“Time is of the essence. We need a farm bill now,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said during a conversation with members of the American Farmland Trust.
He said that time is running short for Congress to come together to address the farm bill in a bipartisan way.
“Either we have a real bipartisan deal on a new farm bill, or, at a minimum, an extension of the existing farm bill,” Vilsack said.
A farm bill would at least add some certainty for farmers and their lenders, he pointed out. So far, Vilsack has been fairly general in saying just what exactly he would like to see in a farm bill, pointed out Gary Crawford, reporting for USDA.
“The farm bill needs to be one that is not leaving anyone behind, whether that be farmers concerned about losing their farms in tight times or working families struggling to get by,” Vilsack said.
Vilsack added that lawmakers need to get together in a bipartisan way to craft a realistic, practical farm bill.
“Frankly, the longer we wait, the harder it is to get this done,” Vilsack said.
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