Every five years, Congress has to reauthorize the Farm Bill, which is legislation that plays a large role in regulating agriculture programs and programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
In an interview with Arkansas Week, U.S Rep. Rick Crawford, Republican of Arkansas’ 1st District, said Congress’ inability to get a spending plan is making it challenging to get the 2023 Farm Bill passed.
“I’m very well versed in what it takes to get a farm bill passed and I don’t think we’re there right now. If I can be quite candid, our best case scenario at this point is probably filing an extension,” he said. “The Farm Bill is different, that's why we only do it every five years.”
Crawford also said economic conditions like inflation are making it difficult to pass a bill.
“We failed to do in those previous farm bills was to index those to reference prices so they haven’t kept pace with the interest rates and production cost. Here we are with the 11 year data that is not a good reflection of the economic pressure facing farmers,” Crawford said.
In the Senate, U.S Senator John Boozman, R-Arkansas, will play a role in crafting the farm bill, as he is a ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
