Former House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson says Congress faces major hurdles in passing additional farm aid and warns the current farm policy structure is failing producers long-term. Peterson said repeated ad hoc payments in recent years prove the existing system is not working as intended. “Anybody who will say that what we’re doing with farm policy is working, they’re kidding themselves.” He also cautioned that growing dependence on government payments could create political backlash. “Some way or another, we’ve got to get out of this system.” Without structural reform and bipartisan cooperation, Peterson said additional aid may be difficult to advance and long-term challenges in farm policy will remain unresolved.
