On June 13 the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry marked up its version of legislation reauthorizing the nation’s agriculture and nutrition programs. Commonly known as the "Farm Bill", this legislation – bill S. 3042 – includes provisions that impact commodity prices as well the food stamp program.
As previously discussed, the House of Representatives considered similar legislation in May that contained a number of provisions benefiting golf course management including: addressing the registration of pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA); removing the need for a Clean Water Act National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for aquatic pesticide applications; and repealing the pending Clean Water Rule (WOTUS). The House version of the Farm Bill also included language that would establish the "National Turfgrass Research Initiative" as a high priority research and extension initiative and allow the Department of Agriculture to provide valuable funding for turf science projects across the country.
The Senate Agriculture Committee only included one of these provisions when it marked up the Farm Bill - the National Turfgrass Research Initiative. The remaining provisions – as well as changes to eligibility under the food stamp program that the House included – were not addressed by Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) in order to produce a bill that enjoyed strong bipartisan support on the committee. However, opportunities to address these other provisions remain, both on the Senate floor as well as at the expected Senate-House Farm Bill conference.
Next steps will be full Senate consideration of the Farm Bill, expected within the next few weeks, and also a final House vote on the Farm Bill. The final vote in the House is expected soon, now that House leadership is addressing concerns by members on immigration policy that caused the first Farm Bill vote to fail. GCSAA will continue to advocate on behalf of golf's interests in the Farm Bill and update members as developments occur.