Cutting Farm Bill funding could pinch conservation programs Johnson says during fair talk

When it comes to federal legislation, U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said the Farm Bill is a rare instance when authoring it is both a collaborative and bipartisan effort.

Johnson was at the Brown County Fair Friday to discuss the Farm Bill during a talk hosted by the South Dakota Farm Bureau.

South Dakota Sen. John Thune talks Farm Bill, crop insurance at Brown County Fair

Congress is in the process of drafting the next Farm Bill, which is a package of agriculture-related regulations approved every five years. The regulations also appropriate funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly called SNAP. Covering nutrition programs alone accounts for 80% of Farm Bill money

More money for SNAP might mean less for conservation

As he talked about the nuances of the bill and the programs within it, Johnson said there is a push from some to reduce the overall cost of the measure by 10%. Another idea discussed, he said, is the need to increase support for SNAP because of the higher cost of food.

If that happens, he said, there's a real chance that conservation programs could feel a pinch. If the overall cost of the Farm Bill goes down, but the need for food stamps increases, Johnson said, "there's going to be a battle."

Johnson says food stamps should include work requirement

While he believes there's a place for food stamp programs to help families in financial need, Johnson said, there are loopholes that need to be closed.

He said that Maine and Arkansas both re-imposed work requirements for people who receive food stamps. Two years later, he said, the wages and salaries of people using those programs have tripled.

Conservation groups are united in goals

Johnson said this year there's a unified voice among conservation groups.

"I've never seen so much alignment with conservation groups," he said.

For example, he said, all are in agreement that Conservation Reserve Program land could have a working land agreement, meaning there would be stipulations that would allow for activities like grazing or haying if CRP land.

"When you have all the traditional stakeholders in agreement that's, a good first step," he said.

Policy advisors for Republican Sens. John Thune and Mike Rounds agree.

Jim Selchert, agriculture specialist for Rounds, said making CRP a working land agreement is something the senator has heard about. And Ryan Donnelly, legislative assistant for Thune, agreed it's an important issue.

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Increase in food costs troubling for Rounds

Although staffers for Thune and Rounds were at Friday's Farm Bill discussion, Rounds met with the American News when he was in town earlier in the week. He deferred to Johnson and Thune about the nuances of the bill since they are active in the committees discussing the legislation. But Rounds has concerns.

Those include making sure crop insurance programs are appropriately funded and addressing the projected increases SNAP funding.

Initial projected costs for that program were about $150 billion for this year with an estimate of $79 billion for 2023. But, Rounds said, the estimates for 2023 and 2024 respectively are now $159 billion and $149 billion.

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For the duration of the next Farm Bill, which covers 2024 through 2028, he said, $531 billion is included for SNAP compared to $326 billion in the current bill.

With those mandatory costs increasing, Rounds said, it puts pressure on the committees to find savings. But at the same time, he said, crop insurance programs should also account for inflation.

This article originally appeared on Aberdeen News: dusty johnson at farm bureau forum during brown county fair