After House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed for and got a legislative victory in funding the government into the new year- the US Senate followed suit on Wednesday and overwhelmingly voted for the Johnson plan, which included a one year extension of the expired 2018 farm law.
The Vice President of Government Policy for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, Ethan Lane, told Oklahoma Farm Report’s Senior Broadcaster Ron Hays that this is a win for agriculture- “it’s an important step in the right direction- it gives everyone that breathing room we have been talking about to get clear some of the political follies we are seeing on Capitol Hill right now- it’s really difficult to move a trillion dollar farm and nutrition package in this environment and this will give them a little more space to get their work done- a little more space for the Committees to negotiate and a better window to get a finished product.”
Lane says that many of the members who voted no on the CR are also very much anti agriculture and don’t appear to be fans of farmers and ranchers- but they are not the majority in the House and that was seen back before the August recess when a vote was held on a proposal to withhold federal dollars on checkoff programs- only 49 members voted for that failed amendment to the Agriculture and FDA spending bill.
In addition- this legislation provides certainty for market information flowing for cattle producers. Lane says the can has been kicked down the road into 2024 with this bill as it relates to Livestock Mandatory Price Reporting- that is a part of the funding for USDA that was extended to mid January. He is hopeful that agricultural interests will find the opportunity to address a full reauthorization of LMR in the future- but the appropriations route keeps it operating to the benefit of livestock producers here in the US.
Lane and Hays talked on Wednesday at the 2023 80th Annual Convention of the National Association of Farm Broadcasting in Kansas City.
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