Congress is still working to reach an agreement on a farm and nutrition bill. There are a few sticking points that have proven to be difficult to resolve. Originally, the nutrition provisions were widely thought to be the toughest issues to work out for the leaders of the House and Senate agriculture committees. It seems, though, that this policy area has been decided.
At this time, the dairy program, along with my provisions to place a hard cap on the amount of farm payments a farmer can receive and clarify who a farmer is in order to receive those payments, appear to be the major points that have to be dealt with.
The farm program was originally established to help small- and medium-sized farms get through the ups and downs of farming. Over the years, the farm program has gotten away from that goal, and now more than 70 percent of the farm program payments go to 10 percent of the wealthiest farmers.
My provisions help steer the farm program back to its original intent. The House and Senate bills establish a hard cap of $125,000 for individuals, or $250,000 for married couples, on the amount of farm payments somebody can receive. The two bills also define clearly the scope of people who are able to qualify for farm program payments by allowing only one off-farm manager.
I continue to be at a loss for why these payment limit provisions are even under negotiation by the members of Congress working out the differences between the House and Senate farm bills. Both bills contain nearly identical legislative language. A bipartisan majority of the House and the Senate support the provisions, and the last two presidents have favored similar reform.
Negotiators need to be done by the last week in January, or the Senate will likely need to pass some sort of extension. The current scenario is less than ideal, but Congress needs to give farmers some guidance as they begin the upcoming planting season.