Agriculture Committee Chairman Larry Combest notified Lucas, a subcommittee chairman, that he would be named as a conferee on the bill. The House passed its version of the bill on October 5. The Senate passed its version on Wednesday.

“We’re in the home stretch for this important legislation,” Lucas said, “and I’m hopeful the rest of the conferees and I can all come to quick agreement on the remaining issues of contention between these two bills, so that producers can have assurances that a reliable safety net will be there if they need it.”

Conferees are needed when there are differences between House and Senate versions of a bill. The conference committee works out the differences in the two bills to create legislation both bodies can pass and send to the President for his signature.

“We’ve gone to great lengths over the past two years in the House to get input from all interested parties on what the next farm bill should look like,” Lucas said. “Whether it be the many hearings with farmers, ranchers, conservation groups, and others, the hundreds of phone calls, e-mails, and letters on the issue, or the dozens of town hall meetings that producers have attended to give their two cents worth on what the next farm bill will look like, I feel confident we’ve brought all interested parties to the table on this farm bill. 

“And because of the extensive work on this bill we’ve done on the House side, I feel confident that the final bill we work out in conference will look much like the bill we passed in the House.”

Lucas chairs the agriculture subcommittee with jurisdiction over conservation. He says he believes the expansion of the bill’s conservation programs he shepherded in the House will be included in the final bill.

“I’ll be at the table to make sure these important funds are included in the bill that reaches the President’s desk,” Lucas said. “We cannot afford to leave these programs underfunded in this farm bill.”

There are expected to be 21 conferees on the farm bill conference committee, including 14 House members and seven Senate members. Conferees likely will be officially named when the House and Senate reconvene later this month. 

The farm bill will direct federal agriculture policy over the next 10 years. It includes funding for farm commodity programs, conservation programs, and rural development programs. The bill will replace the current farm bill, which was written in 1996 and will expire in 2002.