WJTV-TV Jackson
Federal farm bill voted out of Senate committee
By Liz Carroll
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The federal farm bill is only rewritten every five years. The latest version of the 2018 farm bill just passed out of a Senate Committee by a vote of 20-1.
Four amendments offered by Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) will directly benefit Mississippi producers.
The amendments deal with flood insurance, research around chronic wasting disease and two bills to set aside lands for rural use or protection.
Here are details outlining those amendments:
• Franklin County Rural Economic Development – Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to transfer 150 acres around Okhissa Lake in Franklin County to the Scenic Rivers Development Alliance for rural economic development;
• Safety Net for Flood-Prone Farms – Directs the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation to conduct research and development on more affordable crop insurance policies for farmers within the Lower Mississippi Valley affected by frequent flooding;
• Chronic Wasting Disease – Amends the USDA research title to make chronic wasting disease a high-priority research focus within land-grant extension services;
• Healthy Forests Reserve Program – Reauthorizes the Healthy Forests Reserve Program to help landowners restore, enhance, and protect forest ecosystems in order to promote the recovery of threatened and endangered species, and improve biodiversity. The 2014 farm bill authorized $12 million in discretionary funding annually, subject to appropriations, FY2014-2018. This amendment extends authorization through 2023.
The bill will be up for a vote of the full Senate sometime this summer.