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Crop insurance, nutrition still necessary in Farm Bill

An Ohio Senator says crop insurance and nutrition must remain a top priority in the Farm Bill despite President Trump’s proposed budget cuts to the programs.

Sherrod Brown says he hopes lawmakers will put partisan issues aside and protect agriculture.

“So farmers can be more productive and make a good living in bad economic times and so when prices are low or, because of weather conditions, yields are especially low in a county or region,  those farmers don’t go under,” he says.

He tells Brownfield nutrition programs, which make up 80 percent of the Farm Bill, also need to remain intact because they impact everyone, not just the ag industry.

Proposed budget cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program would replace part of SNAP benefits with monthly food boxes. Brown says this would be bad for local communities and the recipients.

“Somebody in Washington is going to decide what every SNAP beneficiary in the country is going to eat,” he says. “It sounds like a lot more spam and a lot less locally-fed beef and I think it’s the exact opposite of what we should do.”

Brown spoke to Brownfield at the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association Conference.

Audio: Sherrod Brown, Ohio Senator