The Farm Bill sputters like an old tractor
(Regarding the featured photo, you can read about Rob Levine’s lawsuit vs. the FAA over drone use in journalism here.)
The would-be new Farm Bill is waiting for a vote in the full House.
In the early morning hours of Thursday, March 5, 2026, the House Committee on Agriculture favorably reported the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (FFNSA, H.R. 7567) out of committee by a vote of 34-17. FFNSA arrives at an undeniable crossroads for American food and agriculture.
Across fields and communities nationwide, recent years have brought hardships not seen since perhaps the US farm crisis of the 1980s. Today, high production costs, unstable markets, and low crop prices driven by uncertain export markets and overproduction have converged to create an economic climate that threatens farmers’ livelihoods. Unfortunately, too many of these impacts stem directly and indirectly from actions taken by the current Administration…
While movement on the House floor and in the Senate appears possible, it remains far from guaranteed. For any farm bill to find a legitimate path to becoming law this year, at least two factors will need to be present. First, any farm bill will have to make robust, new investments. The scattered policy improvements included in FFNSA ring hollow without the resources to fuel them. Second, the threshold to pass a farm bill in the Senate requires 60 votes, and thus, the path to a farm bill remains through a true bipartisan process.
(National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition)
That article contains detailed information, both within and via hyperlinks, about what’s happened so far. The proposed bill is, on the whole, downright wretched.
No serious effort is being made to restore SNAP cuts. Millions have lost benefits already, and millions more will. This discusses its projected effects in Minnesota.
Year-round E15 isn’t in the bill at this time, though it is currently being allowed via EPA/Trump waivers. Some senators have expressed sunny optimism that it will be added there. Yes, it can get worse.
Of course they’re not going to ditch this atrocity and start over, though that would be for the best by any legitimate rational, ethical standards. This has practically everything that Big Ag wants, and that’s what federal farm legislation has really been about for a long time now. The current proposal just sets new lows for callous, uncaring greed.
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