Congress reaches Farm Bill agreement

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WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) announced that the House-Senate Farm Bill Conference Committee has reached a final agreement on the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, more commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill. As a member of the committee tasked with reconciling the differences between the House and Senate versions of the 2018 Farm Bill, Brown fought for provisions that were important to Ohio farmers.

Brown, the first Ohioan to serve on the Senate Agriculture Committee in more than 50 years, held roundtables around Ohio to hear from Ohio farmers and rural communities about what they wanted to see in the bill. The House will take up the bill this week and the Senate thereafter.

“At the beginning of the year, I pledged to get the Farm Bill done, so that we could provide Ohio farmers with the certainty they deserve,” said Brown. “And I’m proud that this final bipartisan bill will do that. We secured important wins for Ohio dairy farmers, as well as soybean and corn farmers. This final bill protects funding for critical nutrition programs that feed Ohio families, makes historic investments in local foods, and continues to invest in programs to improve water quality in Lake Erie and across the state. Congress should move swiftly so that we can get this bill over the finish line.”

The Farm Bill replaces the Margin Protection Program (MPP) with the Dairy Risk Coverage program, which invests an additional $100 million to improve affordability, flexibility, and effectiveness for Ohio dairy farmers.

The bill includes some improvements from the Brown-Thune ARC-II to make the Agriculture Risk Coverage program more workable for Ohio farmers:

• Allows growers participating in the ARC program to update yields.
• Expands and increases funding for market and export promotion programs.
• Protects and improves crop insurance for Ohio growers
• Includes Brown’s amendment to expand crop insurance coverage to Ohio farmers looking to plant malting barley for the state’s growing beer industry.

Brown also secured provisions that protect the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) for hungry families in Ohio, while protecting families in need by helping avoid harmful eligibility changes that would force working families to jump through unnecessary bureaucratic hoops.

The Brown-Portman amendment increases funding for Central State University. Brown’s amendment would increase the amount of formula funding that Central State University will be able to receive from USDA, after being denied 1890 Land Grant status for more than 100 years.

Bill also includes investments in telemedicine, community facilities, and rural health and safety programs for substance abuse treatment, prevention, and education.

Learn more about the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, here.