Negotiations are building bipartisan support for the Farm Bill now.

Visiting with Collin Peterson, former House Ag Committee Chair, you've been through all the battles trying to get the job done and make meaningful improvements to foreign policy and do it within the parameters of the budget. Taking a look at what came through, in this particular work in the House Ag Committee, what's your take? How did the committee do?

Well, first of all, the farm part of the bill was excellent. I thought, you know, we had asked for some improvements in crop insurance and so forth, they were included in the bill. So I think the title one title 11 title, who were excellent, you know, they, they, they did a good job of listening to everybody. The Southerners got what they needed, which I think helped them get these votes from Bishop and gave us you know, so that was a very well done. The other thing was positive is that the fight a partisan fight was not over policy in the in the farm area, it was over pay fors. So the whole partisanship came down for how they were going to pay for this. And, you know, and it gets back to the old roots stamp fight that we've had the last few farm bills. So none of that caused any additional partisan division that wasn't there already. So I think that was good, you know, because they could have got off on payment limitations, and all this other kind of stuff that normally divides us. Didn't happen. So that was very positive. And the fact that we got four Democrats voted for the bill gives us a place to start to try to build a bipartisan coalition that can get this bill through the floor of the house. There are a lot of Republicans that are going to vote against this on the floor. But we're going to need, you know, 20-30 Democrats, at least, to get this bill passed. And this gives us a place to start. So there's a lot of work to do. All the turkey food plan and food stamps are a big challenge about how to how to get how to get savings to pay for this. Way, you know, I don't know exactly how to do that. But there's some talk about having director of scoring out of the budget committee, that might get us where we need to be, but we got probably three months before this bill would come to the floor. So we've got some time to work on that. And we're going to talk to some people that are smarter than I am in terms of how we can do budget stuff. And I think the way it's currently constituted with the turkey food plan, you'll not get enough Democrats with that in there to pass the bill. But maybe there's a way that he's going to be fine tuned. And there's other ways to come out and not so quickly after our over the next three months, so. So we'll be involved in that the Midwest Council on agriculture will be involved in that trying to be positive and feel weakened to help. We're having a policy meeting on June 11, and Moorhead as part of the chamber thing that's going on. So we've got a bunch of economists coming in, and we'll do our part to try to be a positive force and all of that.

You talked about Title One, they did things like enhancing reference prices and such to accomplish that, the Secretary's authority on on CCC, Section Five was was suspended your your thoughts on that approach?

Well, as the administration doesn't like that, I don't know how much. They don't like it. In other words, if that stage, then there was a veto the bill? I don't know. We don't know the answer to that. I think the kind of the use of the CCC has been overdone, both by the Trump administration and Biden administration. You know, so you know, it's sorry, somebody was trying to call me. So we'll have to work through that as well. But that's right now there's a fight with CBO over that the Republicans think it saves a certain amount of money CBO doesn't agree with so that's another issue that's out there. So we still got a lot of work to do on how to pay for this. But this is the best outcome that I think could have had given what's been going on and was forward Democrats that it gives us a place to start. And at the end of the day, this has got to be a bipartisan bill or it's not gonna pass. There's also issues over in the Senate. I'm gonna talk this morning at 945 with Senator Stabenow and see what's going on with her and what I can do and what we can do to help her. So I'm optimistic I just first time I've been optimistic. A number of likes on this bill, I think there might be a way to get there. So we're gonna do what we can to help,

as you mentioned, so a lot of moving parts you're thinking, maybe September before we see this come to the House floor?

Yeah, that's what I've heard from, from the chairman and, and the staff, and there's no time on the floor because of appropriations. So before we get all there during the first part of August, to the end of September, whatever it is for the August recess, end of realignment for the August recess. So there won't be any for time before September. So they come back, I don't know, usually the first part or middle of September, and hopefully they'll get some time on the floor by then. And it'll depend on what kind of work we can do to try to help you know, get all this together on a bipartisan basis. I I don't think the leadership in the in the house will bring this up. If they don't think they have the votes. They've got you know, significant opposition from the Freedom Caucus and the freedom of Heritage Foundation, all kinds of people like that that are going to put pressure on Republicans. How many they'll lose? We don't know. But we'll have to make them up with Democrats. And so that's the work we have to do over there over the summer.

What kind of timeline do you expect in the in the Senate then?

Well, I don't know how it's been she Senator Kavanaugh has held her cards pretty close to the vest and talk to her this morning. I assume she isn't going to tell me what her plans are exactly. But I think the fact that what happened in the house last night is going to give her to be more forthcoming. She's put out some luminary drafts, but not a language. I'm gonna encourage her today to try to move move this forward of the Senate as well as the other thing that needs to happen that never gets talked about is not in order for this bill to be considered. There's a lot of work that has to be done with the staff. Because probably 80 90% of this bill is really worked out at the staff level. And generally, it's not just the house, but it's the House and Senate, working across the both bodies on a bipartisan basis. And, you know, when I was chairman we did that took a number of months. In 2018, it took a number of months to work through that stuff. So I'm gonna encourage Senator Stabenow this morning to try to set up some kind of a process to start working not just within their own body, but working across, you know, across the capitol to figure out how we can do this and Senator Bozeman seems to be inclined to work together with them. And that's fine we just all have to encourage people to lay down their partisan situations and and just get to work and for the good of agricultural so that's what I'm gonna try to encourage

you to do that. And it was certainly a lot of divisiveness within the the committee yesterday, mirroring a lot of what's happening in in all of Congress. Is that idea of a bipartisan farm bill behind us or what do you have your thoughts?

No, I think that the way it is the the debate that happened yesterday did not put anybody into corners. I couldn't get out of it. As I said, most of the divisiveness was over auto pay for this. It was over food stamps was over. The sideboards on conservation was over the CCC. You know, those are things I think need to be worked out. Like I say, there was no divisiveness to speak of, on the farm staff that was in there, the title one, title two, title 11. Which are the things that farmers depend on? I didn't see a lot of devices out there. So, you know, it's, it's, I'm encouraged and I'm going to do what I can to be a positive force to get this thing done.