Why There Are Concerns Over a Farm Bill
Source: Nicholas Klein / Getty
STATEWIDE–Farmers in Indiana and across the country want Congress to get a new Farm Bill passed. One of those concerned farmers is Brent Bible. He’s the Owner and Managing Partner of Stillwater Farms in Lafayette.
He hopes the new bill takes unpredictable weather into account.
“We see uncertainty in our weather. We see uncertainty in our markets. There’s a lot of uncertainty when it comes to farming. We don’t want government policy to be one of those uncertainties we’re facing,” said Bible.
Bible says it’s important that farmers have access to the necessary conservation programs.
“Those conservation programs put more of a focus on soil health enhancement practices and make our farms more resilient to the changes in weather. We want to make sure those continue to be fully funded, but also continue to be voluntary and incentive based,” said Bible.
Bible doesn’t want there to be government overreach on those programs because he believes each individual farmer knows best which program suits their needs.
For example, there are some acres of land that don’t need to be growing corn or soybeans every year.
“But maybe those are better used as a filter strip or better suited to be wildlife habitat. This just allows us to be a little more systematic in our approach to agriculture,” said Bible.
One of his biggest concerns is also about rainfall amounts. In Indiana, you’ve probably seen it rain a lot or not at all for long stretches of time. Bible says when his land gets a lot of rain all at once, that can be challenging.
“It creates challenges in terms of your drainage and soil erosion. We’re trying to manage around those changing rainfall patterns and best protect the resources that we’re using to grow a crop and not losing those crops due to extreme weather events,” said Bible.
The current farm bill was extended to September of 2024.
Discussions and negotiations on the new Farm Bill have been stalled in some part by opposing views on issues such as crop subsidies and funding for support programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). That makes up around 80 percent of the bill’s spending. Republicans want more work requirements and stricter limits on SNAP accessibility, while Democrats are opposed to those things.
