Looming Farm Bill Extension May Hurt Illinois Farmers

At an Illinois Farm Bureau Commodity Conference, the leader of an agricultural bank said Illinois farmers should be prepared for another two year extension of the farm bill.

Terry Barr, Director of CoBank, said even though the Senate passed its version of the bill and the House passed a stripped down version, he does not expect a long term farm bill to be passed until after the 2014 Midterm elections.

Barr said the uncertainty caused by not having a new, long term farm bill hurts farmers.

McDonough County Farm Bureau Chapter Manager, Sarah Grant, said though she cannot speculate on what congress will do, she agreed that uncertainty is not good for area farmers.

She said it’s hard for farmers to make yearly budgets without knowing what congress will do.

Grant also said that even if the current farm bill is extended yet again, it's already several years old and there are changes that need to be made and should not be delayed for another two years.