The House Agriculture Committee advanced a proposed farm bill … —a set of legislative proposals that have traditionally balanced the social safety net around food with the needs of farmers and other food producers. Although a farm bill is typically passed every five years, Congress has failed to pass a new package since the last farm bill expired, in 2023.
Last year, some of the largest programs that are usually included in the farm bill were instead rolled into the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB). The House’s new farm bill largely includes provisions from a 2024 draft that were left out of the OBBB—and that have bipartisan support.
In general, though, the bill does not directly provide new investments to farm programs and maintains much of the status quo, [said] Mike Lavender, policy director at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition ….
This does not match the need among farmers, especially given 2025’s instability, stemming from contract cancellations, funding freezes, shifts in trade policy, and more, Lavender said.
