Farm Bill Status

Here's an article on the status of farm bill meetings among House, Senate, and administration. In theory the House and Senate bills set the outside parameters for the legislation--the final bill is supposed to be somewhere between them. So, for example, there shouldn't be any possibility of getting tighter payment limitations than exist in one of the bills. But that's college 101 political science--the reality is that such procedural rules can be bypassed if the incentive is there (as if the President guaranteed a veto or you can't get 60 votes in the Senate).

NASCOE is agitating for its positions with members of the committees (see this comment).

John Phipps notes everyone running for President seems to be promising change, and doubts that farm programs can withstand the surge.

It's an interesting world, particularly if you are tucked snugly on the sidelines.