Opinion in farm country appears to be somewhat divided over the latest $95 billion House budget measure, known as reconciliation 3.0, that would provide up to $12 billion in farm aid for row and specialty crops, along with sawmills.
The House on Wednesday approved the concurrent budget resolution for fiscal 2027, 216-214. The House Agriculture Committee still has to determine how to split up the funds among growers, and could mark up the measure shortly after Labor Day, according to Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa.
The American Farm Bureau Federation backed the aid. “High production costs and weak commodity prices are expected to drive billions in losses across row crops in 2027, with additional losses facing specialty crop, alfalfa and sugar producers,” Zippy Duvall, AFBF’s president, said in a statement. He said he hopes the Senate can pass the market relief package.
However, the package ties the assistance to funding for the war with Iran with the GOP’s controversial SAVE America Act, which could disrupt its path to passage in the Senate. President Donald Trump has been pushing for the voter ID law and expressed impatience Thursday with Senate Majority Leader John Thune's inability to garner support for it in the Senate.
“As I’ve said before, you got to get to 50, and I can’t count to 50 right now on a budget resolution,” Thune told reporters Thursday.
The Iowa Farmers Union released a statement opposed to attaching the ad hoc farm aid to funding for the war in Iran. IFU urged Congress to make structural reforms through a modernized farm bill that provides farmers with the support they need to stay on their farms.
“We need real solutions through a farm bill that recognizes we are currently on the wrong path. Adding another ad hoc payment onto funding that perpetuates a war, which means higher and higher costs for farmers, is the wrong approach. Instead, let's work on fixing the real problems while providing the support that farmers need to stay on the farm,” Aaron Lehman, IFU’s president, said in a statement.
The National Farmers Union also weighed in on the issue. In a July 22 letter to House leadership, NFU President Rob Larew said he appreciates the inclusion of the $12 billion in farm aid in the reconciliation package, but raised concerns about the state of the agriculture industry.
“This funding obscures two significant overarching issues: the underlying reconciliation bill makes the ongoing farm economic crisis worse, and this emergency aid is only necessary because farm programs, including those currently being considered in the farm bill reauthorization, do not provide an effective safety net for farmers,” Larew said.
He pointed to challenges in farm country such as low commodity prices, high production costs, trade disruptions, dangerous weather and escalating geopolitical tensions, including the war with Iran. He added that emergency support isn’t a substitute for comprehensive farm policy.
The House already passed its version of the farm bill, but the Senate has yet to mark up its farm bill.
“Congress should modernize Farm Service Agency loan programs, improve and expand risk management tools, provide funding for nutrition programs, and invest in initiatives that support locally produced agricultural products,” Larew said.
For more news, go to Agri-Pulse.com.
