WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Mike Bost (IL-12) celebrated House Agriculture Committee approval last night of the 2024 Farm Bill. This legislation will authorize agricultural and nutrition policy for the next five years. The Farm Bill includes priorities Bost championed in the House, including protecting crop insurance, ensuring famers have access to credit, and establishing limits on solar panel tracts on prime farmland.

"I am honored to be Southern Illinois’ voice on the House Agriculture Committee, representing over 10,000 local farmers and producers in Congress,” said Bost. “This Farm Bill is critically important for Southern Illinois, and I spent the past year and a half traveling across my district, meeting farmers where they’re at, and hearing from them directly about what they need from Washington. I’m happy to say that the Farm Bill I voted for in the Agriculture Committee contains each of those priorities, as promised.

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"The Farm Bill secures a strong farm safety net, increases access to broadband internet for our rural counties, and stops states like California from dictating to Illinois how we manage our livestock. It also includes legislation I introduced to establish guardrails for solar panel tracts on prime farmland, putting power back in the hands of local residents to decide for themselves if their community will allowlarger solar panel projects. My work doesn’t stop here; I will continue to fight to advance the Farm Bill through final passage in the House,"Bost concluded.

Key Provisions in the 2024 Farm Bill:

1. Protects crop insurance & farm safety net

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2. Doubles funding for MAP & FMD trade programs

3. Ensures farmers have access to credit

4. Increases access to broadband internet

5. Establishes guardrails for solar panel tracts on prime farmland

6. Fixes “Prop 12” so states like California can’t dictate how Illinois manages its livestock

7. Prevents foreign adversaries from purchasing our farmland

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