Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 10/17/18

The latest round of hurricanes is likely to prompt calls from Southern-state lawmakers to pass a disaster-relief package in Congress. Last fall, Congress approved more than $50 billion in aid for victims of hurricanes Harvey, Maria and Irma — about $2.3 billion of which was allocated for farmers and ranchers. If similar pressure mounts when lawmakers return to Washington after the midterms, it could delay efforts to pass a compromise on the farm bill, H.R. 2 (115), House Agriculture ranking member Collin Peterson said Tuesday.

"What I'm more worried about now is what happened with this hurricane," the Minnesota Democrat said during an interview with the radio show AgriTalk. "I think you're going to see, when we get back after the election, a lot of pressure from members that are in that hurricane area to either add something to the farm bill or appropriations."

Peterson said such efforts "could potentially give us more problems to solve than we already have." Much of the federal government, including USDA, is operating under a so-called continuing resolution through Dec. 7. By that date, Congress needs to pass seven more fiscal 2019 spending bills, or another continuing resolution, to keep the lights on at certain agencies.

Rep. Ralph Abraham, a Louisiana Republican on the Ag Committee, told POLITICO he'll introduce an emergency spending bill after the elections for farmers and ranchers suffering from retaliatory tariffs and other headwinds. The ag-aid legislative package could be tied to hurricane relief, Abraham said, or another must-pass measure before the end of the year.

Grassley weighs in: Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), during a weekly call with reporters on Tuesday, said there are two primary issues to blame for the lack of progress in farm bill negotiations: House Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway's efforts to direct more money to Texas cotton growers, and disagreements over how to reconcile competing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provisions.