Senate Ag Committee advances farm bill 

The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced the Agriculture Act of 2026, known as the farm bill, yesterday by a party line vote of 12-11. 

It now heads to the full Senate, where it will have to be reconciled with the version passed by the House of Representatives earlier this year. 

Ag committee negotiations dealt with issues such as farm programs, crop insurance, conservation, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). 

Ag committee chairman John Boozman (R-AR) said in a statement, “Farm country is hurting and needs results now. Advancing this bill out of committee is a critical step toward getting a fully updated Farm Bill signed into law. While this is clearly welcome progress, we need more of our colleagues’ votes to reflect the urgency of supporting farmers, ranchers, forest landowners and rural communities. I will always stand with the families who feed America and the world. They continue to have my commitment on getting bipartisan Farm Bill 2.0 across the finish line.” 

“Passing a bipartisan, five-year Farm Bill this year is crucial for America’s apple growers, and today’s action by Chairman Boozman and the Senate Agriculture Committee is encouraging progress toward that goal,” said Jim Bair, President & CEO, U.S. Apple Association BB #:145473. 

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall also supported the committee advancing the farm bill. 

“It’s been almost a decade since Congress last passed a farm bill,” he said. “In the past 10 years, more than 200,000 family farms have gone out of business, as farmers grappled with a pandemic, global unrest, rising expenses and falling prices paid for the food they grow. A new, modernized farm bill will help give farmers the tools they need to survive continued and unforeseen challenges ahead.” 

The Senate is expected to recess at the end of next week until after the midterm elections in early November, so there is skepticism that it will pass the farm bill in a short amount of time. 

The current farm bill extension is set to expire September 30.