Short-Term Farm Bill Relief Leaves Long-Term Questions

North Dakota Farmers Union President Mark Watne feels the farm bill extension provides short-term stability but delays important updates needed for farmers and ranchers. “I think it might be a little worrisome, as we obviously got the good news that they had enhanced the crop insurance a little bit in the ARC and PLC payments, but they’ve left the other stuff to just sit there, and by this extension, their unwillingness to deal with it could put it at jeopardy in the future.” Watne also notes rising costs make it even more critical to have a long-term farm bill. “The farm bill has never been an inflationary bill. It’s always a baseline bill. So if you keep things out of baseline and you don’t adjust it or enhance it, farmers and ranchers make commitments to do things that are in the interest of soil health or food production, and you may not have the availability of those dollars that help offset those costs.”