By Clint Thompson
It is never too early start thinking about the next Farm Bill. It was on the mind of peanut producers during this past weekend’s Southern Peanut Growers Conference.
It was also discussed by U.S. Senator John Boozman R-Ark., who serves as the Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.
“We’re working really hard to help the farmers and again, help rural America. The farm bill will be up in 2023. That’s going to be here before we know it. We’re already starting to, at a staff level on the Ag committee, talk about it, talk to the major players out there and make sure that we ensure them the safety nets we worked so hard to put in place are going to continue to be there,” Boozman said.
“The economy’s changing. We have a better understanding now of the food supply chain. It didn’t break, but it bent during the pandemic. I think that’ll help us as we go forward with the next big Ag bill.”
According to the USDA, the Farm Bill supports America’s farmers, ranchers and forest stewards through a variety of assistance programs. These include the safety net, farm loan, conservation and disaster relief.