Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Senate Ag Committee Chair, is looking for more urgency from farm groups about getting a new farm bill in place. The Fence Post says Stabenow recalled farm bill negotiations dragging on during 2013 and says there was a “sense of urgency” in the agricultural community about getting it done. However, Stabenow says she doesn’t get that same sense of urgency now. While an extension is considered important, she says it’s absolutely vital that Congress get a new farm bill written and passed in 2024. “I want to hear more of a sense of urgency from ag groups,” Stabenow told a group of reporters after a hearing.

Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), Senate Ag Committee Ranking Member, said he believes farm groups are “expressing urgency.” However, farm leaders know times are so different from 2018 and that “we don’t just need to do something, we need to do the right thing.”