Republican Tom Latham served as Congressman from Iowa for 20 years, stepping down in January. A speaker at the Bayer CropScience Ag Issues Forum this week prior to Commodity Classic in Phoenix, Latham talked about what’s on the horizon for agriculture. He thinks the 2014 farm bill was very positive but he wonders if it may be the last.
“Going forward, I think it’s going to be a real challenge to get another farm bill,” said Latham in an interview at the issues forum.
A long time member of the House Appropriations committee, Latham acknowledges that funding issues will continue to pressure agriculture. “There’s the sequester, there’s budget pressure and people want to get a handle on the national debt and deficit,” Latham said. “More people are concerned about the deficit that they are able to ignore agriculture.”
Even with a Republican majority in Congress, Latham thinks it will still be difficult for them to get anything done. Interview with former Iowa Cong. Tom Latham, Ag Issues Forum
In his address to the Ag Issues Forum, Latham talked about many issues that will impact agriculture going forward, including tax policy, Big Data, trade agreements, and much more. Remarks by former Iowa Cong. Tom Latham, Ag Issues Forum