With two weeks to go before the latest extension of the Farm Bill
expires April 18, it is still not clear whether Congress will come
through with a new Farm Bill this year.

National Wildlife Federation continues to press for passage of a Farm
Bill this year that includes $5 billion in new funding for
conservation programs. We encourage you to contact your members of
Congress again in support of conservation funding, because key
decisions may be made in the week ahead.

In mid-March, House and Senate agriculture committee leaders
announced agreement on a framework for a new Farm Bill that included
$4.95 billion in new funds for the conservation title. However, that
framework was immediately attacked by Senators who want more funds
for a new permanent disaster assistance program.

AgricultureOnline reporter Dan Looker reported that "Senator Max
Baucus, Chairman of the Finance Committee, reportedly wants more than
$4 billion in new spending to pay for a permanent disaster program
over the next 10 years. That would benefit wheat farmers in his state
and other regions of the Great Plains." North Dakota Senator Kent
Conrad has also been vocal in his support of the disaster program.

"Representative Charles Rangel, a New Yorker who heads the House Ways
and Means Committee, is reported to be upset that a $9.5 billion
increase in funding for food stamps is being considered, not the
$11.5 billion passed in the House Farm Bill last summer," writes
Looker.

Senator Baucus and Representative Rangel chair the committees that
were asked to find $10 billion in new funding to complete the bill,
so they have considerable influence over the debate.

Meanwhile, House members Ron Kind (D-WI), Paul Ryan (R-WI), Earl
Blumenauer (D-OR), and Jeff Flake (R-AZ), issued a press release
objecting to a proposal last week by farm bill negotiators "to
eliminate nearly $1 billion from conservation programs to provide
more money for a permanent agricultural disaster assistance fund."
Kind said "increasing conservation funding is vital to address a
tremendous unmet need and help more farmers be better stewards of the
land."

-- Duane Hovorka