Farm Bill In Senate | Video

Jessica Rose | 6/20/2012

Every five years, Congress passes new Farm Bill legislation that sets a national policy for agriculture. The current bill is set to expire at the end of the year. This week, the Senate is working on a new one.

One of the biggest changes would save more than $20 billion over the next 10 years by making cuts on direct payments. Replacing it would be a crop insurance program that would help cover the deductibles farmers have to pay before their insurance kicks in.

"This is probably the worst time to construct a Farm Bill, politically, because of the big deficit nationally and the strong incomes we`ve had on the general for crop farms. So it`s going to be a cut in the subsidies," said NDSU Extension Farm Resource Manager Andy Swenson.

He says even with the cuts, he believes producers will be satisfied with the Farm Bill.

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