The 2018 Farm Bill is stuck in Conference Committee. The House and Senate have different viewpoints on certain aspects. Negotiations are ongoing.
The ?Big Four? of House Ag Chairman Mike Conaway (R-TX 11th), House Ag Ranking Member Collin Peterson (D-MN 7th), Senate Ag Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS), and Senate Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) have been negotiating differences in both versions of the Farm Bill. One of the sticking points is over Title-1 payments.
Iowa Senator, and member of the Senate Ag Committee, Chuck Grassley claims that House Ag Chairman Mike Conaway is wanting to strip funding from corn, soybeans, and wheat for the benefit of cotton producers.
On Tuesday, Chairman Conaway visited Iowa. During his visit, he was asked about Senator Grassley?s claim. Conaway said the program being referred to by Grassley is open to producers of all commodities, not just cotton.
Conaway says plans are not to do away with base acres, but to remove base acres that are not producing crops.
Conaway says it is hard to justify Title-1 payouts if an acre has only produced grass for ten years, it shouldn?t be a viable base acre.
