Farm Bill Expires: What's Next For Local Farmers?

The senate passed a farm bill that southern farmers say doesn't benefit them and the House Agriculture Committee has a bill that the house hasn't voted on yet. Executive Director of the Alabama Peanut Producers Association Randy Griggs said  the expiration of the farm bill has Alabama growers scrambling to figure out how to prepare for the next growing season.

"It's not just peanuts, whether it's corn, or whether its cotton, all of the commodities are impacted at this point, "said Griggs in his office Thursday morning.

Griggs said without the farm bill growers are concerned about a major safety net, crop insurance. Farmers depend on crop insurance during difficult growing season like a drought. "We got to have some type of insurance we they get a farm lone. Whether you have a stabilized government program or not will go a long while on whether or not they get a loan to farm with."

Griggs said the lapsed farm bill is due to this year's presidential elections and the current fiscal cliff deadlock. ''If the republicans and the president can break that deadlock we may see some movement. I think the pieces are in place to put a farm bill together in a rapid fashion. With this particular congress everyday gets much more unlikely.''

Some analysts report Dairy farmers could be directly impacted by the expiration of the Farm Bill. According to the National Milk Producers Federation   this could mean milk prices could rise to nearly $6 a gallon.

Griggs said he's hoping congress will extend the current farm for another year until lawmakers can come to a conclusion that benefits all local farmers.