House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway of Texas says he wants to finish the next farm bill this year, with the bill reaching the U.S. House floor for a vote in early 2018. Conaway told a farm bill listening session in California over the weekend that he hopes the farm bill will be on the House floor in the first quarter of 2018. At the end of the session, Conaway noted that writing the farm bill would be challenging because “no one asked for less money,” according to the Hagstrom Report. The listening session is one of many being held by Congress across the nation as lawmakers prepare to write the next farm bill. California farmers asked the House Agriculture Committee during the listening session to strengthen support for specialty crops, among other concerns.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.