NASHVILLE, TENN. (RFD-TV) — The path to finishing a Farm Bill before the current Congress ends became significantly more difficult after Tuesday’s election shifted control of Washington.
National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) Executive Director Sigrid Johannes says Senate Democrats now have less incentive to accept a lame-duck compromise when they expect to return in January with a much stronger majority.
The House passed a bipartisan Farm Bill earlier this year, but the Senate has struggled to advance its version. Johannes says disagreements over nutrition funding and livestock provisions had already complicated negotiations before the election changed the political balance.
Time is another obstacle. Congress still faces unfinished appropriations work and the possibility of another government funding deadline, leaving only a few weeks for major legislation.
NCBA continues to support completing the Farm Bill, but Johannes says the political incentives and crowded Senate calendar make passage before January increasingly unlikely.
Disagreements over SNAP and livestock provisions have already stalled negotiations. Lawmakers also face government funding deadlines, leaving limited time to reach an agreement.
Democrats are projected to take control of both the House and Senate in January, creating divided government with President Donald Trump. Maryland Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin says trade will be a priority for the incoming Congress.
“We’re going to put an end to these tariffs. Congress controls taxes and tariffs under the Constitution. Congress regulates commerce internationally and domestically. We want to have free and fair trade with Canada, like the rest of the world. And we want to tell our Democratic allies around the world that the forces of democracy and freedom have won, and we are going to be moving very quickly to restore normal ties,” Raskin said.
Formal trade talks with Canada have largely been stalled since the country walked away from negotiations earlier this year. Canada’s trade minister recently said the country would not change its direction despite the midterm results.
Former Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is calling on lawmakers to work together on policies that support family farms. He says the next Congress has an opportunity to address the financial pressures facing smaller operations.
“It ought not to be that in the farming business, 90% of farm families have to work off the farm to be able to do the one job that they want to do, which is to farm,” Vilsack said. “And it seems to me that as a country, in this opportunity of a divided government, maybe this is the time for ag committee members to come together and say, we’ve done a lot for the commercial-scale operators, and God bless them. But now maybe we need to focus our attention and expand our view of this to the other 90% who struggle every single year, even in the best years.”
Vilsack says the coming years will give Congress an opportunity to reconsider how its decisions affect farmers and ranchers.
The National Farmers Union is also urging lawmakers to deliver results for rural America. President Rob Larew says producers made their concerns clear throughout the campaign, pointing to rising fuel, fertilizer, seed, and feed costs, tight profit margins, and trade uncertainty.
Larew says those issues helped shape policy discussions during the election. Now, he is urging lawmakers to turn campaign promises into action, including passage of a new farm bill. Farmers Union members will continue pressing Congress for results, he says.
