WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD-TV) — Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-IA, and member of the Congressional Western Caucus, has been advocating for crop farmers, livestock producers, and the biofuels industry since taking office in 2021. He serves on the House Agriculture and Ways and Means Committees and has focused on legislation supporting rural communities.
On this week’s Champions of Rural America, Feenstra joined us to discuss his work on the “One, Big, Beautiful Bill,” Act (OBBBA), which included measures benefiting farmers such as a $15 million estate tax exemption, lower crop insurance costs, increased reference prices for corn and soybeans, and immediate expensing for new farm facilities. He emphasized that lawmakers also earmarked funding to invest across all sectors of the ag industry—from improving biosecurity to prevent the spread of foreign animal diseases to supporting tax incentives for farm equipment and infrastructure.
While Feenstra highlighted the bill’s benefits, he stressed the importance of passing a comprehensive Farm Bill to secure conservation and research funding, improve export markets, and ensure refrigeration for dairy, cattle, and hogs. He also explained the importance of protecting American farmland from foreign adversaries, for example, the recent move to add phosphate and potash to the list of critical minerals to strengthen domestic fertilizer production.
In closing, Feenstra highlighted rural America’s vital role in feeding the world, producing domestic energy, and supporting the biofuels industry.
Formally dubbed “Farm Bill 2.0” by committee leadership, the draft surfaces after a high-stakes legislative dance that saw much of the traditional farm bill’s funding, specifically for crop insurance and safety net programs, carved out and passed in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).
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