It’s unlikely a new farm bill will come before Congress by the end of this year.
U.S. Senator Deb Fischer says a House and Senate Conference Committee working out the differences between the chambers’ bills signaled Wednesday they won’t be done until January. The farm bill expired last September.
Fischer says Nebraska farmers and ranchers will be hit hard if there’s not a new measure by the end of the year.
"There’s going to be tremendous uncertainty for people in the agricultural sector. Out west where we’ve seen cattle losses due to snowstorms, when we saw drought in previous years, we aren’t going to be able to have that livestock indemnity, that is expired as well."
Fischer says a short-term extension is possible, but that might not be done until January either. Her comments came Wednesday during Fischer’s weekly conference call with Nebraska media.