By TAMMIE SLOUP
IFB members push for more market certainty
A proposed new farm bill likely won’t make it to the House floor until after Congress returns from recess in mid-April, Illinois Farm Bureau members learned while in Washington, D.C.
The 2018 farm bill been extended three times with an expiration of Sept. 30. Extending the bill again would further devastate the farm economy, members told lawmakers during IFB’s Leaders to Washington trip.
“Farm economics have greatly changed since 2018 when this farm bill was created that we’re working under. So we need something current for today’s issues,” Christian County Farm Bureau President Mathew Heberling told FarmWeek after meeting with House Ag Committee member Mary Miller, R-Oakland, who voted for the bill in committee.
Illinois farmers take fertilizer issues to D.C.
Clark County farmer John Yeley finds himself at a crossroads.
With the sharp increase of fertilizer prices since the start of the Iran conflict, Yeley must decide whether it’s more cost effective to plant soybeans instead of corn.
“I don’t know what to do,” he said. “I’m hoping the conflict ends soon and the prices come back down so it’s more affordable.”
Yeley, who serves as Clark County Farm Bureau president, was one of nine farmers from throughout Illinois who traveled to Capitol Hill to talk with their U.S. representatives and senators about the challenging farm economy, with fertilizer a common theme.
Leaders to Washington participants | Photo Gallery
Austin Baer, McLean County
Elijah Floerke, Cook County
Mathew Heberling, Christian County
Hannah McKee, McHenry County
Bart Morgan, Clark County
Kiersten Sheets, Peoria County
Jenna Temple, LaSalle County
John Yeley, Clark County
Jeff Young, Moultrie-Douglas County