Tuesday, May 21, 2013

First in a series of conference calls on the Farm Bill will be held Wednesday, May 29 at 11 a.m.

Would you like to know more about the Farm Bill? The first of a series of conference calls on the legislation, hosted by the regional offices of the Council of State Governments and the State Ag and Rural Leaders group, will take place Wednesday, May 29 at 11 a.m. Eastern Time.

The House and Senate farm bills would both end direct payments to farmers, replacing these with expanded crop insurance, but the bills differ in a number of ways on the extent and nature of the farm safety net. They also disagree on spending cuts, mostly in nutrition programs, which account for 80 percent of expenditures in either bill. The current Farm Bill was extended last fall after efforts to pass the legislation stalled in the House, establishing a deadline of Sept. 30 for renewal.

To register for the free conference call, email Hans Poschman at hposchman@csg.org for call-in information.

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