Bost: Get Farm Bill on House Floor

U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, talks with constituents in Wayne County Thursday about issues including the farm bill status and the H-2A temporary visa program. (Photo by Ryan Whitehouse)

BY TAMMIE SLOUP FarmWeek

As chatter about extending the farm bill gets louder, U.S. Rep. Mike Bost said he’s advocating for a vote on the House floor.

“I’m a big believer that the leadership should throw it out on the floor and let it rise or fall based on its merits,” he told FarmWeek at the Illinois State Fair.

Bost just completed his August Ag Tour through southern Illinois, which included several meetings with farmers and others in the industry about issues including trade, the farm bill and labor.

The lack of new free trade agreements is on many farmers’ minds, Bost said, adding he’s open to discussing Trade Promotion Authority with the Biden Administration.

“The old trade promotion authority has expired,” Bost said. “It’s difficult to have somebody go to a trade negotiation table and say, ‘Hey, I’ll negotiate this out, but I gotta go back to the board and see if the board’s OK with it. That’s not the best way to negotiate and trade.”

Farmers also expressed concern to Bost about the amount of prime farmland being consumed by solar panel contracts. During one meeting, Bost discussed with attendees his Securing Our Lands and Resources Act, or the SOLAR Act, which is included in the farm bill approved by the House Ag Committee, on which Bost sits. The legislation would establish guidelines for solar panel projects on prime and unique farmland, USDA funded.

“A lot of people are concerned because I think they’re misunderstanding that it takes away your ability as a landowner to do certain things,” he said. “The only way it would change anything is you would have to follow these rules if you’re receiving USDA funding or an offset or anything like that.”

“There’s a lot of leeway here,” he added. “The main goal is to try to not encourage our farmers to take prime farmland out of production.”

Farm bill also was top of mind for farmers, and Bost pointed out the “asks” by farmers during similar meetings in his district last year all made it into the House Ag-approved farm bill. The congressman then retrieved a piece of paper with the priorities listed, and began to tick through them one by one: Protect crop insurance, secure the farm safety net, fix Proposition 12, increase funding for trade promotion, increase access to credit, etc.

On a lighter note, Bost said he planned to spend the day sampling the fair food. He’s always been a fan of corndogs.

“But my big problem is I’m a fan of anything fried and the fair provides that,” he said.