WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.-(Purdue Extension)--Public debate over agriculture programs in the U.S. Farm Bill may grow following the failure of the congressional "super committee" in November, according to one agricultural economist with Purdue Extension.
Mike Boehlje, distinguished professor of agricultural economics with Purdue, said the committee failed to agree on how to cut the nation's deficit by $1.2 trillion over 10 years.
Of that amount, congressional agriculture committees had offered $23 billion in reductions in the five-year period the 2012 farm bill would cover.
"The issues are very timely because there was this thought that the super committee might capture farm policy as part of that debate," Boehlje said. "But that fell apart, so the issue of farm policy will be debated more openly now."
Congressional leaders will have to decide which programs to eliminate or reduce - and by how much. They also will have to decide whether to move away from providing income support for farmers, such as with direct payments, and do more to help farmers manage their risks, a strategy that Boehjle said farm groups generally favor.
"It seems we are moving the approach more to a risk-management strategy rather than an income-enhancement strategy," he said.
Determining a farm bill will be especially complicated because of this year's presidential election, which could delay writing of the bill until next year.
"We're in a presidential election year and we don't know yet who we will have as the (Republican) candidates," Boehlje said. "Overarching the whole farm bill discussion becomes which party will be in control."
