Farm bill extension needed to avoid permanent law provisions

By Blake Jackson

The 2018 Farm Bill expired on September 30th, and experts say that the longer the industry goes without a farm bill, the more problems it will cause.

One agricultural economist, Scott Brown of the University of Missouri, says that a farm bill extension is needed to avoid reverting to permanent law provisions. These provisions are less favorable to farmers than the provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill, and they would become more restrictive after January 1st.

Brown is concerned that Congress will not have time to pass a new farm bill before the end of the year. If that happens, the USDA will begin to implement the permanent law provisions, which would have a negative impact on farmers.