Farm bill? Rural America doesn’t have the time.

The farm bill was the missing topic during a 45-minute session recently with farmers in southwestern Missouri, recalls Sen. Roy Blunt. “The farm bill never came up.” Instead, growers talked about threats to farm exports, over-regulation and the need for rural broadband. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says low commodity prices, the slump in farm income, attacks on corn ethanol and, most of all, anxiety about a possible trade war are the top concerns in farm country. There is no additional money for major changes in grain and soybean subsidies in the farm bill. So the biggest change the farm bill can offer grain and soybean growers would be the chance to switch to the Price Loss Coverage program, which is constructed like traditional farm supports, from the insurance-like Agricultural Risk Coverage program. The PLC approach is more valuable during a period of low commodity prices. Glauber said the traditional urban-rural alliance for passage of a farm bill is fraying, too: “Farm program proponents may need urban/suburban votes to get a farm bill passed but I don’t think the same is true for SNAP [supporters] since their programs don’t sunset after five years. Particularly, there is little in it for urban/suburban voters if the bill contains poison pills” on SNAP.