Lawmakers discuss farm security special fund, consider $7.5 million one-time appropriation

Committee members and staff in a meeting reviewing an agriculture bill debated whether to add a $7.5 million one-time appropriation to a proposed Farm Security Special Fund, how the fund would be administered, and who should sit on the fund’s review board.

The discussion focused on three items: whether to single out small and medium-scale farmers in the bill’s findings, whether to replace proposed review-board language so seats are filled by representatives of three agricultural organizations, and whether the bill should keep a formula that would direct annual appropriations equal to 50% of average documented farm losses from eligible weather events.

Committee member 1 said, "So my motion, I guess, would be to just strike out from r naught equitably distributed to small and medium scale farmers and then leave the rest of that sub 2 n," proposing that the findings avoid singling out particular farm sizes. That wording change drew general agreement among participants who said they wanted the findings to refer to "all farms."

The meeting included a read‑in of an email from Jackie…