Senate Passes 2014 Farm Bill

Statement

Senator John Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the Senate Agriculture, Forestry, and Nutrition Committee and veteran of three Farm Bills in Congress, today made the following statement regarding the Senate passage of the Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management Act of 2013 (H.R. 2642) by a vote of 68 to 32:

"Today's passage of the 2014 Farm Bill is a significant win for South Dakota farmers and ranchers as it includes critical livestock assistance and a secure crop insurance program. Every year our agriculture producers harvest the highest quality, lowest cost food supply in the world at great financial risk, and they deserve the certainty that comes with a new five-year Farm Bill and sound crop insurance. In particular, ranchers who are coping with significant 2012 grazing losses and the devastating livestock losses from last October's winter storm Atlas will receive much-needed disaster assistance through the Livestock Forage Program and Livestock Indemnity Program, which I first authored in the 2008 Farm Bill. This assistance was critical to helping South Dakota ranchers through past disasters, and I worked to ensure this assistance will not expire under the new Farm Bill."

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