The current farm bill extension expires at the end of September and there’s no apparent timeline for a vote in either chamber. Minnesota Senator Tina Smith, who is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, is anxious to move forward with the farm bill. “I just had a long meeting with Chair Debbie Stabenow from Michigan and I know many of us on the committee and Senator Stabenow are really eager to get this done,” said Smith. “It’s no secret we’ve been having a couple of big disagreements (over budget priorities) on the farm bill.” Stabenow will retire at the end of this year and wants to get the farm bill done on her watch. However, Smith emphasized Stabenow will only support legislation that is good for farmers and consumers. “It’s pretty likely that our very own Minnesota (Senator) Amy Klobuchar will be the next chair or ranking member of the agriculture committee and so that’ll be really great for us in Minnesota.” Listen to the RRFN interview with Smith.
