Setting the Farm Bill Stage
COVID-19 Pandemic and Fallout
Supply chain disruptions will likely steal the limelight, says Jonathan Coppess, University of Illinois professor.
Pandemic challenges could change future policy decisions, says Pat Westhoff, director of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri.
“The question is if we write policies to handle any similar emergency in the future,” he says. “Or we choose what was done this time, where we make policies on the fly.”
Political Turbulence
Elections need to be center stage when considering farm bill outcomes, Westhoff says: “If we have a Republican House and Senate, those implications would be very different compared to Democratic control of both chambers of Congress.”
Coppess agrees. “The current political polarization really amplifies the uncertainty about how the farm bill is going to unfold,” he says.
Climate Focus
Wildfires, storms, drought and intense weather events due to climate shift will be the “single biggest driving influence” in policy debates, Coppess predicts. He says climate mitigation and prevention will likely translate into emergency disaster assistance, crop insurance and farm programs in 2023 and beyond.
