Senate Ag Committee
The debate over immigration and ag labor reform has been a political hot potato for decades now and has led to inaction by Congress, but leaders of the House and Senate Ag Committees say they are making it a priority for 2026.
Farmers need to be prepared to pay substantially more for their coverage in 2026, unless Congress acts now to address the impending price surge.
With Congress passing another extension, some economists suggest a new reality may be setting in: the era of comprehensive Farm Bills could be ending, replaced by a piecemeal approach in Washington.
If passed in the final weeks of 2022, the Affordable and Secure Food Act would streamline the H2-A program, offer agricultural wage stabilization and provide a path to citizenship for farmworkers.
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Alexis Taylor for Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. According to Taylor, her priorities include addressing export markets and food insecurity.
“We rely on the support of farm bill funding and programs to ensure continued U.S. leadership as the provider of the best seed to the world,” said Katy Rainey, Purdue associate professor, at the Senate Ag hearing.
SNAP, which historically receives the greatest amount of farm bill funding, will see an 82% increase of a quarter-trillion-dollars.
The Fertilizer Research Act has been introduced by three senators to require USDA to study competition and trends in the fertilizer market.
USApple President and CEO Jim Bair spoke at a Sept. 15 press conference on Capitol Hill urging Senate action on the Farm Workforce Modernization Act.
Some long-time Washington contacts still give the odds of a farm bill this year at only 15%.
Senate leadership’s timeline for the BBB proposal is just before Christmas, according to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Centrist Sen. Joe Manchin is calling for a strategic pause for the vote, delaying it into 2022.
Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow, (D-Mich.) says there will be no new funding for the 2023 farm bill. However, Stabenow stressed she will not allow a cut in conservation funding.
House Ag Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson, along with other members, is seeking additional funding sources for the bill, but that will likely be the biggest farm bill hurdle that may trip up lawmakers.
The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act, which builds on the proposal Stabenow released in May, includes $39 billion in new resources “to keep farmers farming, families fed and rural communities strong.”