By the end of this week, Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow will return to her former position as Chair of the Senate Ag Committee. She noted she’s not not wasting any time, already reaching out to the Ranking Member John Boozman of Arkansas, as well as the U.S. Trade representative nominee. Stabenow said looking ahead to 2021, she hopes to provide agriculture with more certainty, stability, and finding avenues to grow.

“Frankly, government shouldn’t be in the business of deciding what to plant and who’s profitable, which unfortunately has been happening in the last four years. We’ve seen more than $50 billion in aid in ad hoc payments replace markets as the major driver of farm profitability—we can’t sustain that. I know our farmers don’t want that, and I expect a different approach under the Biden administration.”

Another priority under the incoming administration is combatting climate change. Stabenow expects that the administration will recognize what agriculture is already doing, and she also expects the new President to make any programs producer-friendly and flexible.

“When we look at the framework for how we could create a voluntary carbon market and a new revenue source which is very doable, I hope we can move forward quickly to begin to get things in place. We have a bipartisan framework—the Growing Climate Solutions Act I’m authoring with Senator Mike Braun, my friend from Indiana.”

Stabenow’s final priority is preparing for the 2023 Farm Bill.

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