater certainty, takes care of our rural communities, and improves how we manage our forests,” Gianforte said in a release. “This Farm Bill has Montana’s fingerprints on it, and I’m grateful the conference committee listened and took Montana’s interests into account when putting together this Farm Bill.”

U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., made similar comments.

“I’m glad to see that we’re moving forward with the 2018 Farm Bill and helping our farmers and ranchers get the certainty they deserve,” he said in a release. “As Montana’s lone voice on the Senate Ag Committee, and as the chairman of the Senate Western Caucus, I fought hard to ensure we got it done. I look forward to sending this final compromise to President Trump’s desk and getting it signed into law.”

Comment from U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., was forthcoming but not available by print deadline this morning.

The conference report signed Monday by members of the House and Senate is the result of months of negotiations. The bill has a price tag of $867 billion over a decade and is expected to be brought to a vote this week in the House, possibly as soon as Wednesday.

The legislation reauthorizes crop insurance and conservation programs and legalizes the cultivation of industrial hemp.

It does not make significant changes to the food stamp program that serves nearly 40 million low-income Americans. President Donald Trump and House Republicans had pushed to create new work requirements for food stamps, but negotiators rejected them.

Gianforte said the bill includes several measures he pushed for, including maintaining and strengthening the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage options through 2023 and enhancing the Foreign Market Development program as well as the Market Access Program, his release said.

It also helps Montana farmers and ranchers by improving and expanding access to credit, and it protects Montana sugar beet growers and processors by maintaining the sugar program, the release added.

It said the conference committee report also includes Gianforte’s Supporting and Improving Rural EMS Needs Act, or SIREN Act, which reauthorizes a grant program for EMS training and equipment acquisition in rural areas.

The release said the bill also includes forest management reforms Gianforte supported, including a provision extending Good Neighbor Authority to county governments. Under current law, only state governments can enter into agreements to perform forest management services on National Forest System lands. The measure allows the U.S. Forest Service to enter into agreements with county governments.

Daines also cited measures he supported that made it out of the conference committee, including that the bill

• Protected crop insurance, a critical part of the safety net for Montana farmers to mitigate risks inherent to agriculture.

• Secured funding for land grant universities including Montana State University, specialty crops and agriculture research stations across Montana.

• Secured provisions to expand broadband access in rural Montana, promote precision agriculture and prioritize funds to areas that are unserved with no access.

• Included an amendment to help the ARC-County program, better reflect actual growing conditions in many of Montana’s large counties.

•  Included a vaccine bank to help better respond to animal disease outbreaks

• Protected the sugar program, which is critical to ensure our farmers are able to compete on a level playing field

• Fought to support important conservation programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, or EQIP, and the Conservation Stewardship Program that help farmers and ranchers improve the best practices on their land.

• Included the Hemp Farming Act, which allows states to regulate hemp production and research and make hemp eligible for crop insurance.