Chuck Conner predicts little hope for a farm bill to be passed this year. The former under-secretary of agriculture and now head of the National Association of Farm Coops, says the current atmosphere in Washington, D.C., means that “unless a bill can be crafted by Memorial Day, it will have no chance of being passed until after the election.”

Conner says another factor preventing work on farm policy is the fact that agriculture has not decided what it wants in a farm bill, “The Farm Bureau struggled with this last week, and its proposals are different than the corn and soybean groups and sharply different than what the cotton and rice folks want.” He added that the work done so far by the House and Senate Ag Committees may be a good starting point.  Conner says there is no clear consensus in rural America and that the issues, “Need more time to cook.”

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