Senate Ag Committee Approves Farm Bill with Ernst Support

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), released the following statement after the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry approved the 2018 Farm Bill.

“Timely passage of the Farm Bill is critical to providing certainty and predictability to Iowa’s farmers and ranchers,” said Senator Ernst, Chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy. “Our farmers and ranchers feed and fuel the world, and the input I have received from folks across the state was invaluable in crafting this bill. I’m glad that several pieces of my legislation, including reforms to conservation and commodity programs, were incorporated in the Farm Bill that address the concerns of farmers and strengthen key programs on behalf of our farmers.”

Several Ernst measures were included in the 2018 Farm Bill, including her:

• Bipartisan legislation with Senator Heitkamp (D-ND) to strengthen and improve the Agriculture Risk Coverage-County Level program;
• Bipartisan Give Our Resources the Opportunity to Work (GROW) Act of 2018,  introduced with Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Bob Casey (D-PA) to revise and strengthen the current provisions of CRP, the Conservation Stewardship Program and Environmental Quality Incentives Program;
• Bipartisan Regional Conservation Partnership Program Improvement Act, introduced with Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), which will strengthen the Regional Conservation Partnership Program and incentivize rural and urban partnerships for conservation; and the
• Bipartisan Facilitating Accessible Resources for Mental Health and Encouraging Rural Solutions For Immediate Response to Stressful Times (FARMERS FIRST) Act, introduced with Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), to provide our nation’s agricultural community with critical mental health support and resources.