Farm bill released: What it means in Idaho from farming to food stamps
On Tuesday, details about the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, known as the Farm Bill, were released in time for the 2018 Idaho AG outlook seminar in Idaho Falls.
The deal was reached after stricter work requirements for those who those who utilize SNAP benefits were taken off the table. The stricter requirements were backed by House Republicans and the President.
The 540-page legislative bill will cost $867 billion over 10 years, according to House committee staffers.
“It gives a great idea about what we can expect for the upcoming year as far as commodity prices and also our input costs,” said Will Ricks.
Will Ricks was one of the farmers at today’s event and says the new bill shows signs of progress between the House and the Senate.
“It’s good to see some progress and correlation between the two. Especially for farmers, we like to see some of that correlation of a good farm bill for all of us,” said Ricks.
The bill doesn’t include the controversial snap benefits program pushed by house republicans. During a white house interview, President Trump acknowledging House and Senate leaders.
“And we think the farm bill is in very good shape. A lot of good things are happening with it and our farmers are well taken care of,” said Trump.
One of today’s biggest concerns, economist Garth Taylor from the University of Idaho touched on, was the dairy industry.
“We are at terrible prices they are below break even. We see dairy’s that are being liquidated and having severe financial problems because of the very low milk prices.”
Out of the $867 billion in funding, about $100 million would be made available for trade programs that would make it easier in establishing export markets.
“AG business is probably the largest industry in the State of Idaho. The growth in farming, the contribution to GDP of farming has been far faster than the state’s economy in growth in GDP,” said Taylor.
Also, the bill would provide funds to fight the opioid crisis in rural communities as well as funds to improve the SNAP benefits program used by about 40 million Americans.
