Movement Needed on Farm Bill

Could 2008 be the year Congress and the President finally agree on a Farm Bill Maybe but if that is to happen Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer says major movement on a bill must happen in the next two weeks March 15th is the cutoff date to get a bill done but Schafer feels if good progress is made by then Congress may grant more time for the issue If it appears a bill will not be done the current farm bill agreed to in 2002 could end up being extended a year maybe even two Ed Schafer - US Agriculture Secretary We have to settle on the framework for a Farm Bill After that takes place there are many issues to be dealt with and language designed that will take a long time If you look back at previous bills they are signed in March or April In this case if we have a framework agreement and we are working on the details I suspect that Congress would be willing to extend by about a month to get the job done but if we don t have the framework and a good amount of work done by March 15 I think that we won t see a Farm Bill done this year Schafer made his comments recently to reporters following the annual Agricultural Outlook Forum in Virginia