Today, the House Committee on Agriculture passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 (H.R. 8472) on a bipartisan vote of 33-21. In response, National Association of Wheat Growers (NAWG) President Keeff Felty made the following statement:

“NAWG commends Chairman Thompson for moving the process forward and urges a bipartisan and bicameral process to enact a highly effective Farm Bill. Ultimately, for a Farm Bill to get signed into law, it will have to pass both chambers and be bipartisan. We look forward to working with all stakeholders to help get a farm bill signed into law that provides certainty and a strong safety net for producers.”

“The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 recognizes the needs of wheat growers and includes several priorities that NAWG has advocated for over the past two years. We appreciate that the committee passed bill protects and enhances crop insurance, provides a meaningful increase in the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program, prioritizes U.S. commodities in the Food for Peace Program, and doubles funding for the Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) program. Additionally, we would like to thank Congressman Mann (R-KS-1) for offering an amendment encouraging the Risk Management Agency to allow farmers to insure wheat enterprise units by fallow and continuous, which was adopted.”

Background on NAWG’s Involvement in the Farm Bill Process:

Since NAWG released its farm bill priorities on June 30, 2022, we have continued to underscore the need to get a Farm Bill done which works for wheat growers and rural America. These priorities, as outlined by the NAWG board of directors, include:

• Protecting crop insurance that serves as the cornerstone of the farm safety net.
• Working to strengthen and enhance Title I and crop insurance to protect farmers better.
• Supporting financial and technical assistance through voluntary conservation cost-share programs for producers in all climates and wheat-producing regions.
• Encouraging additional investment in agricultural trade promotions and US commodities as part of the Farm Bill’s trade title.
• Supporting wheat research programs authorized under the Farm Bill and robust funding as part of the annual appropriations process.

In July 2022, NAWG sent a letter to House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders outlining its Farm Bill policy priorities. Following Commodity Classic in 2023, NAWG further refined its core priorities and shared those with the committee leadership.

NAWG officers also testified before members of Congress on five separate occasions, including the full House Agriculture Committee in March 2022, House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock and Foreign Agriculture’s hearing in April 2022, House Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry’s hearing in September 2022, House Agriculture Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit’s hearing in April 2023, and the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Commodities, Risk Management, and Trade’s hearing in May 2023. These testimonies laid out NAWG’s policies to enhance the farm safety net, strengthen conservation programs, and increase access to international trade and food aid opportunities for wheat growers.