Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says the size of the reference price increase is key to solving the farm bill deadlock. Once that issue is resolved, Vilsack said it would be “relatively simple” to complete legislation this year.

If members of the Senate and House agricultural committees can reach agreement on key provisions of the farm bill, Congress could vote on it after the November 5 general election. Both sides agree to the need for higher reference prices, however, there is a disagreement on the amount. The range varies from 5% to 15%.

The Congressional Budget Office previously estimated the House version of the farm bill was $33 billion over budget because it did not fully offset the increase due to higher reference prices. Either the reference price increases need to be pared or additional funding needs to be found.

SNAP funding and climate mitigation are other areas of disagreement.

Read more on the debate over reference prices here.