All over Southern Indiana, farmers have struggled this year with little rain, hurting their yields. But at the Bloomington Community Farmers' Market, you wouldn’t know it. Vendors brought heaps of all kinds of farm products, from miniature honey bears to fresh peppers and Asian pears.
On virtually none of the vendor’s minds was the lack of an updated American farm bill — last passed in 2018. They’re supposed to be passed every five years, but it's been six for a bill many industry advocates say is crucial for growers. Of those paying attention, most aren't following the drama closely.
But many in the agricultural industry still maintain passing an updated bill is imperative for farmers. Lobbyists say the lack of updated legislation causes instability for farmers, an uncertainty that farmers can’t always weather.
The farm bill is usually passed every five years and grants funding for farms for loan programs, crop insurance, disaster assistance, conservation programs and many other initiatives. The majority of its budget goes toward the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program.
Many in the agricultural industry say the other provisions are crucial to growers, who make up a big part of Indiana’s economy. The conservation programs are voluntary, a value Farm Bureau officials repeatedly emphasized in interviews.
But Lee Jones, co-founder of Stranger’s Hill Organics northwest of Bloomington, said the farm bill isn’t a huge priority. She said her farm is the oldest certified organic farm in Indiana, and they don’t use conventional sprays or chemical fertilizers. Jones would be struggling with this year’s limited rainfall, except for her good irrigation system.
Jones isn’t concerned about the lack of an updated farm bill. She said it “probably” wouldn’t matter one way or the other if it was passed.
“The farm bill is really mostly aimed at the mega farmers,” Jones said. “There’s very little in it for family farms.”
Stranger’s Hill Organics doesn’t have crop insurance, which Jones said is fine because of their diverse array of produce — garlic, peppers, tomatoes and many others filled their market table.
But Chris Tempel, president of the Perry County Farm Bureau, said crop insurance is one of the most important issues the farm bill covers. To get operating loans, which farmers need to get to secure their crops at the beginning of the year, many banks require crop insurance.
Tempel is facing the same drought that Jones is — but said genetic modifications are helping him weather it. He grows corn, soybeans and wheat, among many other crops, and holds pigs and cows at his 3,200-acre farm in southern Indiana.
Farmers often take out large loans at the beginning of the year to pay them back with a slim margin off the top for themselves after harvest. In years when droughts are worse and natural disasters strike, the safety net is crucial for farmers just to get by, he said.
It’s also crucial for when crop prices fluctuate. Since he’s close to the Ohio river, much of Tempel’s grain is exported. And global conflict along with ever-fluctuating demand can change prices on a whim.
Tempel is heavily involved with the Farm Bureau’s lobbying efforts, traveling to Washington, D.C. to work on convincing legislators of the legislation’s importance. The bill’s provisions were extended once last September. It will likely be extended again if not passed by Sept. 27, after which both chambers will be out of until after the election. After that, both houses are in session for under five weeks.
Tempel said while farm bill extensions are crucial, they often can’t factor in updated crop prices, weakening the safety net for farmers. He said each program of the legislation, apart from SNAP benefits, impacts farmers in Indiana.
The House and Senate have less than two weeks to pass the bill before the November election. The Indiana Farm Bureau, among many other agricultural industry titans, are pushing for it to pass before the end of the year, despite some pessimism about partisan politicking due to the upcoming election.
Brantley Seifers, the Indiana Farm Bureau’s director of national government affairs, said that Indiana’s senators and congressional delegation, including the Democrats, have all been helpful and receptive to their pleas for updated legislation.
At an agriculture policy summit in July, Indiana Sen. Mike Braun said he couldn’t say whether the farm bill would be completed by the end of this year. Still, Rep. Erin Houchin, who represents much of southern Indiana including Monroe County, said in a statement to the Indiana Daily Student that she understands “the critical importance of passing the Farm Bill before the end of the year.”
“It’s imperative we pass this legislation to ensure our farmers and producers have the certainty and support they need to feed the world,” she went on to say. “I continue to encourage House leadership to bring the Farm Bill to the floor for a vote by the full House of Representatives.”
But still, the bill lays stalled in both chambers, for now.
