Groups vary in reaction to House farm bill passage 

Farm and food industry groups generally expressed enthusiasm for the farm bill the House passed Thursday, while environmental and nutrition groups were disappointed. 

The bill passed with a vote of 224 to 200, with 14 Democrats joining all but three Republicans in supporting the bill. 

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said, “After three years of extensions and eight years since a farm bill was passed, we’re grateful the House found a bipartisan path forward. Important updates to research and conservation, as well as increased loan limits and clarity on interstate commerce, will help farmers survive today’s challenges and give them the tools to thrive in the future.”

National Farmers Union President Rob Larew said, “Today’s House vote is the largest step in eight years towards delivering a farm bill for family farmers, ranchers and rural America,” but “the bill largely continues existing farm safety net programs that do not match the scale of the current economic crisis family farmers are facing. It also maintains cuts to the nutrition safety net at a time when too many American families are struggling to make ends meet.”

“Other missed opportunities include authorizing year-round E15, restoring mandatory country-of-origin labeling, addressing rising input costs, protecting farmers and ranchers from the threat of market concentration and expanding domestic market opportunities for U.S. producers.”

USA Rice praised provisions “prioritizing U.S. commodities as part of food aid; modernizing FSA loan limits; and continued focus on voluntary, incentive-based, and locally led conservation efforts.”

National Pork Producers Council President Rob Brennerman, an Iowa producer, praised the House for including a measure to nullify California’s Proposition 12 and singled out House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., and Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, “for not backing down from the fight for what is right for rural America.”

United Egg Producers President and CEO Chad Gregory praised Thompson for including “a clear exemption for egg producers within the Proposition 12-related language addressing state animal-housing mandates” and for excluding language to allow “unrefrigerated surplus hatching eggs into the U.S. food supply, which would significantly weaken the 2010 FDA Egg Safety Rule, developed to prevent tens of thousands of salmonella enteritidis cases each year.”

National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane said, “Instead of caving to attacks on the livestock industry from shell activist groups that impersonate real producers, a bipartisan group of lawmakers advanced a bill that will provide certainty and important policy fixes for cattle country.”

National Corn Growers Association President Jed Bower, an Ohio farmer, said the group is “pleased with important provisions in the conservation, trade, credit, rural development, research and energy titles,” but “we look forward to working with our allies in Congress over the next two weeks to secure passage of the E15 legislation.”

“Thanks to continued efforts on this issue from our biofuel champions, Speaker [Mike] Johnson [R-La.] promised a vote on E15, and we refuse to allow a handful of multimillion and multi-billion-dollar energy companies to derail our efforts.”

The National Sorghum Association said the bill “takes a critical step” by making the transfer of Food for Peace to the Agriculture Department, but the group also called for the passage of the E15 bill.

National Association of Wheat Growers President Jamie Kress said, “This bill reflects many of wheat farmers’ top priorities, from modernizing farm credit and safeguarding international food aid programs to enhancing export competitiveness.”

The American Soybean Association said, “The bill contains provisions supported by ASA, including a transfer of Food for Peace authority to USDA, conservation program funding, the Plant Biostimulant Act, increased access to credit programs, funding for precision agriculture, reauthorization of the Biobased Markets (BioPreferred) Program and Biorefinery Assistance Program, and addresses federal issues caused by state-level animal welfare initiatives.”

The National Grain and Feed Association praised the full reauthorization of the U.S. Grain Standards Act, maintenance of the current Conservation Reserve Program acreage cap and increased funding for the Market Access Program.

Corn Refiners Association President and CEO John Bode said, “The bill offers support for American farmers and the future of the ag bioeconomy, which has the potential to serve as a major growth engine for rural communities.”

Plant Based Products Council Executive Director James Glueck said the bill “includes critical support for the future of U.S. biomanufacturing, ensuring American farmers and rural communities can benefit from the innovation that is turning homegrown agriculture commodities into a broad range of high-demand biobased products.”

Glueck said the bill incorporated the Biomanufacturing and Jobs Act and the Agricultural Biorefinery Innovation and Opportunity (Ag BIO) Act — two bipartisan, bicameral bills endorsed by PBPC.

The National Milk Producers Federation said the bill “supports the farm safety net, preserves existing conservation programs that include opportunities for dairy and livestock producers, bolsters trade promotion programs while protecting common food names, recognizes the important role of dairy in nutrition, and supports animal health programs.”

The Consortium for Common Food Names said the bill includes the Safeguarding American Food and Export Trade Yields (SAFETY) Act, which would direct USDA to partner with the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative to make the protection of widely used terms like “parmesan,” “chateau,” and “Black Forest ham” a priority in international trade negotiations.

International Dairy Foods Association President and CEO Michael Dykes said the bill strengthens key dairy programs and expands SNAP dairy nutrition incentives. He noted it includes “permanent authorization of Mandatory Cost Surveys to ensure Federal Milk Marketing Order make allowances reflect current manufacturing costs, improvements to the Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives program to codify not less than four locations, and permanent authorization of the Dairy Forward Pricing Program.”

International Fresh Produce Association President and CEO Cathy Burns said the bill “is an important step toward delivering the certainty and stability America’s specialty crop growers urgently need.”

Burns urged the Senate “to build on this momentum and advance a farm bill that provides strong support for specialty crop growers and strengthens the nation’s food system.”

USApple President Jim Bair said, “The bill includes meaningful investments in specialty crops, and we’re especially encouraged by a more responsive framework for specialty crop assistance. USApple urges the Senate to act swiftly so that a bipartisan farm bill can get to the president’s desk as soon as possible.”

FMI – The Food Industry Association Chief Public Policy Officer Jennifer Hatcher said, “We applaud the House for including bipartisan provisions to make the SNAP online pilot program permanent, provide a permanent extension of the prohibition on state and contractor EBT processing fees for retailers, and broaden the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program to include additional forms of fruits and vegetables.”

National Grocers Association Group Vice President of Government Relations Stephanie Johnson said, “We are grateful for the inclusion of the permanent ban on EBT fees and remain committed to working with the Senate to ensure this provision is included in the final bill.” 

Environmental Defense Fund Vice President for Political and Government Affairs Joanna Slaney faulted the bill for cutting approximately $1 billion from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, failing to address staffing shortages at USDA, and “a lack of investment in critical agricultural research programs will leave farmers with fewer tools to build resilience on their operations, improve environmental outcomes and support long-term productivity and profitability.”

Slaney also said EDF was “deeply disappointed about the last-minute loophole for air pollution from farm equipment. This will lead to more dangerous pollution and health harms for rural communities by undermining the clean air protections that have long provided real benefits for people’s health and livelihoods.”

Slaney was referring to an amendment sponsored by Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-ind., that she said would “remove costly, overreaching emissions mandates on farm equipment that drives up expenses for farmers and consumers.”

Rebecca Bartels, executive director of Invest In Our Land, said, “With today’s House action, the work shifts to the Senate, which has the opportunity to reject near-term EQIP cuts, expand the Conservation Reserve Program, and codify the Regenerative Agriculture Pilot Program.”

Food Research & Action Center President Crystal FitzSimons said she was “deeply troubled” that the House did not reverse the $187 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and called on the Senate to reject the House bill “and instead proceed, in the strong bipartisan tradition, with legislation that prioritizes families struggling to put food on the table and the needs of American farmers. FRAC will not support any farm bill that fails to address our nation’s deepening hunger crisis. Let us be clear: No farm bill is better than a bad one.”

United Food and Commercial Workers International President Milton Jones said, “With the passage of the farm bill, members of Congress solidified the slashing of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, greenlit handouts to powerful agricultural interests, and failed to address critical issues facing workers.”

MAZON: A Jewish Response to Hunger President and CEO Abby Leibman said, “As a direct result of last summer’s Republican budget cuts, millions of Americans have been plunged into hunger as their life-saving food benefits are ripped away. States are desperately scrambling to adjust to the massive changes and budget cuts that were imposed on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, with more people being thrown off these programs every day.

“This bill is a stunning illustration of the moral bankruptcy of the Republican Party, failing to recognize that the human beings affected by the majority party’s approach will face losses that will reverberate for generations.

“It does not address soaring food costs and hunger across the country, and takes no steps to reverse the catastrophic federal disinvestment in SNAP and other food security programs in the Republican budget and tax law. It completely fails to alleviate the unprecedented economic stress placed on states who will soon be forced to cover federal costs to run lifesaving programs.

“This bill does not meet the moment for farmers, families, and all stakeholders who depend on a bipartisan farm bill process.”