Several farm groups reacted Tuesday to the farm bill text released Monday by Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich.

The American Association of Crop Insurers said it “strongly rejects the proposals related to crop insurance delivery. It is apparent that, following years of back-and-forth conversations, Sen. Stabenow did not take into account industry input. Many of the proposals in Sen. Stabenow’s draft are detrimental to the private sector delivery system — a system consistently heralded as the gold standard in public-private partnerships. Sen. Stabenow’s proposing language harmful to the private sector delivery system was unexpected because Sen. Stabenow has been a long-time champion of crop insurance and its public-private delivery system.”

“Our nation’s farmers and ranchers deserve a farm bill that strengthens, not weakens, the safety net they rely on in times of need,” said Scott Graves, president of AACI. “The proposals outlined in this draft bill threaten to destabilize a crop insurance system that consistently delivers reliable risk management for American agriculture. We urge lawmakers to reject these harmful measures and instead focus on policies that ensure continued access to this critical tool for all producers.

“Unfortunately, if enacted, many of Sen. Stabenow’s proposals undo her many years of support,” Graves said. “Cutting and capping delivery payments while mandating expense levels would most assuredly accelerate an exodus of private companies. It would further expedite consolidation in an industry that has been shrinking under existing resources. Perhaps this is the goal given the proposal to pilot test government delivery of the program.

“The proposals in Title XI would undermine 30 years of legislative and administrative progress. Regardless of commodity, agricultural producers across all demographics, geography, and production would be in jeopardy of losing access to a program that has increasingly come to represent the cornerstone of agricultural risk management.”

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Policy Director Mike Lavender said, “The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act highlights the longstanding path — and shrinking window — to completing a bipartisan farm bill this year. The bill would build a more fair and accessible farm safety net for farmers and ranchers, make robust investments in local and regional food systems, and protect generational conservation and climate resources as farmers nationwide battle extreme weather. We thank Chairwoman Stabenow for her leadership toward a farm bill that balances the diversity of U.S. food and agriculture and strives to build a fair and functional food system. NSAC will remain committed to working with all House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders to secure a new farm bill.”

HEAL Food Alliance Policy Director Nichelle Harriott said, “We’re glad to finally see a measure that reflects the needs of people working across the food system. Our members have told us again and again that they need a farm bill that includes essential protections for food and farm workers who continue to endure hazardous working conditions and exploitative labor practices, disaster relief for small farmers facing climate-related challenges, and critical safeguards to reduce hunger, including continued support for vital nutrition assistance programs like SNAP. There’s still a lot of work to be done to ensure full equity and sustainability, but this bill is a promising step in the right direction.”