Keeping the “Farm” in the Farm Bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. (KVRR) — Sen. John Hoeven is stressing the need to keep the “farm” in the farm bill.

The vast majority of the funds, around 80%, go to consumer nutrition programs.

At a hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Hoeven called on Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack to prioritize key risk management programs for farmers and ranchers.

He wants to maintain and strengthen crop insurance.

Hoeven says it will better enable producers to weather natural disasters and reduce the need for ad-hoc disaster assistance.

“We have the highest quality, lowest cost food supply in the world and our not only do Americans across the board they’re able to spend less of their budget than in other developed countries because of what our farmers and ranchers do,” said Hoeven.

Text for the Fiscal Year 2024 Agriculture Appropriations Bill is now out and is expected to be debated by Congress this week.

“The FY24 Agriculture Appropriations Bill supports our farmers and ranchers while finding savings to help with the debt and deficit,” said Hoeven.

“As the lead Republican on the Senate Ag Appropriations Committee, we worked to fund priorities for our producers, bolster agriculture research and support rural communities. We need to get back to regular order and we look forward to debate on this legislation in the House and Senate in the coming days.”