Senior Farm and Ranch Broadcaster, Ron Hays, is talking with Congressman Frank Lucas about the farm bill and the Weather Reauthorization Act.
Aside from serving as the U.S. representative for Oklahoma’s 3rd Congressional district, Lucas is the former chair of the House Agriculture Committee and currently chairs the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
Lucas first gave an update on the ag appropriations bill.
“I think the appropriators want to do not just the bill that contains the ag money, but they want to do all twelve,” Lucas said. “We are operating under something called a CR: a continuing resolution to fund the government at last year’s levels through essentially the end of January.”
Lucas said that according to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, if the regular appropriations order cannot be finished, it will be time to start the new appropriations process for 2025.
“He would expect some kind of bill to fund things to finish out the regular bookkeeping year, the regular fiscal year, which is the last day of September 2024,” Lucas said. “We are funded, and we are going to stay funded. It is just what kind of process it is going to be that is the real question.”
Lucas is pleased with the extension of the 2018 farm bill and said providing certainty to producers is critically important. There are a variety of things that must be addressed in a farm bill, Lucas said, including reference prices, crop insurance, and more.
“You have got a unique set of circumstances in that you have a Senate Ag Chairwoman, Senator Stabenow, who will retire at the end of next year’s session,” Lucas said. “The closer we get to the end of her term, I think, the greater the focus on her legacy, which means passing a bill.”
As election day edges closer and closer, Lucas said this increases certainty that Biden will sign the farm bill.
“There is just a whole bunch of issues out there,” Lucas said. “Right now, at this moment in time, as complicated as things have been up here basically for all of 2023, doing a one-year extension was in the best interest of producers, and for that matter, consumers out there.”
When it comes to farm bills, Lucas said the money available impacts production.
“Farm bills are about raising food and fiber and making sure we have enough to eat in this country at an affordable price,” Lucas said.
There will be many twists and turns before the final bill is produced, Lucas said, but ultimately, it will reflect the best interest of the country and the needs of rural America. At the end of the day, Lucas said the farm bill is about ensuring the country can raise and produce enough food to meet everyone’s needs.
