In the past two days, the Senate and House both cleared passage of the conference agreement farm bill, now sending the final farm bill to the President, who is expected to sign the bill. The House passed the bill Wednesday afternoon by a strong bipartisan vote of 369-47. The Senate passed the bill Tuesday by a vote of 87-13.

In a joint statement, Senate Agriculture Committee chairman Pat Roberts (R., Kan.) and ranking member Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.) said, “This swift legislative action taken by both chambers represents our commitment to provide certainty and predictability to farmers, families and rural America. We look forward to having this good bill signed into law.” 

House Agriculture Committee chairman Mike Conaway (R., Texas) said in his floor speech ahead of the vote that he had to make a decision on whether to get the farm bill done or continue to fight for the reforms he sought.

“Ultimately, I had to make a decision between making as many inroads on reform in these areas as I could OR allow farmers and ranchers to be held hostage. Faced with that choice, I chose the route of getting this farm bill done. We made inroads wherever we could on important reforms, and we worked to provide the strongest safety net possible for our nation’s farmers and ranchers,” Conaway said.

Related:Senate advances farm bill agreement

Conaway added that the farm bill is budget neutral. He also pointed out that it does no harm to crop insurance, strengthens conservation initiatives, including the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, fully funds trade promotion initiatives as well as makes additional investments elsewhere in the bill.

House Agriculture Committee ranking member Collin Peterson’s (D., Minn.) said in a floor statement one of the most important pieces in the bill is the improvements made for dairy farmers. “The economic downturn in farm country is hitting dairy hardest of all. In my home state of Minnesota and in neighboring Wisconsin, an average of two dairies are going out of business every day. The provisions in this bill will provide expanded, affordable coverage options and more flexibility for dairy farmers. I am proud to put my name on this program,” Peterson said.

“The farm bill passed by the full Congress represents a truly bipartisan spirit and offers genuine hope for agriculture,” said Jim Mulhern, president and chief executive officer of the National Milk Producers Federation. “The dairy provisions adopted by Congress will bring critically important assistance to the nation’s dairy farmers. The sooner the President signs the bill, the sooner that the Agriculture Department can implement these important policy improvements.”

Related:Farm bill conferees sign package for final vote

Peterson added that the $300 million in mandatory funding for animal disease programs comes at a time when the domestic livestock industry is facing continued danger from unchecked threats. “That money will go to increasing our ability to prevent and respond to animal pests and diseases that harm our animals and threaten the viability of our livestock operations,” he said. 

Members of the Animal Agriculture Coalition and the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture praised the animal disease funding.

“America’s livestock and poultry producers, in concert with veterinarians, work hard to ensure the health of the animals they raise. They play a central role in not only providing nutritious food for families across the U.S. but also in creating jobs and contributing to our country’s economic stability,” the Animal Agriculture Coalition said. "That’s why producers and veterinarians agree that one of our greatest priorities must be to lessen the impact of devastating animal diseases with a one-of-a-kind program that will strengthen our ability to rapidly identify and respond to them.

“We are pleased that the '2018 Farm Bill Conference Report' recognizes this need and provides mandatory funding for research into animal health and diseases as well as measures to help the animal agriculture industry act quickly when concerns are identified. This investment in animal health is a good start and will help ensure that the industry is better prepared now and into the future. Simply put, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” the coalition added.

President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue commended Congress for bringing the farm bill across the finish line and will be encouraging Trump to sign it.

Perdue said the passage of the farm bill is good news because it provides a strong safety net for farmers and ranchers, who need the dependability and certainty this legislation affords. 

“This farm bill will help producers make decisions about the future while also investing in important agricultural research and supporting trade programs to bolster exports,” Perdue said. “While I feel there were missed opportunities in forest management and in improving work requirements for certain [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] recipients, this bill does include several helpful provisions, and we will continue to build upon these through our authorities.”

National Corn Growers Assn. (NCGA) president Lynn Chrisp praised the bill’s passage, saying, “To put it bluntly, the farm economy stinks. Between depressed commodity prices, record low farm incomes and tariffs and trade uncertainty, farmers are facing difficult decisions. Getting the farm bill passed and signed into law is one less thing they need to worry about.

“NCGA is most pleased to see the bill maintains support for a robust crop insurance program -- our organization’s top priority -- and strengthens the [Agriculture Risk Coverage-county] program through administrative improvements, including a one-time program change option, an increase to the plug yield for disaster years, the use of a trend-adjusted yield factor and a market adjustment provision for the floor price. The bill also provides increased funding for trade promotion programs that are especially important to agriculture at this time,” Chrisp added.