National Council of Farm Cooperatives President and CEO Chuck Conner has seen his share of farm bills and said this is the most partisan farm bill he has ever seen. Conner, who was the USDA Deputy Secretary during the George W. Bush presidency, said this farm bill process needs to start. “Even if it’s a partisan process, get a bill that people can begin to look at, start marking it up in committee, and get us started,” said Conner. “You can’t finish something that never starts, so we’ve got to start.” Timing is critical for this important piece of legislation. “Congress is in session so few days between now and the end of the year so few days; it’s a presidential election year, you’ve got party conventions and they’re never in session during any of those kinds of periods and it’s just going to be hard to get done with the farm bill.”
