Farmers Struggle after U.S. Farm Bill Expires

With the nation’s farm bill expiring this past weekend, farmers and crop producers in Texas scrambling to look for ways to fund next year’s crops.

The September 13th expiration date won’t affect current crops, but with Congress not being able to agree on how much to cut support for farmers in the $500-billion bill, the producers are left scratching their heads.

Jimmy Wedel, Corn Producer, said “They are going to plant a crop,  but you can’t plant one with certainty unless you know what those protections are going to be.”

Doug Hlavaty, Cotton Farmer, says: “It’s hard to loan money when you don’t have a farm bill, so that’s probably the biggest effect it has on producers in this area.”

The House has been deadlocked since July over cuts in farm support and food stamps for the poor. Now, the farmers will have to wait until Congress returns from their recess on November 14th for any decision.