The push to get a five-year farm bill has been renewed in the House Ag Committee. Chairman G.T. Thompson released language and mark up began on Monday.
One Big Beautiful Bill Omits Farm Bill Titles
While some question why a new long term farm bill is needed, a cross section of the nation’s farm groups explain the bill did not cover all the titles in a normal long-term farm bill.
“We had a lot of the provisions of the farm bill that were included in the One Big Beautiful Bill — the increase in reference prices, some changes and improvements to crop insurance, etc. But there’s still some really important aspects of the farm bill that need to be passed,” says Steve Censky, chief executive officer of the American Soybean Association.
Sam Kieffer, chief executive officer of the National Association of Wheat Growers, points out the One Big Beautiful Bill did not touch the conservation title or reauthorize programs like the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). It also did not deal with credit or expand loan limits.
“It is time to give our folks some certainty when it comes to conservation programs, when it comes to credit. The cost of doing business is drastically different than it was in 2018. And the 2018 Farm Bill was based off of data from three, four years prior. So, we want to make sure that we improve the credit section of of the farm bill, get that finished,” Kieffer says.
Farm Safety Net Needed
Kieffer adds a farm bill is needed to provide certainty to farmers and offer a safety net.
“There’s three years of market loss that our growers are struggling with at the moment, and they’re making hard decisions. Some of them are reducing acres, some of them are letting land go and there’s a price to be paid for that as well,” Kieffer says.
House Ag Committee Language Includes Ag Labeling Uniformity Act
Chairman Thompson’s farm bill language also includes Prop 12 and the Ag Labeling Uniformity Act, which covers pesticide registrations, according to Censky.
“Which means that the EPA is going to have preeminence when they make a health and safety determination of a pesticide, a crop protection product. You can’t have a state adopt different rules,” Censky says.
However, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) would lose around $1 billion in budget authority over the next four fiscal years under the House Agriculture Committee’s GOP farm bill draft, according to calculations by the Congressional Budget Office. EQIP was essentially used as a funding source for other priorities in the legislation.
Move Food for Peace Program
Kiefer says NAWG also wants Congress to move the Food for Peace Program to USDA in the language of the Farm Bill.
“USDA knows how to deal with farm commodities. USDA is already in the business of engaging in food aid programs globally. They have the infrastructure. They have the personnel and they understand agriculture. So, the farm bill that is ready to be moved in the house here soon has a provision that would include that,” Keifer adds.
Senate Preparing for Farm Bill Mark Up
While the Senate Agriculture Committee has not released farm bill language or scheduled a mark-up, chair John Boozman told Agri-Pulse they will take up a farm bill of its own in the coming months, with the timing depending in part on how debate over a House version proceeds next week.
Will Congress Pass a Farm Bill?
Still there’s uncertainty about the appetite for passage in Congress according to Tim Lust, chief executive officer of National Sorghum Producers.
“A lot of these details honestly have been negotiated for a year or two, and it’s maybe little tweaks to them, but a lot of the main things haven’t really changed. It’s a matter of how do we get that across the finish line and find a way to get it signed into law?” Lust says.