[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 120 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2447-S2448]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                               Farm Bill

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, the farm bills that we take up every few 
years are essential pieces of legislation. They help provide the tools 
and resources that farmers and ranchers need to carry out their task of 
feeding our Nation. And with parts of the 2018 farm bill expiring in 
the next few months, passing our next farm bill needs to be one of 
Congress's top priorities during the remainder of the year.
  The Senate Agriculture Committee has been working on this year's 
legislation, but there is more work to be done. And we need to make 
sure that we don't delay in getting this bill over the finish line. 
Farmers and ranchers already face a lot of uncertainty in their 
profession--few jobs are as subject to market fluctuations or the whims 
of the weather--and the least that we can do here in Congress is make 
sure they know that the critical programs won't be expiring and they 
will continue to have access to essential resources that help make 
farming and ranching possible.
  As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and a Senator from a 
State where agriculture is not just ``a'' way of life but ``the'' way 
of life, the farm bill is always one of my top priorities.
  I have had the privilege of helping to craft four farm bills during 
my time in Congress; and, for me, the process always begins and ends 
with farmers and ranchers.
  I have been gearing up for the 2023 farm bill pretty much since work 
finished on the last one. And, last year, I kicked off a series of 
roundtables with agriculture producers to hear firsthand from farmers 
and ranchers what they need from this year's farm bill.
  These formal discussions, along with the many informal conversations 
I regularly have with farmers and ranchers, have provided me with 
invaluable feedback, and I am working on a number of measures for this 
year's farm bill that reflect the input I have received from South 
Dakota producers.
  One thing that farmers have made clear is the critical role of the 
farm safety net. Crop insurance is the cornerstone of the farm safety 
net, and it needs to be maintained and, to the extent possible, 
strengthened in the next farm bill.
  Currently, the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage 
programs, which help offset losses when prices for agricultural 
commodities drop, are not always proving sufficient. And one of my top 
priorities for this year's bill is improving commodity and livestock 
programs to ensure that farmers and ranchers have sufficient backup.
  I am also working to make the Conservation Reserve Program a more 
effective option for producers and landowners. Currently, the program 
doesn't

[[Page S2448]]

sufficiently support grazing infrastructure, which limits the benefit 
of participating for some producers.
  And the annual payment limit for this program hasn't changed since it 
was first created in 1985. To address these issues, I introduced the 
Conservation Reserve Program Improvement Act, which will provide more 
flexibility for producers and increase the payment cap to account for 
increased land values. And I will work to ensure that the CRP 
Improvement Act is included in the final farm bill.
  In addition to farmed crops, livestock production is an integral part 
of South Dakota's agricultural economy. And one of my top priorities 
for this year's farm bill is addressing some of the challenges facing 
South Dakota livestock producers in getting their products to 
Americans' tables.
  The last few years have revealed some vulnerabilities in our food 
supply chain that had an outsized impact on agricultural and livestock 
producers.
  Early pandemic closures, for example, of some meat processing plants 
led to bottlenecks in processing livestock and delays for a lot of 
ranchers, and this led to supply shortages and empty cases at the 
grocery store. Shortages caused by lack of processing capacity, not a 
lack of livestock. It has become clear that livestock producers need 
more processing options, and one way we can reduce dependence on the 
big packers is by expanding smaller meatpackers' capacity.
  I have introduced the Strengthening Local Processing Act to help 
smaller processors invest in the infrastructure they need to expand. My 
bill would also allow more State-inspected meat products to be sold 
across State lines, which would open up new markets for small meat 
processors and the farmers and ranchers who supply them. I have also 
introduced legislation--the bipartisan American Beef Labeling Act--to 
require the U.S. Trade representative to develop a World Trade 
Organization-compliant means of reinstating mandatory country of origin 
labeling for beef.
  Under our current system, beef that is neither born nor raised in the 
United States but is simply finished here can be labeled ``product of 
the United States,'' even if the only American thing about the beef is 
the plastic that it is wrapped in, if that.
  That is unfair to American cattle producers and misleading to 
consumers, and I am pleased that USDA is working on a proposed rule to 
close the ``product of the U.S.A.'' labeling loophole.
  And I will continue to work to get my American Beef Labeling Act 
included in the 2023 farm bill so that consumers can be confident that 
any beef labeled ``product of the U.S.A.'' really came from American 
cattle producers.
  New practices and technologies can be game-changers for farmers, and 
without reliable data, it can be unclear whether these practices and 
technologies will have positive impact. And that is why, earlier this 
year, I introduced the Agriculture Innovation Act, which would make it 
easier for producers and trusted researchers to use USDA data to assess 
the impact of various production practices, so that producers can gauge 
whether these practices are right for their farm or ranch operation.
  And, of course, while the macrolevel data USDA collects can provide 
valuable information, farmers are already beginning to look to the next 
frontier, collecting realtime, microlevel data from their own fields.
  And I have introduced the Promoting Precision Agriculture Act to help 
advance precision agriculture technology and to allow more farmers to 
take advantage of this data revolution. And because without a reliable 
internet connection, precision agriculture technology doesn't get very 
far, I am also working to ensure that my bill to streamline USDA's 
broadband authorities and ensure that funding goes to areas where at 
least 90 percent of households lack broadband access is included in 
this year's farm bill.
  Producing the food that fills Americans' dinner tables is no easy 
task, and we owe the men and women who do this important work the 
certainty that the programs they depend on will be there for them. I 
hope that leaders in both houses of Congress will put passing the 2023 
farm bill at the very top of our to-do list.
  And I will do everything I can to advance this important legislation. 
And today and every day, I will continue to make farmers and ranchers 
my priority.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. LUJAN). The Senator from Arizona.