As reported by multiple sources, the 41 House and Senate conferees on the farm bill will meet on Wednesday, Oct. 30, to begin the process of reconciling the differences between the two bills. The opening session promises to be a lengthy one, as the process of the conference provides all 41 conferees an opportunity to make an opening statement on the legislation.

Long-time Washington agriculture reporter Jerry Hagstrom wrote in Monday’s National Journal Daily, that there would be five areas of particular contention in the conference process. These are the nutrition title, crop insurance, commodity programs, dairy programs and food aid. While ASA has not weighed in on the debate over nutrition policy, the association does have a significant stake in several of the other issues, including commodity programs, crop insurance and food aid.

With specific regard to commodity programs, ASA maintains that any agreement reached by the conferees must include payments that are decoupled from current-year planting decisions, in order to avoid the potential planting distortions and market disruptions that coupled payments can create. On food aid, ASA continues to oppose the replacement of in-kind aid with cash, and ASA has long maintained that soy farmers would part with direct payments provided the legislation strengthens the crop insurance program.

That leaves the dairy program and the ever-debated nutrition title. It remains to be seen if conferees can bridge the gap between the House’s $40 billion cut to nutrition programs and the Senate’s $4 billion reduction. There is general consensus that this fight will be the conference’s most contentious one, and leadership has stated that it will likely be saved for the conference’s final sessions.

ASA continues to work with our contacts in both chambers and will again provide our priorities to conferees before Wednesday’s opening session.