Glenn Thompson: “Yesterday I proudly signed the farm bill conference committee report because, after years of hard work, we are set to…”

“Yesterday I proudly signed the farm bill conference committee report because, after years of hard work, we are set to deliver a win for rural America. Quite frankly, it is a win for all Americans who count daily on access to affordable, high-quality, safe food. We know that farm country is hurting. USDA recently announced that net farm income for this year is dropping by 12 percent to levels we have not seen since 2002. There is hope though. By passing the farm bill conference report, we can give producers and their lenders certainty. They will know what farm policy will be in place for the next 5 years. We also made modest adjustments to the Marketing Assistance Loan program to help with cash flow after harvest and to providing marketing for U.S. commodities. There are also important enhancements to dairy policy included in the conference report. Building upon investments made to the dairy safety net as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, we are offering new coverage levels for the first 5 million pounds of production, which drastically reduces premiums on certain levels for larger producers. These are just some of the many updates in the 2018 farm bill that will set our American farmers on a better path for the next 5 years. The 2018 farm bill strengthens the farm safety net, protects crop insurance, maintains and preserves conservation funding, improves SNAP program integrity and incentivizes work, and, importantly, provides certainty to rural America.…”