Farm Bill

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USDA on Monday announced the 2025 enrollment periods for commodity programs used by row crop growers and dairy producers.

Tax and spending cuts are at the top of the to-do list for congressional Republicans and President-elect Donald Trump. But there are a broad array of other issues in play that are critical to food and agriculture, from farm bill and the next dietary guidelines to regulations for pesticides and gene-edited crops, and the future of the Biden administration's climate policies.

The Senate Agriculture Committee is welcoming four new members to the panel, including Democrat Adam Schiff of California, who will be the first senator from the Golden State to serve on the committee since the 1980s. 

The 39th president regularly showed minimal regard for the political implications of his decisions, notably in farm policy. From commodity price supports to the Soviet grain embargo, Carter often made a choice he felt was right for the country, only to see the decision backfire politically.

Texas farmers will receive about 10% of the $9.7 billion in market relief payments that Congress authorized in its year-end funding bill, according to a University of Missouri analysis. Iowa, Illinois and Kansas will collectively receive another 25% of the total.

In 2024, rural America played a large role in carrying Donald Trump to the White House for a second time. Across the country, hurricanes damaged ag infrastructure in Florida, the Carolinas and the Southeastern U.S., and H5N1 spread to dairy cattle. 

After months of development, the farm bill passed out of the House Ag Committee with four Democratic votes and guarded optimism, but it never even made it to the House floor, ultimately leading to another one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill.

After a week of high drama, the Senate cleared a stopgap spending bill early Saturday that includes $21 billion in ag disaster assistance, $10 billion in market relief for farmers, and a one-year extension of the 2018 farm bill. Dropped from the bill was a debt limit increase that President-elect Donald Trump had demanded. 

A partial government shutdown loomed closer Thursday night after the House soundly defeated a scaled-down stopgap spending bill that included a debt-limit increase President-elect Donald Trump demanded, plus economic assistance for farmers.

The future of $31 billion in disaster relief and economic assistance for farmers was in doubt  night after Elon Musk and then, Donald Trump, threatened the political future of any Republicans who voted for the 1,500-page bill that contains the funding. The Senate cleared a water resources bill intended to increase funding for inland waterway projects.

Elon Musk’s full-throated opposition to a massive stopgap funding bill forced House GOP leaders to rethink the legislation, leaving in doubt $31 billion in disaster aid and market relief for farmers.  President-elect Donald Trump left the door open to supporting a stripped-down bill with farm aid included.