The House passed its farm bill in April, and the Senate Agriculture Committee approved its version this fall. Midwest Council on Agriculture President Perry Aasness is encouraging Congress to keep the process moving after the midterm elections. “If they don’t get it done by the end of the year, the calendar turns to the next Congress,” said Aasness. “There’ll be new leadership, new issues; it’s going to be really hard to see a path forward to getting something done very soon in the next Congress.” If passed in the Senate, the farm bill will also need to be conferenced with the House. “It’ll likely be attached to some sort of must-pass legislation before the end of the year.” The current farm bill was passed in 2018, and Aasness said agriculture has changed considerably since then. Aasness is the vice president of legislative affairs for Compeer Financial.
