PFB supports federal 2018 Farm Bill

Pennsylvania Farm Bureau (PFB) announced last week that its strong support of the federal 2018 Farm Bill.

The bill removes industrial hemp from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s controlled substances list, upgrades the dairy assistance program and provides funding for risk management, conservation, and food nutrition programs.

A total of 80 percent of the bill supports the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

PFB said a strong farm-bill program ensures consumers have access to healthy and affordable food, secures our domestic food supply and keeps farmers in business during tough economic times.

“Ultimately, farmers want to sell their products on the open market to consumers locally, across the nation and around the world,” PFB President Rick Ebert said. “We need to continue to strengthen existing trade agreements and work on new deals with other nations to expand our client base and enhance income for farm families.”

PFB is particularly enthusiastic about a provision that revamps the dairy protection plan and replaces a program that failed over the past five years to provide relief to farmers struggling from low milk prices, Ebert said.

Ebert also said cost-share programs help farmers implement conservation projects to improve the environment, and crop insurance programs assist farmers to purchase policies that protect from devastating weather conditions.