Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler (MO-04) made the following statement upon the House’s passage of the 2018 Farm Bill.

“Missouri farmers work hard every day to feed the world, and they need the certainty that this farm bill provides. This bill ensures the American consumer continues to enjoy the safest, most abundant food supply in the world by strengthening safeguards and improving public/private risk management programs that are vital to American agriculture. In addition, the Farm Bill makes significant investments in rural broadband, promotes trade, invests in research and development and expands conservation acreage.

“This bill contains historic improvements to the SNAP program to help recipients break the cycle of poverty by improving work opportunities for able-bodied adults receiving federal nutrition assistance. This bill promotes work and individual success while empowering those dependent on government assistance. These common-sense improvements will reduce unemployment and help people move from dependency to independence and self-sufficiency,” said Hartzler.

Specifically, the Farm Bill:

• Maintains crop insurance and reauthorizes and strengthens Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs.

• Streamlines existing work requirements for able-bodied SNAP recipients, providing them with work training to increase SNAP recipients’ opportunities and help them move from government assistance to a good paying job.

• Expands access to working land programs, increases acreage for Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) ground to 29 million acres, and includes language Rep. Hartzler authored to allow grazing on CRP lands.

• Authorizes substantial funding for the expansion of rural broadband.

• Establishes new programs to protect the health of the nation’s livestock.

• Improves assistance for specialty crops and reduces fraud in organic imports.

• Helps beginning farmers and ranchers establish themselves in agriculture.

The Senate is expected to take up their version of the Farm Bill next week.