Boozman sees farm bill markup happening in ‘weeks’
Ag committee lawmakers returned to Washington after the Easter recess with continued optimism that passage of a new, five-year farm bill is on the horizon.
“I say weeks rather than months,” Senate Ag Chairman John Boozman said Tuesday when asked about the timeline. “We are going to get this thing marked up soon.”
The farm bill passed out of the House Ag Committee in March with the support of all Republicans and seven Democrats. It now heads to the House floor for a vote, potentially as early as this month.
While many farm bill elements were included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed last summer, the House-passed farm bill carries a few controversial provisions like overturning California’s Proposition 12 animal welfare standard and passing legislation to protect pesticide manufacturers from lawsuits.
“We're going to get it on the floor. We're whipping the farm bill now within our conference,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., said Tuesday. He said he hopes that some Democrats “will put aside this politics in this Congress, and we'll get it through the floor and over to the Senate.”
During the North American Ag Journalists meeting Tuesday, Boozman called the House version "a good bill" and said he just wanted to "modify it a little bit.” He said he’d even be open to adding authorization for year-round E15 in an upcoming farm bill if the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee agrees to it.
Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar used her remarks to criticize the “middle of the night” deal on SNAP and call for changes to state SNAP cost-share provisions. “If we move forward on a farm bill, it should be a piece of any negotiation,” she added.
Boozman reiterated previous statements that he is not open to a state SNAP cost-share delay.
Take note: Senate Ag Committee Democrats are becoming frustrated with the lack of momentum of the committee. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said Tuesday the committee is “actually one of my least active committees, and at a time when we're literally approving $12 billion in a bailout for farmers because of the tariffs.”
“I wish we were doing more work on a farm bill draft, right? The House has worked on a farm bill draft, and like it or not like it, they've done the work and at least there's something to react to and to think about,” Slotkin said. “In the Senate Ag Committee, we've been frozen since the big beautiful bill.”
House passes measure to aid landowners impacted by wildfires
The House has overwhelmingly passed a bill to expedite Emergency Conservation Program payments to producers whose land has been damaged by wildfires, sending the bill to President Donald Trump for signature.
The bill, initially introduced by Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., and passed by the Senate last month, was prompted by the devastating wildfires in her state.
It would expand eligibility for payments under ECP “to include emergency measures to address damages caused by a wildfire that is not caused naturally … if the damage is caused by the spread of the wildfire due to natural causes,” according to a summary of the bill.
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The bill also would change the Emergency Forest Restoration Program by allowing owners of nonindustrial private forest land impacted by a natural disaster “to receive an advance on cost-sharing payments for up to 75% of the cost of the emergency measures,” the summary said. “Recipients must use the funds within 180 days after the funds are disbursed. Currently, advance payments are not available under the program.”
Commerce could cut Canadian lumber tariffs
The Commerce Department is looking at reducing countervailing and antidumping duties on Canadian lumber.
As part of a review of the tariffs, the department has proposed adjusting the rates from a combined rate of around 35% today to around 25%. The duties apply in addition to a 10% national security tariff the Trump administration implemented last year.
In two Federal Register notices published Tuesday, Commerce issued the preliminary results of the review, which set a 10.66% antidumping duty, adjusted to between 4.77% and 16.85% for some companies. The proposed countervailing subsidy rate was 14.17%, with West Fraser Mills facing a 15.93% rate and Resolute an 11.7% rate.
Take note: Commerce will issue its final results within 120 days.
José Andrés calls for creation of food security adviser post
José Andrés suggested that the U.S. and other economies should take a greater interest in protecting global food security by appointing a “national food security adviser” to counsel global leaders.
“We take food for granted,” he said at an event hosted by Semafor on the sidelines of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund spring meetings.
Under such an adviser’s remit, Andrés said, would be preventing overreliance on single chokepoints for fertilizer.
“This war, this situation, is showing us how weak we are,” he said. The conflict, he said, poses a real risk to farm yields and global food security.
Take note: Andrés is not alone in his fears. David Laborde, director of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization agrifood economics division, on Monday called for policies to encourage, not hamper, the movement of fertilizer and food.
“We are in an input crisis; we don’t want to make it a catastrophe,” said Laborde. “The difference depends on the actions we take.”
House panel to review farm litigation
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., plans to hold a full committee roundtable April 21 on what he describes as the growing use of “lawfare” against U.S. agriculture. The session, titled “Farming on Trial,” will examine how lawsuits, court rulings and settlements are influencing farm policy and imposing new compliance burdens on producers.
“What should be fair and consistent enforcement has, in too many cases, turned into federal overreach that places unnecessary burdens on those who feed our nation,” says Comer, who formerly served as Kentucky’s agriculture commissioner.
The committee will hear from farmers, ranchers and legal experts who argue that litigation is shaping regulations in ways Congress did not intend. Scheduled witnesses include South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, R‑CALF USA Private Property Rights Committee Chair Shad Sullivan and American Stewards of Liberty Executive Director Margaret Byfield.
Final word
“I have been in regular communication with my colleagues. That is a decision that will be up to them, and I haven't been shy about my aspirations. But I will say my priority is supporting ranking member [Angie] Craig, the committee and Congress as a whole … but do keep me in mind.” – Democratic Rep. Shontel Brown, vice ranking member of the House Ag Committee, on if she’s interested in the job of ranking member or chair of the committee next year.
Kim Chipman, Sarah Gonzalez, Lydia Johnson, Oliver Ward and Noah Wicks contributed to today’s Daybreak.
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