"I have visited face to face with the President," Mr Schafer said. "He was very clear and very direct.

"The President will veto this bill when he gets it."

Mr Schafer told reporters: "Greater reform is a must in the Farm Bill.

"We have good provisions in this bill, important ones in conservation and food nutrition and specialty crops and all kinds of other programs that are good," Mr Schafer said.

"But we need to get some of these elements in place.

"Maybe if they get the message the President is serious, they will be able to come back and be willing to provide those provisions."

The bill is expected to be brought to the House and Senate floor on Wednesday this week.

Once sent to the President he has 10 days to either sign or veto the legislation.

Should he veto the bill, a two-thirds majority of both the House and the Senate would be necessary to override the veto.

Commentators say that while the Senate should still have the required two-thirds needed to override a Presidential veto, it's less certain in the House.

Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., say they hope for strong votes from both chambers.

"Like any compromise bill resulting from hard bargaining among regional and other interests, this farm bill is far from perfect," Tom Harkin says.

"But no piece of legislation is.

"It includes significant reforms, as well as major advances.

"It deserves the President’s signature."

Farm bills in the past have received strong bipartisan support.

"I think as we all said, it's a good bill," Collin Peterson says.

"The more people read it, the more they see what we've done, and I think the more support it's going to get."

Secretary Schafer admits maintaining a veto could be tough in view of the potential for a strong Congress vote in support.

"I think it is an uphill struggle here because if you look at what happened at the end of this bill they kind of put something in there for everybody," Mr Schafer said.

"That's hard to vote against.

"It's hard to vote the proper direction when you've got constituents that are directly affected."