Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has introduced last year’s Senate-passed farm bill, a sign that the farm bill is a priority of the Democratic leadership this Congress. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said, “I applaud Sen. Reid’s leadership and commitment to getting a five-year farm bill done to provide certainty to the 16 million Americans working in agriculture. Last year, we were able to pass a farm bill with overwhelming bipartisan support, saving more than $23 billion in taxpayer money and reforming farm bill programs to be more cost-effective and market-oriented. Unfortunately, the House didn’t bring the Farm Bill to the floor. Majority Leader Reid has demonstrated that the Senate will once again make supporting our nation’s agriculture economy, while cutting spending, a top priority.” No date has been set for the committee to mark up the bill. New Ranking Member Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) has concerns with the commodity title of last year’s bill.