Other Ag News: Comment: Partisan House Deal Falls Short of Meeting Farmers’ Needs

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

press@sustainableagriculture.net

Washington, DC, December 19, 2024 – On Thursday afternoon, reporting indicated that House Republicans had reached a partisan internal agreement on a deal to fund the government that includes disaster relief and a “clean” farm bill extension, but lacks other key priorities. The following is attributable to Mike Lavender, NSAC Policy Director:

“A farm bill extension without full funding for programs lacking permanent baseline is absolutely unacceptable. These “orphan” programs have small price tags but big impacts across all fifty states, from improving farm system efficiency, increasing farmers’ and ranchers’ resilience to extreme weather, supporting young farmers, and growing market access. Without guaranteed funding, these programs’ vital work will freeze, setting back years of advancement in agricultural research, rural support, and conservation efforts. Funding for these programs was included with bipartisan support in the prior deal just days ago.

Not only does this deal fail to fund these vital programs, it would yet again reject the generational opportunity to improve the futures of farm families nationwide by bringing conservation investments from the Inflation Reduction Act into the farm bill baseline. This deal falls well short of meeting the needs of NSAC members and countless other farmers, ranchers, and food system stakeholders nationwide.”

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