WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD NEWS) — Pressure is mounting on the Senate to advance a new Farm Bill as lawmakers push for stronger support for specialty crop producers and farm groups warn that delays are adding to financial uncertainty across agriculture.
A bipartisan group of five members of the Senate Agriculture Committee is urging committee leaders to include additional protections for fruit, vegetable and other specialty crop growers. In a letter to committee leadership, the lawmakers called for expanded access to USDA assistance programs and increased federal support to better reflect the industry’s growing importance.
The push comes as Congress faces a compressed legislative calendar, with fewer than two weeks remaining before lawmakers leave Washington for the August recess.
Despite the slow pace, Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington said he believes Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman remains committed to completing the legislation.
“I understand that the chairman of the committee, John Boozman from Arkansas, is committed to getting the Farm Bill done,” Newhouse said. “We in the House sometimes get frustrated with our colleagues in the Senate. It’s just a different animal over there. They work differently at a different pace.”
Meanwhile, farm organizations continue warning that many producers are running out of time.
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said several years of financial strain have left many family farms struggling to remain profitable.
“Farmers are no strangers to a difficult year,” Duvall said. “Agriculture has always been resilient, and farmers are accustomed to adapting to changing markets and weather. But several years of high inflation, low commodity prices, and rising production costs have left many family farms facing another year of projected losses, with little path back to profitability.”
Duvall added that many producers are already making planting and financial decisions for the 2027 crop year, making passage of a new Farm Bill increasingly urgent.
Lawmakers are expected to continue negotiations in the coming days as agricultural groups press Congress to complete the long-delayed legislation before the August recess.
