The so-called “big, beautiful bill” recently signed into law by President Donald Trump addressed a number of farmer priorities normally included in a five-year farm bill.
Of the more than $65 billion in additional agriculture spending, about $59 billion was directed toward updating farm safety net programs, such as Agriculture Risk Coverage, Price Loss Coverage, Dairy Margin Coverage and federal crop insurance. The remaining $6.6 billion in ag funding will support disaster assistance, trade promotion, research and other priorities.
Much of that funding was secured through nutrition funding cuts.
With those matters settled, legislators will look to tackle the remaining farm bill provisions that have not been addressed. They include funding for the Conservation Reserve Program, support for rural broadband, and additional funding for research and Extension programs.
Some lawmakers would like to see more funding for trade promotions program and additional changes to crop insurance, federal loans and commodity programs. Others like Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, would like to see caps on commodity payments to ensure money goes to active farmers, not investors. There has also been talk of nullifying California Proposition 12, a longtime goal of many lawmakers in farm states. Prop 12 sets minimum space requirements for certain farm animals and bans the sale of products from noncompliant sources outside the state.
Suffice to say, there isn’t a lot of time to address those issues before the current farm bill expires at the end of September. Congress will be away from the end of July through early September, leaving only a few weeks to finalize new legislation. Lawmakers could be looking at a third farm bill extension after failing to draft a new bill in 2023 and 2024. Grassley, for one, said he believes a farm bill will get done one way or the other.
“We’re going to pass one this year. But if we don’t, the programs will continue to extend on a year-to-year basis as they have through ’23 and ’24,” he said on a July 22 call with reporters.
Is there a path to a new farm bill?
House Ag Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson says he hopes to pass a “Farm Bill 2.0” by mid-September. He says his proposal, also dubbed a “skinny farm bill,” will require about $8 billion to fund the remaining programs. While many of those provisions enjoy broad bipartisan support, getting anything passed could be challenging.
Republicans were able to pass their budget bill using the reconciliation process. That meant they only needed a simple majority, without support from Democrats.
It won’t be that way for the skinny farm bill, which must be passed through the normal legislative process. Senate Democrats can use the filibuster to hold up key provisions.
In the House, a small contingent of anti-spending Republicans is likely to oppose the additional ag spending without other conditions.
Look no further than last year when a Republican-written farm bill passed the House Ag Committee (with four votes from Democrats) but was never brought up before the entire House. Presumably, that was because it did not have enough Republican support to pass without changes.
What’s the skinny on the skinny?
So, will Democrats have a say in crafting the skinny farm bill? Will they go along with Thompson’s proposal if it includes provisions they support? That’s the burning question everyone wants answered.
Behind the scenes, some Democrats have expressed an openness to finding common ground. Others say they are in no mood to help Thompson take credit for a farm bill after Republicans slashed nutrition funding.
House Ag Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig, D-Minn., has said she is willing to meet with Thompson and work toward advancing farm bill legislation. She’s also said the Republican decision to bypass Democrats and use the “big, beautiful bill” to implement nutrition cuts anyway shattered the bipartisan coalition needed to pass a farm bill.
Perhaps she and Thompson can broker a deal that advances a new bill. Still, even if that happens, there are no guarantees she can persuade enough of her fellow Democrats to go along with a compromise. And if she did, would House Republicans and Trump agree to any Democratic concessions?
That all may depend on what lawmakers hear from constituents when they are back in their home districts throughout August. Will there be a new farm bill? Signs point to nobody knows.