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Congress returned from its August recess and still, nothing was scheduled for a farm bill vote in
the House. The current bill was due to expire at midnight on Sept. 30, 2012.
Farm organizations, led by AFBF’s Stallman and National Farmers Union President Roger
Johnson, and including several commodity group leaders, put some additional pressure on House
leadership by hosting a “Farm Bill Now!” rally on the west side of the Capitol reflecting pool.
American Farm Bureau Federation President Bob Stallman welcomed lawmakers to the stage for a “Farm Bill Now” rally.
Several members of the House and Senate Ag Committees, along with Sen. Jerry Moran, joined
a few hundred lobbyists, staff and farmers on Sept. 12 to deliver a series of rallying cries about
the importance of and urgent need for passing a farm bill. Farmers at home were urged to call
their congressional offices. Yet, the mood in the countryside was still fairly apathetic.
“It was like the institutional interests pulling the grass roots into the fight for a new farm bill,
instead of vice versa,” recalls one staff member.
Most farmers weren’t angry or motivated to push their lawmakers. And the GOP leaders on the
House side weren’t budging because their caucus was splitting at the seams over the possibility
of a farm bill vote.
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