Ag News: Congress Farm Bill Review and Gas Prices Down Again

**California farmers are facing a challenging era of shortages.

The severe drought is drying up water supplies for irrigation. Inflation and supply-chain challenges are making fertilizer and other farm inputs costly and hard to obtain.

Those were concerns aired at the recent Food & Ag Issues Summit West in Sacramento.

California Farm Bureau President Jamie Johansson said, “What we are being asked to do as farmers is really manage scarcity.”

**Congress continues its review of the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill as it prepares to debate and reauthorize next year’s farm bill.

National Corn Growers Association First Vice President Tom Haag, before the House Ag Committee, said federal crop insurance is essential to farming and has to get protected from harmful budget cuts.

Haag says it’s a major pillar of risk management for the vast majority of corn growers.

**The national average for a gallon of gas is below $4.50 for the first time in two months.

The Washington Post says that may offer some relief for Americans struggling with runaway inflation.

Triple A says the national average was $4.495 last Tuesday, a 10% drop from the June high of over $5 a gallon.

A gallon of diesel dropped 31 cents over the last month, now at $5.51.