BELZONI, Miss.–With commodity prices up and prices farmers have to pay for supplies and seed high with inflation, Mississippi farmers are facing tough economic pressures. During a hearing Thursday in front of the Mississippi Senate Ag Committee, an expert on agriculture said farmers are not likely to see immediate relief.
“This farm bill is already two years late and it’s probably going to take a while to pass another one,” said Dr. Keith Coble, vice president of the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine at Mississippi State University.
A new farm bill could provide additional relief for farmers who are struggling with inflation and other concerns. But, bi-partisan haggling held a new farm bill up last year.
Instead an extension of the 2018 Farm Bill was passed. That version of the farm bill was written under different economic circumstances.
“On the federal level there’s gonna be a lot of work to try to ensure that that safety net provided by the farm bill is there,” said Coble. “But, it probably, in my estimation, having worked there, I don’t think a farm bill is going to happen before later this year. We’ll be harvesting before we get a farm bill in my estimation.”
Last year Sen. Cindy Hyde Smith, a member of the Senate Ag Committee in the U.S. Senate, urged Congress to provide relief to farmers because of high prices, inflation and natural disasters that have affected farmers not just in Mississippi, but all over the country.
