SIOUX FALLS (AP) -- Sen. Tim Johnson says the Senate has passed "a good, strong farm bill" that will reduce the deficit and support millions of agricultural jobs.
The five-year, half-trillion-dollar farm bill cuts farm subsidies and land conservation spending by about $2 billion a year but largely protects sugar growers. The vote was 65 to 34.
Johnson says the bill finally includes meaningful payment limitations with an overall $250,000 hard cap on commodity programs.
The measure now goes to the Republican-led House, where conservatives are certain to resist its costs.
Johnson says the Senate has done its work, and now the House Agriculture Committee needs to move a bill to provide farmers and ranchers with certainty.
ADVERTISEMENT
The current agricultural program ends in September.
