Sioux City Times

Today, more than 100 days after the U.S. House Agriculture Committee passed the Farm Bill with bipartisan support, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) issued a statement urging immediate passage of the bill before its September 30 expiration and called on Senate Democrats to act.

“It has been more than 100 days since I voted for, and the House Agriculture Committee passed, the Farm Bill. Yet, during that time, Senate Democrats have not even bothered to release their own bill text or work with Republicans to support our farmers and producers before the September 30 expiration of the Farm Bill,” said Feenstra. “Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee wrote a Farm Bill that strengthens crop insurance, increases reference prices, opens new export markets, invests in agriculture education, and keeps China away from our farmland. I strongly encourage Senate Democrats to work with us to support our farm families and American agriculture.”

Feenstra introduced ten bills included in the Farm Bill:

- The Crop Insurance for Future Farmers Act aims to extend vital crop and livestock insurance protections to new, beginning, and veteran farmers by lowering their insurance payments during their first ten years in business.

- The Fortifying Refrigeration Infrastructure and Developing Global Exports (FRIDGE) Act seeks to develop infrastructure such as cold-chain storage and port improvements to ship Iowa beef, chicken, turkey, pork, grains, specialty crops, and other perishable goods worldwide.

- The Safe American Food Exports (SAFE) Act would codify USDA’s role in negotiating regionalization agreements allowing livestock, poultry, and other animal products to be safely exported during an animal disease outbreak.

- The Foreign Agricultural Restrictions to Maintain Local Agriculture and National Defense (FARMLAND) Act aims to enhance oversight on foreign land ownership by increasing transparency and imposing penalties for falsifying Agriculture and Foreign Investment Disclosure Act filings.

- The Rural Broadband Modernization Act would provide grants and loans to rural communities for expanding broadband access.

- The Snap Back Inaccurate SNAP Payments Act seeks to strengthen the integrity of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by reducing overpayments.

- The Farmers First Act aims to expand behavioral health services in rural communities.

- The Genome to Phenome Initiative Reauthorization Act would support continued research at Iowa State University aimed at increasing crop yields while keeping costs low.

- The Livestock Indemnity Program Improvement Act proposes cutting the timeframe for payment rate adjustments from annually to every three months for fair pricing during severe storms or disease outbreaks.

- The Precision Agriculture Loan Program Act promotes precision agriculture loans designed to help farmers lower water usage while increasing yields.