WASHINGTON – A group of Minnesota farmers who flew to Washington this week to beg members of Congress to pass a new farm bill arrived with great expectations. But after two days talking to people on Capitol Hill, they headed home discouraged about their chances of getting what they want.
As the 2008-2012 farm bill heads toward expiration Sept. 30, farmers across the country appear unlikely to get anything more than an extension of the current law, or worse — a return to outdated funding rules dating back decades.
"It seems right now that this is not a high priority," said Lynn Jostock, who walked the halls of Senate and House office buildings with a group of other Minnesotans.
Jostock and her husband, Ed, own a small farm near Rochester. With their hay barn half full because of weather problems and disaster relief programs out of money, the couple came to Capitol Hill to explain why they need the long-term safety net provided by a five-year farm bill.
The Jostocks cling to the notion that the U.S. Senate and House can bridge a partisan divide and pass a bill by the end of the calendar year. But many of their fellow Minnesota farmers are resigned to more uncertainty after their visit.
As badly as they want a new farm bill, neither Peter nor Stacy Ripka of Ogilvie believes Congress will pass one by year's end. At least one of the people they are depending on to make that happen shares their skepticism.
"I can't figure out how this is going to get done," said Rep. Collin Peterson, a Democrat who represents Minnesota's Seventh District and serves as ranking minority member of the House Agriculture Committee.
In June, Peterson led the fight to pass a new farm bill in the House, only to have it defeated by an odd coalition of those who wanted the bill to include no money for food stamps and those who wanted it to include $20 billion more.
