Farmer financial aid, a voluntary ethanol boost and an overdue farm bill are again in focus as Congress races against a legislative clock with a raft of competing concerns.
The House will be in a four-day sprint starting Monday to wrap up a mountain of work by the end of the day on Thursday, ahead of a five-week recess to give lawmakers time to focus on their reelection campaigns ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. The Senate has three work weeks left before adjourning for an extended break, and an equally daunting to-do list.
Two major pending ag items are passing legislation to allow year-round, voluntary U.S. sales of higher ethanol blends, known as E15, and to provide additional economic assistance for financially strapped farmers. President Donald Trump last month formally asked Congress to pass a nearly $88 billion supplemental funding package, most of which would be used for the military. The request also includes E15 and $11.1 billion in aid for ag producers.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins is among administration officials set to testify on Trump’s request in a full Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday.
How the supplemental fits in with a separate House Republican plan to pass military funds and farmer aid isn’t clear. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said he aims to pass a $95 billion measure in the House this week that would pave the way for legislation that includes Pentagon funding, farmer assistance and the SAVE America Act, which would revamp federal election-security laws and is Trump’s top priority.
Johnson, who forged the plan last week with Vice President JD Vance, said Congress would use the reconciliation process for the legislation, which refers to a parliamentary tactic that would bypass the need for Democratic support in the Senate. Johnson has called it Republicans’ “best shot” at passage.
The House Budget Committee approved the budget plan last week. It doesn’t currently include E15, though does call for as much as $12 billion in assistance for farmers struggling with surging input costs and relatively low crop prices.
Growers of soybeans were especially hurt last year when China temporarily stopped buying U.S. soy amid Trump’s tariff war with the Asian nation.
U.S. “soybean exports are below the recent five-year average due to trade frictions with China,” according to a study released Friday by the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, Iowa State University, and Iowa Bankers Association.
The report focused on the ag economy of Iowa, the U.S.’s biggest producer of corn, pigs, eggs, ethanol and biodiesel, and second-largest grower of soybeans. Net farm income in the state fell 53% from 2022 to 2024 amid record-high input costs, slumping grain markets and trade demand uncertainty, the study found.
Iowa row crop farmers are now facing a third straight year of costs generally exceeding prices. Corn production costs have jumped 37%, and 36% for soybeans, since 2021, with the biggest increases including machinery, seed, chemicals and fertilizer, according to the report.
“Crop input costs are expected to remain higher than comfortable due to increases in planted area, broader economic concerns, and ongoing conflicts abroad,” the study said.
Pressure ramps up
It’s against the challenging economic backdrop that both Republican and Democratic lawmakers are pushing to get more aid for farmers, following assistance by the Trump administration, to help sustain them until October, when updated safety-net programs passed by Congress last year take effect.
But time is running out with midterm elections around the corner and a new Congress set to begin in January. It’s also not clear if the House will be able to pass the budget measure this week, in part because it’s not offset with spending cuts to pay for the new proposed funding, potentially leading fiscal hawks in Congress to reject it.
Meanwhile, along with uncertainty of the path for E15 in the Senate, there are also questions on whether the Senate Ag Committee will be able to advance its version of a farm bill before the chamber breaks for August.
Republicans and Democrats are in talks for a potential deal around changes in the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program. Democrats say unless there is a delay in an upcoming shift of SNAP expenses from the federal government to certain states, some vulnerable Americans could see their food benefits cut. Republicans have said the program is riddled with errors and needs to be fixed.
A compromise is widely seen as a key to getting enough bipartisan support in the Senate to pass the farm bill that would modernize key programs not updated since 2018.
Trump tariffs, U.S.-Mexico negotiations
Tariffs of 10% that were slapped on nearly all U.S. imports by Trump in February are set to expire on Friday unless Congress intervenes. The administration put on the levies under so-called Section 122 after the Supreme Court struck down prior tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The administration also has been launching trade investigations under other authorities on the grounds of concerns over national security and unfair trade practices.
Another big trade matter to watch this week is the third round of talks between the U.S. and Mexico related to the joint review of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
Trump administration officials will meet with Mexican negotiators in Mexico City for three days of talks on trade matters including steel and aluminum, labor and agriculture, according to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.
U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer will be in Mexico from Wednesday to Friday. He’ll meet with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum at the National Palace to discuss the USMCA negotiations, USTR said.
Here is a list of agriculture or rural-related events scheduled for this week in Washington and elsewhere (all times EST):
Monday, July 20
The Agricultural Media Summit, the largest gathering of the industry's top writers, editors, photographers, publishers and strategic communicators, takes place in St. Louis, through Tuesday.
The Wheat Quality Council kicks off its annual spring wheat crop tour in North Dakota, with about 10 cars of scouts from across the ag industry measuring fields throughout the state, through Thursday.
2 p.m. – USDA bioenergy report.
4 p.m. – USDA crop progress report.
Tuesday, July 21
The National Council of Farmer Cooperatives hosts its annual Washington Conference, through Thursday.
Arizona holds primary elections.
9:30 a.m. – The International Trade Commission holds a preliminary conference regarding glyphosate from China, USITC Building, 500 E Street SW.
10 a.m. – A House Agriculture panel holds a hearing to examine customer protections and market integrity in sports event prediction markets, 1300 Longworth.
2:30 p.m. – Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins testifies at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on President Trump’s supplemental funding request, 106 Dirksen.
Wednesday, July 22
10 a.m. – U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on President Trump’s trade policy agenda, 215 Dirksen.
10 a.m. – U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz testifies before a House Ag panel, 1300 Longworth.
3 p.m. – The Hudson Institute holds a talk with Rep. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif., on Central Asia and updating U.S. trade policy.
Thursday, July 23
8:30 a.m. – USDA weekly export sales report.
The International Fresh Produce Association holds a Foodservice Conference in Monterey, California, through Friday.
Olivia Bridges contributed to this report.
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