The U.S. Secretary of Agriculture says it’s time for federal lawmakers to decide if there will be a new farm bill this year, or if there won’t. Tom Vilsack said as a short lame-duck session quickly approaches, the clock for a new farm bill yet this year is running out. https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/2626/files/2024/10/vilsack1.mp3 “We’re quickly running out of time this fall for this Congress to come together to address the farm bill in a bipartisan way. Either we have a real, bipartisan deal on a new farm bill, or at a minimum, an extension of the existing farm bill.” Vilsack argues the opposing sides— Republicans for ‘more farm in the farm bill’ versus Democrats against reducing food stamp benefits— need to find a middle ground. https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/2626/files/2024/10/vilsack2.mp3 “The farm bill needs to be one that is not leaving anyone behind, whether that be farmers concerned about losing their farms in tight times or working families struggling to get by.” But, Vilsack earlier criticized the House GOP-led farm bill for its unpaid cost and reducing SNAP benefits, instead praising Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow’s framework as more “realistic and reasonable—addressing the farm safety net without harming SNAP.”