Farm Bill Update

Markets will likely firm up even more after the estimated planted acreage report is released from USDA June 30. Farmers are concerned about the lack of rain early and worry more about the Farm Bill. Peanut leaders have presented new proposals, which all cost money; however, the response is that there is no new money. Some think that peanut producers will be lucky to keep what they have. PG

Last month, representatives of the U.S. Peanut Federation testified at both the U.S. House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management and Credit and the U.S. Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management and Trade hearings. The purpose of these hearings was to gain producer perspectives on the 2023 Farm Bill and the viability of the farm safety net.

The USPF testimony highlighted peanut priorities for the 2023 Farm Bill, namely an increase in the reference price for the Price Loss Coverage program. Over the past few years, peanut growers have seen a significant increase in the cost of production. According to Stanley Fletcher of Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College and Professor Emeritus at the University of Georgia, the 2021 cost of production was $545.97 per ton, and the 2022 cost of production is approximately $668 per ton.

USPF also testified in support of a voluntary base update that includes growers with and without peanut base acres. While the 2014 Farm Bill allowed for a base update for peanut growers that already had base on their farms, it excluded many young farmers and new production areas.

As we head into the summer, legislators continue their work crafting the 2023 Farm Bill.

Debt Limit Debate May Affect Timeline

Recently, after weeks of negotiations, the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Congress passed H.R. 3746, the bipartisan debt limit deal to avoid a historic default. The deal suspends the nation’s $31.4 trillion borrowing limit until January 2025.

The legislation includes spending caps and limits non-defense discretionary spending to 1% growth in Fiscal Year 2025. This could mean cuts for the agricultural appropriations legislation, which is one of 12 appropriations bills passed yearly. The U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture,