The American Soybean Association (ASA) applauds President Trump and Members of the House and Senate for quickly finalizing the “Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018.” ASA leaders Davie Stephens, president and Kentucky soy grower, and John Heisdorffer, chairman and grower from Iowa, were among those attending the farm bill signing ceremony Thursday afternoon at the White House.

“This is a success for agriculture to have this legislation passed before the end of the year,” said Stephens. “We appreciate the level of assurance the bill provides and will now be able to better focus on working with the Administration and Congress on other issues affecting the competitiveness and profitability of U.S. beans.”

ASA is pleased with provisions in the bill that maintain the ARC and PLC program; a strong crop insurance program; funding for the Foreign Market Development (FMD) program and Market Access Program (MAP) within the Agriculture Trade and Facilitation Program; baseline funding of the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP); acreage limit increases for the Conservation Research Program (CRP); continued authorization for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) and support of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine (NASEM) consensus report data; and enactment of the Ag Connectivity Provision that expands rural broadband connections, including mobile coverage.