The Farm Bill ensures a secure food supply for our nation. It governs policy in many areas related to agriculture, including farm income support, commodities, disaster assistance, conservation, crop insurance, credit, research, trade, rural development, horticulture, energy, forestry and food assistance. The bill was last enacted in December 2018 and is renewed approximately every five years. As of this writing, it is expected that an extension of the 2018 Farm Bill will be needed and the new Farm Bill is unlikely to be signed into law by the end of the year.

There are several areas that I see as priorities for the new bill:

— Title I covers commodities and assistance programs for the farmers that grow them. The three main commodity programs include Price Loss Coverage (PLC), Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and the Marketing Assistance Loan Program. Farmers choose to participate in either PLC or ARC. PLC protects producers when the effective price of a covered commodity is less than the effective reference price for that commodity. It is based on personal history and is more difficult to qualify for. ARC provides income support when the revenue of a covered commodity is less than the guarantee for the covered commodity. It is based on county level production in the area. The reference prices used in these programs need to reflect current conditions. I expect commodity groups and organizations will weigh in heavily on this area and we will assist where we can.

— Crop insurance is an important risk management tool that needs continued support.

— We need more flexibility in conservation programs as no farm is alike and each has different needs and issues.

— Trade promotion remains of concern as 95% of the world’s population exists outside U.S. borders, 80% of the buying power is outside our borders and 92% of the middle-class growth is projected to happen outside of the U.S. in the next three decades. We simply cannot use all we produce in this country and need export markets to maintain prices and revenue. Programs such as the Market Access Program (MAP), the Foreign Market Development Program (FMD) and the Emerging Markets Program (EMP) are essential to our producers.

— Funding for cooperative programs such as meat inspection must be adequate. North Dakota has an approved state inspection program and has been providing that service for decades. Established programs like this should be fully funded so that we are able to continue to assist our producers and food processors.

— Agricultural research provides for more accuracy and efficiency in agriculture, which saves time and money. It can help develop new technologies, inputs and techniques of production that increase productivity. Much of the funding for our specialty crop block grant program goes for research, developing things like improved disease resistance, higher yields, reduced environmental impacts and new cultivars. Continuing to fund research is a high priority.

— Funding for animal disease prevention, early detection, surveillance and rapid response is critical to ensure we have the available resources for the livestock industry to prepare for and respond to disease outbreaks.

— Invasive species can bring increased management costs, monitoring, reduced crop yield, damage to infrastructure and trade implications. Funding to provide additional tools for invasive species issues is essential.

A strong energy policy promoting energy independence is needed to support agriculture and assist producers. If the cost of energy is high for support industries, such as equipment manufacturers, suppliers, the fertilizer and pesticide industries, transportation and processing, it has an exponential effect with those support industries passing the cost back to the producer.

A Farm Bill that addresses these priorities and more will help protect the nation’s food security by ensuring support for agriculture, our producers and our rural communities.