Camp Hill) – Pennsylvania Farm Bureau (PFB) says farmers across Pennsylvania (and the nation) are willing to make sacrifices as part of the overall farm bill package, including the elimination of direct payments, which total $5 billion per year in the bills approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee and House Agriculture Committee.
“PFB is pleased that the Agriculture Committees have advanced farm bill legislation that places a high priority on crop insurance as a risk management tool and includes additional insurance opportunities for fruit and vegetable growers,” said PFB President Carl T. Shaffer.  “We are hopeful that the bipartisan supported bills, which include a flexible crop insurance program and a streamlined conservation program that focuses on working lands, will move swiftly though the full Senate over the next few weeks and through the House this summer.”
Farm Bureau notes that the Senate and House versions of the farm bill contain many similarities on issues that directly impact farmers.
PFB adds that it is important for the public to know where money from the farm bill actually goes.  “The proposed $100 billion farm bill proposals direct about $80 billion (80% of all farm bill funding) toward food stamps and other food nutrition efforts under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP.  The remaining $20 billion – which is one half of one percent of all federal spending – is targeted to help farmers afford crop insurance coverage as part of the agriculture safety net and to assist farmers in implementing conservation practices that reduce soil erosion, limit runoff and improve water quality,” concluded Shaffer.
Pennsylvania Farm Bureau is the state’s largest farm organization with a volunteer membership of more than 55,000 farm and rural families, representing farms of every size and commodity across Pennsylvania.