We handicapped the political outlook for the new farm bill last Friday. Provided below is a brief procedural overview of what has to occur to get the farm bill through conference: The House approves a motion that combines both the farm bill passed in July and the nutrition-only bill that passed last week. The House submits the legislation to the Senate. The Senate accepts the legislation (virtually zero percent odds) or rejects it. The Senate requests a conference. The House and Senate appoint conferees. The farm bill expires on 30 September, but the real deadline is the end of the year when the dairy and other programs start to bump up against ending dates. Congress must also pass a continuing resolution (CR) before the farm b...

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