Text for a new farm bill could be released by February, and Congress likely will consider ag labor reform during the first quarter of this year, congressional ag leaders told attendees of the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual convention.

House Ag Committee Chair Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Penn.; House Ag ranking member Angie Craig, D-Minn.; Senate Ag Committee Chair John Boozman, R-Ark.; and Senate Ag ranking member Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., shared their priorities for U.S. ag and potential timelines for legislation and other initiatives during a panel discussion.

Thompson told reporters after the discussion that he hopes to mark up his Farm Food and National Security Act of 2026 by the end of February.

Although the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed last year included beneficial farm bill and tax provisions for farmers, some elements of the farm bill could not be addressed in the legislation, such as rural development and research dollars. Lawmakers also will consider raising lending caps for farmers in a new farm bill and a fix to Proposition 12.

Congress has extended the 2018 farm bill several times, with the current bill now expiring Sept. 30.

Boozman said he’d like to schedule and hold a series of hearings with experts and agricultural stakeholders to identify needed risk management tools and other policies to sustain agriculture.

Labor reform

The lawmakers agreed on the urgent need for ag labor reform, specifically making a reliable workforce available to farmers through the H-2A program.

A House task force created during the previous Congress charged with studying the ag labor issue has published 21 recommendations, and Thompson said he plans to soon release a discussion draft for review, with legislation possibly being introduced during the first quarter. That legislation likely would go through the Judiciary Committee rather than the Ag Committee.

AFBF President Zippy Duvall said that as he travels the country, the lack of ag labor is the No. 1 concern he hears from farmers.

“It’s the biggest limiting factor we have, and our young people can’t come back to the farm or start into farming just because they can’t find labor to help them do that,” Duvall said.

When farmers make their grassroots case to lawmakers for H-2A reform, including a year-round, reliable workforce, Klobuchar stressed the importance of making the economic case.

“I just think that is the case to make about how we want to feed the world,” she said. “We want to have strong businesses. And to do that, you need a smart immigration system that allows for workers and that we cannot equate ... border policy, which must be secured, with the economic needs of our farmers and ranchers. So, go out there and make that case.”

Farmer payments

With years of high input costs, low commodity prices and a global trade war, the recent $12 billion in bridge payments approved for farmers through the Credit Commodity Corp. is not enough to make up for farmers’ losses, especially for specialty growers, Craig said.

Whether additional financial support comes from administrative or legislative action remains unclear, Thompson told reporters.

“I just believe we need more,” he said. “Now I am really looking and trying to solicit feedback from the commodity groups in terms of what that first $11 billion, how far that goes, build on top of the $10 billion that we rolled out a year ago, and to see if they’re satisfied with that. But I can tell you for sure, we need more for specialty crops.”

This story was distributed through a cooperative project between the Illinois Farm Bureau and the Illinois Press Association. For more food and farming news, visit FarmWeekNow.com.