The chairman of the House Agriculture Committee has outlined the priorities important to ranchers in his version of the new farm bill, which he released May 17.

Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson sat for an interview with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association that same day.

The House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to begin markup of the chairman’s proposal on May 23.

The first priority is increased funding for the tripod of provisions to protect livestock from foreign animal diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease, and tools to deal efficiently and quickly should an outbreak occur, the Pennsylvania Republican said on NCBA’s “Beltway Beef” podcast.

That tripod consists of the National Animal Health Network, the National Animal Disease and Preparedness Program and the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank, where animal vaccines are stockpiled for use in the event of a foreign disease outbreak.

“We want to keep those foreign diseases out of the United States, but we want to be ready in case something slips through,” he said.

Funding for prevention, preparedness and response is a priority for cattle producers, he said.

Trade programs

Another is increased funding for trade programs. Funding for the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development Program hasn’t increased since they were created. Cattle producers specifically requested increasing funding for the programs, and the House is doubling that funding, he said.

“I hear their voices, that’s a priority, their priority is my priority,” he said.

Another priority is agricultural research, and the bill makes a significant investment in research — which is long overdue, he said.

The bill puts “the largest investment we’ve ever seen into research facilities because that is so important, especially our land-grant universities,” he said.

Disaster assistance

Disaster assistance is another priority for cattle producers. His focus is to strengthen the disaster programs in the farm bill so agriculture is not so reliant on ad hoc disaster bills, which bring so much uncertainty.

“Whether they ever get passed by Congress is always a question,” he said.

In addition, it takes so long after a disaster for payments to go out some have to be forwarded to another address because a farm or ranch was sold due to bankruptcy, he said.

“That’s a sad situation that shouldn’t occur,” he said.

The chairman’s proposal also addresses access to large-animal veterinarians and access to credit for new, young and beginning farmers.

All of the things the committee is working on are meant to make farming and ranching more affordable and make it profitable again, he said.

Urgent need

It’s important the farm bill gets done this year, and he’s hoping all legislators, Republican and Democrat, recognize the urgency.

The struggles and challenges that farmers and ranchers have faced over the past six years have almost been unprecedented, he said.

“The other urgency with getting this done has to do with some of those conservation dollars in the Inflation Reduction Act,” he said.

That funding was $20 billion to start, and $14 billion remains.

“If we can roll those into the farm bill and get the farm bill done, those dollars would be there for perpetuity,” he said.

If they’re exhausted before a farm bill is passed, there’s no potential for expanding conservation into the future, he said.