Lawmakers Eye Senate Ag Spending Changes for Farm Bill

Cotton and dairy program changes in the Fiscal 2018 ag appropriations package could help cotton and dairy farmers who maintain their safety net programs under the 2014 Farm Bill are not adequate.For cotton, the Fiscal 2018 appropriations bill (S1603) would direct USDA to make cottonseed eligible for payments under the Price Loss Coverage program beginning with the 2018 crop year. Current farm bill language does not include cottonseed among eligible oil seed crops and USDA has maintained they do not have the authority to make cottonseed an eligible oilseed.As for dairy, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., ranking member on the Senate Appropriations Committee, says he and other dairy state lawmakers included industry-backed changes to make the dairy program more effective and affordable for farmers. The bill would replace the bimonthly calculations with monthly formulas supporters say will provide more real-time tracking of dairy market conditions. The spending bill also would allow participating farmers to insure more milk at a lower cost and waive a $100 administrative fee for underserved dairy farmers. Those changes are expected to trigger payments to participating farmers more quickly in times when milk prices decline, animal feed costs rise or there is a combination of low prices and higher feed prices.