Deeply-held disagreements over government funding for nutrition programs could delay passage of a new farm bill past the Sept. 30 deadline and beyond, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and others warned last week at the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF) Economic Sum­­mit in Ames.

"I’m worried that they (Congress) will just string it out, which won’t be good for anybody," Vilsack said during a press conference following his remarks at the IFBF summit, which drew nearly 300 farmers and others to the Scheman Auditorium on the Iowa State University campus. "Then next year you have an election year, and...