Arkansas lawmakers look to next farm bill

Sen. John Boozman and Rep. Rick Crawford — each Republicans — are already taking a look at attainable adjustments to the following farm invoice, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette experiences.

Why it issues: The invoice allocates funding for federal vitamin, farming and conservation applications in addition to agriculture analysis and rural improvement.

• Zoom in: The agriculture trade provides about $16 billion to Arkansas’ economic system every year with almost 50,000 farms within the state.
• The most important poultry and rice producers within the U.S. are primarily based right here too.

Context: Boozman is the rating Republican on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Vitamin and Forestry. Crawford is a part of the Home Agriculture Committee.

What they’re saying: “Agriculture coverage could also be advanced, and debates about meals coverage might get much less consideration than different scorching button points, however these choices matter to all of us,” Boozman wrote in a column Monday.

• “Latest occasions have reminded us we can’t discover ourselves able the place we’re depending on different nations for our meals provide,” he wrote, apparently referring to the conflict in Ukraine, which has pinched the worldwide meals provide.

Sure, and: Crawford instructed the Democrat-Gazette that lawmakers ought to take into account elevating reference costs, referring to a program that reimburses farmers for losses on commodities underneath a set worth, noting the final change was in 2013.

Flashback: Former President Trump signed the final farm invoice into legislation in December 2018.

What’s subsequent: The 118th Congress is scheduled to convene on Jan. 3, 2023.