2008 Farm Bill extension keeps possible sugar policy reform on the table
The one-year extension of the 2008 Farm Bill keeps the possibility of sugar policy reform on the table, according to a Jan. 9 sugar reform update from the Independent Bakers Association (IBA).
Senate Agriculture Committee chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and House Agriculture Committee chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) hope to start drafting a new five-year farm bill at the end of February. Despite the Stabenow and Lucas’ goal, the introduction of a farm bill may be postponed until March, says IBA. The last-minute compromise on the debt ceiling between Congress and President Obama produced a two-month delay of sequestration.