Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., convened a meeting of his North Dakota Agriculture Advisory Committee on Wednesday to finalize a strategy for negotiations on the next farm bill.
Conrad, a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said in a written statement that the nation's "tenuous fiscal condition" could make this round of negotiations "among the most challenging in history."
"Establishing common objectives and priorities early on is an important step in ensuring another Farm Bill that benefits North Dakota's family farmers," he wrote.
Conrad's advisory committee is made up of agricultural leaders from across the state.
During their Wednesday meeting, committee members detailed their priorities for the 2012 farm bill, including: ensuring an adequate safety net is in place for producers; providing adequate funding for crop insurance and conservation programs; reducing complexity and overlap to improve program efficiency and continuing to promote the expansion of renewable energy production.
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Conrad also announced that he will co-host a conference on the bill later this year with North Dakota State University's Center for Agricultural Policy and Trade Studies. The two-day conference will be held Nov. 7-8 in Fargo.
