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Stabenow – farm bills don’t always meet deadlines

Farm bills don’t always meet their deadlines and that might be the case again this time. Senate Ag ranking member Debbie Stabenow of Michigan remembers the last farm bill extension, “In the last farm bill it took us 2-and-a-half years to get it done and two different ranking members, for me working with, and two different congresses.”

Major differences remain in conference committee for a 2018 farm bill and while the date for the current farm bill to expire is September 30th, Stabenow says it could technically stay in place for a while, “Funding actually continues ‘til about December. So, we’re not in a position, I understand, where we actually need to formally do an extension on September 30th because of the way the financing is operating.”

Stabenow says she would love to get the new farm bill done as soon as possible and that she and Chairman Roberts are talking every day and with conference committee members. But, she says the big differences are going to “take a little while” to sort out.

AUDIO: From Senator Stabenow conference call ~