On Wednesday, August 4, the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies spending bill by a bipartisan vote.
The Ag Appropriations package totals $32 Billion in overall funding for FY2022 including $25.9 Billion to support operations of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and an additional $7 Billion in proposed disaster assistance funding to cover losses incurred in 2020 and 2021.
“Given the extreme drought and other natural disasters in farm country, we worked hard to secure more than $7 billion in much-needed disaster assistance for farmers and ranchers,” stated Senator John Hoeven (R-ND). “At the same time, this agriculture funding legislation ensures that we meet the needs of rural America, including fully funding Farm Service Agency (FSA) direct, guaranteed and emergency loans, strong support for agriculture research and continued investment in rural broadband development. This legislation provides strong funding to support our farmers, ranchers, and rural America.”
Plains Cotton Growers continues to monitor the progress of this legislation and advocate for its final passage.
“The Senate FY 2022 Agricultural Appropriations bill includes much needed assistance for farmers and ranchers who have dealt with significant crop losses during the 2020 and 2021 growing season,” says Kody Bessent, CEO of Plains Cotton Growers. “This legislation, in combination with the House of Representatives Agriculture Appropriations package and the recently marked-up 2020 WHIP+ Reauthorization Act (HR267) provides an excellent foundation for the delivery of much needed disaster assistance and farm program support for producers moving forward.”