Federal Food Assistance Disagreement Could Again Delay Farm Bill

U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman (R-Ark) must count numbers as he eyes a long-awaited agreement on a new Farm Bill. His magic number is 60, the number of votes that it will take to pass the legislation through the 100-member Senate.

It is a reminder that even though Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of Congress and that President Donald Trump is also Republican, they can’t pass a new Farm Bill solely on their own under traditional rules.

The fact that this year is an election year adds one more level of complexity, especially for the U.S. House of Representatives where Republicans hold a five-seat majority.

The U.S. House passed a new bipartisan Farm Bill on April 30 by a vote a 224-200. The action represented progress after years of failure. Congress last agreed on a Farm Bill in 2018 and relied on one-year extensions the past three years.  

RELATED: This legislation could also get held up in Congress while the U.S. Senate searches for agreement on the Farm Bill.

Senate action on Farm Bill

The Senate Agriculture Committee met this week privately, both Republicans and Democrats, to begin outlining its version of the Farm Bill language. The public could see that draft early next month.

For the past half century, Congress has placed food assistance programs with agriculture-related policy in the Farm Bill, initially to secure support from both major political parties in rural and urban areas. That combination brings challenges.

SNAP cuts under One Big Beautiful Bill Act

It appears that 2026 will be the latest indication of that. Included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – all 870 pages of it – are changes to federal food assistance, formerly called “food stamps.”

Republicans cut nearly 20% from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which equals about $187 billion over the next decade.

The Legal Defense Fund estimated that about four million Americans – one million of them children – will see food assistance cut in a typical month, with benefits reduced between $150 and $250. The changes also included expanded work requirements for able-bodied adults 18 to 64 (the age limit used to be 54) and the elimination of exemptions for veterans and homeless people.

About one in seven rural households receive SNAP, according to Food Research & Action Center, so any changes to benefits could impact farm communities.

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act would require states to pick up a greater share of SNAP costs based on their payment error rates. Disagreements over the impact of those cuts could lead to additional discussions among Senators.

They could also lead to delays in how members put together the final text of a new Farm Bill if they alter implementation of some of the SNAP changes.

RELATED: Farmers are also waiting for final rules for the federal Section 45Z tax credits. “The biggest opportunity for farmers is to quantify the carbon intensity of their crop and lower that carbon intensity, therefore potentially earning more financial upside,” Mitchell Hora, Founder of Continuum Ag and the annual Top Soil Summit told American Farmland Owner.

45Z will be a key topic in this year’s summit as farmers learn more about how to cash in on the benefits of lowering their carbon scores.