Dusty Johnson says Farm Bill vote expected before Memorial Day

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - South Dakota Representative Dusty Johnson, one of six farm bill subcommittee chairmen, is hopeful about the new farm bill that could affect people nationwide.

The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 was only intended to last five years as is the average term for any farm bill, but last year Congress couldn’t get a bill passed. This means many agriculture programs have lost funding and some have lost legal authorization to operate. The hold-up you might ask, is money.

Democrats and Republicans are divided on where to best allocate funds, however, South Dakota Representative Dusty Johnson believes the bill will be passed very soon.

“We’re getting real close. It’s going to be a farm bill that does what we need to do. Of course, it’s going to continue to invest in our risk management programs. It’s going to make a better investment in working land conservation. Farmers and ranchers know how to do good conservation practices on their land, we just gotta let them. And then also of course we’re going to make sure that crop assurance is taken care of and that reference prices for the Title One programs are adjusted,” Johnson said.

Johnson added that the country is in a very different place than it was six years ago but he believes a vote on the new bill will most likely take place before Memorial Day.

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