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• This process hasn't been easy, but getting a five-year Farm Bill passed and signed into law has been a top priority for me since I came to Congress. Although passage of this legislation is a key step, we still have a long way to go to get a Farm Bill to the president's desk and signed into law.
• Separating out the nutrition title from the Farm Bill is not ideal and certainly wasn't the path I would have chosen, but at the end of the day, we need to get a Farm Bill into conference with the Senate. I was proud of the bipartisan bill we passed out of the Agriculture Committee in April. It was unfortunate that many members were unable to put people before politics and pass that bill when we had the opportunity last month.
• However, the legislation we passed this week includes important provisions for the agriculture community in South Dakota. The House has now reauthorized livestock disaster assistance programs, included important sodsaver protections which encourage good land stewardship, passed measures to help combat the pine beetle in the Black Hills, and established a permanent Office of Tribal Relations within the United States Department of Agriculture.

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