PORTFOLIO Checks and Balances By Mark Scanlan, ICBA A fair deal for farmers- and ag lenders ICBA has laid out its 2018 farm bill priorities in a new white paper. ith the current farm bill expiring in a matter of months, Washington has begun working in earnest on the 2018 version. Congress has been holding hearings for more than a year, and agriculture secretary Sonny Perdue has told lawmakers that adequate funding is necessary amid a persistent downturn in the agricultural economy. A new farm bill is essential to the nation's farmers and ranchers, as well as to the community 38 Q ICBA Independent Banker Q May 2018 W Mark Scanlan (mark. scanlan@icba. org) is ICBA senior vice president of agriculture and rural policy bankers who serve them. It supports rural communities and allows borrowers and lenders to plan for the long term. Now that the House and Senate agriculture committees are developing legislation ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline, ICBA recently released a Focus on Farm Policy white paper with our core principles and focus areas for a new multi-year farm bill. Commodity programs and crop insurance The 2014 farm bill was written in an era of higher commodity prices and higher net farm incomes, which peaked as that bill was being written. But Photo: Getty Images/John P. Kelly