Washington — The U.S. House of Representatives on June 20 voted 234-195 against a new farm bill, just 10 days after the Senate passed its version of the bill, The Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013 (S. 954), by a vote of 66-27. The House bill would have cut projected spending in farm and nutrition programs by nearly $40 billion over the next 10 years, with $20.5 billion of those cuts coming from the food stamp program. Those cuts were not enough for the House’s more conservative members, however. The Senate bill, estimated to cost $955 billion over the next 10 years, would reauthorize many of the nation’s food and agricultural programs while reducing spending by roughly $24 billion over 10 years. The Senate bill cuts would come from consolidating conservation programs, reducing food stamps funding, and slashing farm subsidies by some $17 billion. Agriculture groups expressed disappointment in the House vote, while earlier applauding the Senate bill (GM June 17, p. 11). It was unclear last week if House leaders would try to revive its version of the bill.
Transparency Across the Fertilizer Value-Chain