House Ag Committee Agenda -- Farm Bill, RFS & Oversight Top Priorities

A large part of the agenda for the House Agriculture Committee in the 116th Congress will be oversight of USDA's implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill. The committee will also need to examine other key issues for the business of U.S. agriculture. The bipartisanship theme was once again conveyed by committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., as he welcomed new and returning members to the panel. "We have a tradition here of being bipartisan that I want to continue and I'm going to work hard to make sure that that happens," he said shortly after gaveling the meeting to order. With the 2018 Farm Bill now enacted, "We have a great opportunity to make sure that the farm bill that we passed gets implemented in a law and as fast as we can and the way that we intended it to be implemented," Peterson said. He acknowledged that with the volume of new members it will take time to get everyone up to speed noting "ag committee stuff is complicated," and added "we're going to use the subcommittees to try to help" move that education process along. As a tough economic situation across the ag sector continues, quickly implementing the new farm bill will prove key, Peterson said. He was optimistic the legislation's new dairy policy provisions will be "very helpful" and said it is essential USDA implements them soon "before we lose any more of our farmers." The fact the farm bill's new Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program will be retroactive to the first of the year is a big positive, he added. As for other topics, the panel outlined those in a release from Peterson after the initial organizational session. The panel will monitor "the ongoing evolution of the (Renewable Fuel Standard) RFS," conservation and energy programs that help farmers cope with climate change and the ability of the Forest Service to respond to "the evolving threat of wildfires."