With passage last week of the Senate farm bill, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (S. 3042), congressional lawmakers are expected to soon head to conference to iron out the differences between the House and Senate legislation. The House passed its version of the bill, the Agriculture and Nutrition Act of 2018 (H.R. 2), on June 21.

Noting the tough circumstances farmers and ranchers are up against, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said progress on the farm bill is very timely.

“The Senate pushed the farm bill one big step closer to the finish line and it could not have come at a better time. America’s farmers and ranchers continue to face a challenging agricultural economy, a shaky outlook for our export markets and a dire ag labor shortage. It was time for some good news and the Senate delivered it in bipartisan fashion,” Duvall said in a statement.

The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 provides a solid framework for moving forward, Duvall continued.

“We do have concerns about some of the provisions that were added to the bill that make it harder for farmers to manage risk, but we are confident that those issues can be satisfactorily addressed by the House/Senate conference committee. We look forward to working with conferees from both houses to get the best possible farm bill done for rural America,” he said.

Once a final measure is approved by both chambers, the farm bill will be sent to President Trump for his signature.