Leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee  this week will seek to get a strong bipartisan vote for their farm bill draft from the panel, giving the measure momentum as it heads to the Senate floor in the following days.
 
Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., and ranking Democrat Debbie Stabenow of Michigan released the 1,006-page Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 on Friday after reaching a deal that preserved the structure of the 2014 farm bill while addressing some priorities of committee members from both parties and averting a regional battle over commodity policy.
 
Roberts and Stabenow will want to avoid fights over amendments in committee that would upset the bill's regional balance, but some committee members, disappointed by what they couldn’t get into the bill, may try again on Wednesday when the committee debates the legislation.
 
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said he would offer an amendment that he has proposed to previous farm bills to tighten eligibility rules for commodity programs. Grassley was unable to reach agreement with Roberts to include the provisions in the draft text. Grassley’s proposal would allow one manager or non-farming family member per farm to qualify for commodity program payments.
 
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