Sen. John Boozman cultivates support for farm bill
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U.S. Sen. John Boozman hopes to champion passage of a farm bill this year, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports.
- The Arkansas Republican is the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.
Why it matters: Farm bills cover a variety of programs affecting agriculture, rural development and conservation. The bill impacts the livelihoods of farmers and ranchers, as well as how economically viable it is to produce food in the U.S. over the next several years.
- With nearly 50,000 farms, agriculture is Arkansas' largest single industry, bringing in about $16 billion annually.
Context: It's estimated the 10-year baseline — funding for mandatory programs in the bill — will be about $1.3 trillion.
- The nutrition portion of the bill, which includes the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), accounts for about $1 trillion of the estimate.
Between the lines: Farm bill legislation can be contentious due to the large amounts of money involved, which historically conservatives would aim to trim while liberals would seek to expand.
- There's also a wide variety of agriculture needs across the nation, which can create friction when prioritizing funds.
Flashback: The last bill was passed in 2018 and expires this year. Federal lawmakers have through the end of September to pass new legislation or extend the current law.
The bottom line: "I'm very optimistic that we can get it done because we can make the case that this is all about rural America," Boozman told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.