WASHINGTON — The American Soybean Association responded to the introduction of the chairman’s mark of the farm bill from House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway of Texas. ASA President John Heisdorffer issued the following statement:

“We commend Chairman Conaway for moving the farm bill process forward with the introduction of the chairman’s mark today. We recognize this process has many stages, and while this version lacks support from Democrats, we hope that the chairman will continue to work to negotiate to get the needed support to pass a bill that can conference with the Senate and become law in 2018.

“We need to get this farm bill done this year to provide long-term certainty for farmers, given lingering questions on trade and the shaky state of the farm economy.

“We also appreciate the chairman for including authorization for the Foreign Market Development program, as well as funding for FMD and the Market Access Program. ASA will continue to press for the doubled funding we originally requested for these programs, which farmers across the country leverage to expand our overseas markets.”

— American Soybean Association