en.Wedoany.com Reported - The Senate Agriculture Committee will begin committee deliberations and voting on a new farm bill on Thursday to succeed expiring current agricultural programs. Committee Chairman John Boozman's amendment includes allowing year-round sales of E15 ethanol gasoline and giving states more time to reduce payment error rates in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The House passed its version of the farm bill on April 30 by a vote of 224 to 200. Under Senate procedure, the committee version must first pass before floor debate can be scheduled; in the Senate, most legislation must receive at least 60 votes to advance.

Boozman's proposal seeks to raise federal agricultural loan limits, expand disaster assistance for livestock and specialty crops, strengthen trade promotion funding, and maintain the Conservation Reserve Program's acreage cap at 27 million acres. The proposal also includes new provisions on animal health, processing, rural development, and crop insurance.

The Senate and House bills differ on nutrition policy, spending, conservation, E15, and commodity support, and these differences must be negotiated and re-voted on in both chambers. Most current farm bill authorizations expire on September 30, and Congress may choose to extend them again; if legislation is not completed and signed by the President before the end of this Congress, lawmakers will restart the legislative process in January.