Outside of farming regions – there’s not as much pressure on lawmakers to get a new farm bill through Congress. Drake University Professor of Politics Dennis Goldford says people are very aware of the farm bill in a state like Iowa – but it’s not the same in states where not much of the economy is ag-related. Still – pressure is expected to intensify when Congress returns to Capitol Hill next month – as the worst drought to hit the U.S. since 1956 has attracted nationwide attention to the challenges farmers and ranchers in rural America are facing. House Agriculture Committee Member Kristi Noem of South Dakota believes momentum is building to pass a farm bill. Still – she says it’s an uphill battle to educate those unfamiliar with the importance of agriculture on the importance of ag policy and what it does to benefit every family. She says we need more leadership engagement, President engagement – all hands on deck – to get the farm bill done and passed before it expires on September 30th.

Analysts and lawmakers alike are concerned that delaying a farm bill until after the November election – or even until 2013 – could leave programs open to even deeper spending cuts that would affect farmers and recipients of food stamps and other nutrition programs. Professor Goldford says the election will have more of an impact on the fate of the farm bill than the farm bill will have on the fate of the election.