Members of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee quibbled last week over spending on crop insurance and ad-hoc disaster relief, previewing potential fights in the 2023 farm bill.
Legislators of both parties emphasized their support at a Thursday hearing for better funding programs that protect underserved producers, and accounting for future natural disasters in crop insurance negotiations.
“Farming remains one of the riskiest businesses, and farmers still need these tools,” said Democratic Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow, chairwoman of the committee. “We need to work together to create a farm safety net that is responsive to the needs of all of our farmers.”
But Republican members of the committee raised concerns about the amount of recent spending on emergency aid. The committee’s ranking member, John Boozman of Arkansas, said authorized farm bill programs formed a better safety net than ad-hoc aid.
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