AUSTIN, Texas -- Outside the controversial SNAP debate, lawmakers leading the Farm Bill effort say there's much to agree on when it comes to aiding farmers and ranchers.

The House Agriculture Committee Chairman noted the importance of passing such legislation.

“We are in the midst of a five-year recession in agriculture. Farmers and ranchers have seen net farm income drop by 52 percent,” Rep. Michael Conaway, R-Midland, said.

The Texas Farm Bureau supports the GOP-led House bill in its current form.

“This bill is probably the best we could do given the current political climate,” Gene Hall, Communications Director for the Texas Farm Bureau, said.

Hall said it’s vital to preserve farmer safety-net programs.

“Farm income is less than half of what it was five years ago. We have parts of this state that are already in a 2011-level drought event,” Hall said. “So crop insurance, those things that are fundamental to this farm legislation, these are things that our members, the farmers and ranchers absolutely must have.”

While Farm Bureau policy doesn’t specifically address SNAP, Hall said the compromise that’s been made is a reasonable thing.

“It does not apply to children, anyone under 18, anyone over 59, the elderly, are not subject to this work requirement,” Hall said. “We think, and I think our members would agree, I think a lot of Texans would agree that the able-bodied, that are able to work, either get training or be in a job, getting training on the job, is a thing that will ultimately help lift them out of poverty and the need for that assistance.”