Farm Bill Extension Likely As GOP Rejects Sen. Stabenow’s Bill

By Ryan Hanrahan, University of Illinois’ FarmDoc project

Politico’s Meredith Lee Hill and Olivia Beavers reported Tuesday that “House Republicans confirmed during their closed-door conference meeting Tuesday morning that GOP lawmakers are rejecting Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow’s last minute farm bill push and will instead plan to pass a one-year extension of the massive bill by Dec. 31.”

“During the Tuesday meeting, House Agriculture Chair G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) dismissed Stabenow’s newly unveiled farm bill text, calling it ‘legacy protection,’ according to two GOP lawmakers and another person familiar with the meeting who were granted anonymity to discuss a private meeting,” Lee Hill and Beavers reported. “Speaker Mike Johnson told GOP members during the meeting that lawmakers will instead pursue a farm bill extension, according to the three people. Lawmakers have been planning to attach a one-year farm bill extension to the upcoming federal funding stopgap, amid a months-long impasse in the talks between Republicans and Democrats.”

“Senate Republicans similarly rejected Stabenow’s farm bill just hours after she unveiled it Monday,” Lee Hill and Beavers reported.

Agri-Pulse’s Rebekah Alvey, Noah Wicks, Lydia Johnson, Philip Brasher, and Steve Davies reported Tuesday morning that “for starters, the (Stabenow) bill doesn’t include reference price increases of the size that Republicans want, and it contains no cuts to the nutrition title.”

“The legislation would force Donald Trump to get congressional approval to use the Commodity Credit Corporation to compensate farmers in the case of a new trade war or for other reasons,” Alvey, Wicks, Johnson, Brasher and Davies reported. “Thompson, R-Pa., continues to say the CCC restriction is needed, even though Trump will be in the White House. ‘I found it incredible [Stabenow included the CCC provision in her draft] given the fact that I was the bad guy for proposing that now for a year, over two years,’ Thompson told reporters Monday evening.”

“Stabenow, D-Mich., told reporters she offered to agree to the CCC restriction back in September but that Republicans stood their ground on other provisions unacceptable to her. ‘Then finally, we heard from some folks … at the end of October that they wanted to wait to see if President Trump was elected and what he wanted to do,’ Stabenow said,” according to Alvey, Wicks, Johnson, Brasher and Davies’ reporting. “Stabenow, who’s retiring at the end of this Congress, described the bill as her ‘vision’ for what the next farm bill should look like. The Senate Ag Committee’s top Republican, John Boozman of Arkansas, said the ’11th hour partisan proposal’ from Stabenow was ‘insulting.'”

Industry Groups Split on Support for Stabenow’s Bill

Meat + Poultry’s Ryan McCarthy reported that “the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) came out against the Senate Democrats’ 2024 Farm Bill text as both chambers of Congress continue to attempt to pass the legislation before 2025.”

“‘Though America’s pork producers appreciate Chairwoman Stabenow’s efforts to publish Farm Bill text, this is simply not a viable bill, as it fails to provide a solution to California Prop 12,’ said Lori Stevermer, president of NPPC,” according to McCarthy’s reporting. “‘Pork producers have continually spoken up about the negative impacts of this issue, and it is a shame these conversations were disregarded.'”

The Hagstrom Report reported that the National Farmers Union said that “our priority for family farmers and ranchers remains steadfast: Congress must pass a strong, comprehensive five-year farm bill before year’s end. A farm bill provides the certainty and stability farmers need, including a strengthened safety net, disaster assistance, robust investments in conservation and measures to help farmers compete more effectively. While significant work has been done by the House and Senate Agriculture committees, leaders at the highest levels in both chambers must now make passing a strong, comprehensive five-year farm bill their top priority before the year ends.”

“Crystal FitzSimons, interim president of the Food Research & Action Center, said, ‘FRAC is pleased the proposed legislation aligns with many of the anti-hunger community’s SNAP priorities for the farm bill, and we commend Chairwoman Stabenow for continuing her unwavering support to safeguard the much-needed Thrifty Food Plan future benefit adjustment,'” according to Hagstrom’s reporting.

The American Association of Crop Insurers said in a press release that it “strongly rejects the proposals related to crop insurance delivery. It is apparent that, following years of back-and-forth conversations, Sen. Stabenow did not take into account industry input.”

“Our nation’s farmers and ranchers deserve a Farm Bill that strengthens, not weakens, the safety net they rely on in times of need,” said Scott Graves, president of AACI. “The proposals outlined in this draft bill threaten to destabilize a crop insurance system that consistently delivers reliable risk management for American agriculture. We urge lawmakers to reject these harmful measures and instead focus on policies that ensure continued access to this critical tool for all producers.”