WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD NEWS) — Several ag groups are responding positively to the latest Farm Bill proposal from the House Agriculture Committee, which has released its version of a five-year plan.
Committee Chairman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson is calling the proposal “Farm Bill 2.0.” The legislation addresses several high-profile issues, including California’s Proposition 12. Under Thompson’s plan, states would not be allowed to impose production standards for livestock raised outside their borders.
The bill also seeks to permanently transfer the Food for Peace program to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and proposes creating a council to better understand and support specialty crop producers.
Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), says passing a new Farm Bill is critical as farmers face mounting financial pressure.
“USDA has now lowered its 2025 Farm Income Outlook by $25 billion,” Duvall said. “This economic downturn is deeper and has lasted longer than many anticipated. This year, farm income is projected to be 48 billion dollars below the highs we saw in 2022.”
Chairman Thompson hopes to bring Farm Bill 2.0 up for markup during the final week of the month.
Ag groups are already weighing in. The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) praised the proposal, particularly its attention to Proposition 12, urging lawmakers to “stand up for the American farmer, preserve states’ rights, and help keep pork affordable for American consumers.”
The Agricultural Retailers Association (ARA) also expressed support. CEO Daren Coppock noted that producers continue to face volatile markets, extreme weather, global trade instability, labor shortages, and rising input costs.
Coppock goes on to say: “A strong, forward-looking Farm Bill is essential to maintaining a reliable safety net that supports our nation’s food, energy, and fiber supply, while also investing in conservation, research, rural development, crop protection, trade promotion, and nutrition programs.”
Alan Bjerga with the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) joined us on Tuesday’s Market Day Report to provide insight on how the draft could impact dairy producers, and what the agriculture sector can expect in the next steps.
In his interview with RFD NEWS, Bjerga highlighted the provisions that stand out for the dairy industry and how they might influence operations and policy considerations moving forward. The discussion also broadened to agriculture as a whole, with Bjerga sharing his perspective on what the new proposal holds for the broader farming community. He outlined the next steps in the legislative process as the draft continues through review and refinement.
As the agriculture sector reviews the proposed Farm Bill released last Friday by the House Agriculture Committee, ag law experts have identified several updated provisions in the 800-page draft. Roger McEowen with the Washburn School of Law also joined us on Tuesday’s Market Day Report to walk through several of the key highlights in the proposal and the next steps in the legislative process as the draft moves forward.
According to McEowen, one significant shift in the House draft is the formal marriage of the SNAP program with the administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) agenda. In his interview with RFD NEWS, McEowen discussed what that alignment entails and how it is structured within the proposal.
The draft also takes aim at California’s Proposition 12. McEowen explained what the provision addressing Proposition 12 includes and how it is framed in the broader legislation.
In addition, the proposal includes language to address foreign ownership of farmland and national security concerns. McEowen reviewed how those issues are handled in the draft.
Finally, McEowen outlined the legislation’s provisions specific to specialty crop farmers and what the proposal holds for that segment of agriculture.
READ MORE: The 2026 Farm Bill Returns — House Republicans Unveil “Farm Bill 2.0”
However, specialty crop growers may receive assistance even before a new Farm Bill is finalized.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced that the USDA is setting aside $1 billion to support producers who did not receive funding under the bridge assistance package, particularly those affected by trade disruptions.
Payments will be based on 2025 planted acres. Farmers must file acreage reports by March 13, with commodity-specific payment rates expected by the end of March.
When it comes to previous rounds of USDA aid and the new draft of the Farm Bill, though, some ag groups representing these specialty growers and independent operators — which make up the bulk of the U.S. ag economy — continue to feel overlooked and undervalued by current legislative priorities for agriculture, arguing they have much more at stake.
National Farm Family Coalition (NFFC), which represents smaller family farms and independent farmers and ranchers, is “deeply disappointed” with the proposed bill. The NFFC shared a statement with RFD NEWS on Friday that says, in part:
“The Farm Bill is a critical opportunity for meaningful policy change that supports the independent farmers and ranchers who form the backbone of our agricultural system. Instead of addressing the widespread concerns of family-scale farmers — ensuring fair prices for farmers, improving credit access, addressing corporate land consolidation, and creating a trade environment that benefits producers — this draft perpetuates the status quo that enriches and empowers corporate agribusiness. The result is an accelerating farm crisis that continues to hollow out rural communities across the U.S. [...], raising the stakes for independent farmers who are contending with a system rigged against them. Our elected representatives should be passing laws that help farmers survive the increasing pressures of economic uncertainty and manufactured crises.”
