Nearly 300 farmers, elected officials and community members gathered in La Crosse to share input on the upcoming farm bill, an expansive piece of legislation that will guide farm policy for the next five years.
Discussed topics included crop insurance, input costs, an aging workforce, funding for new technology, agricultural research and the impact of government regulation.
U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, who sits on the House Committee on Agriculture, hosted the listening session along with committee chairman Rep. Glenn Thompson.
While Van Orden was unable to participate in the session in-person because of his daughter’s battle with cancer, he joined virtually.
“While our daughter’s health prevents me from appearing in-person in La Crosse today, I will be participating virtually and greatly appreciate my friends chairman Thompson and Sen. (Ron) Johnson for visiting our district to hear from all of you in our fantastic agriculture industry,” Van Orden said in a statement.
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Sen. Ron Johnson was also present for part of the session to listen to constituents and thank Thompson for coming to Wisconsin to gain input for the legislation.
Farmers and agricultural leaders came from all across Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District and the state, including corn, dairy, cranberry and soybean farmers as well as organic farmers and energy companies that produce ethanol from corn.
The 2023 farm bill is expected to have chapters on commodity subsidies, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, agricultural research, rural development, crop insurance, food aid, export promotion, farm credit, forestry and land stewardship.
At the start of the listening session, Thompson said his goal is to get a farm bill passed on time, since the current one expires at the end of September.
“I’d say with the farm bill, we’ve got one goal and thousands of objectives, but that one goal is that we do a farm bill that is bipartisan and bicameral, on time and highly effective,” Thompson said.
Thompson said the committee is on course to have the legislation prepared, but the difficulty comes with getting time on the House floor. End of September is a busy time in the House with the federal spending bill also needing to be wrapped up.
Thompson did assure the farmers that a bill would be completed by the end of this year.