House Eyeing Late April Farm Bill Floor Vote

Politico’s Grace Yarrow reported that “House Republicans are looking to bring their farm bill for a floor vote the last week of April, according to four people close to the talks who were granted anonymity to discuss them.”

“The timing is still fluid and could be bumped to after the chamber’s one-week recess at the beginning of May as lawmakers continue high-stakes negotiations over immigration enforcement funding as well as a potential second reconciliation package,” Yarrow reported. “Republicans have been privately whipping votes since the House Agriculture Committee advanced the farm bill in a 34-17 vote last month, putting pressure on GOP colleagues to help deliver what committee Chair G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.) has called a ‘morale boost’ for rural America ahead of the midterms.”

“House GOP leadership senior staff have privately warned that the package could be ‘in big trouble’ on the floor due to intra-party divides over controversial provisions on pesticide labeling and state-level livestock laws,” Yarrow reported. “Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), the Agriculture Committee’s top Democrat, has slammed what she calls ‘poison pills’ in the Republican-led bill.”

Agri-Pulse’s Lydia Johnson reported that “Thompson said the Proposition 12 and pesticide provisions have been sticking points in the House, though he noted the issues are ‘more of an issue on the Senate side.’ He added that ‘Senator Boozman will do what he needs to do to get 60 votes in the Senate.'”

“Thompson said both Republican and some Democrat members of the committee are helping to garner support in the lower chamber, though he didn’t provide an estimate of how many Democrats would back the bill,” Johnson reported. “‘I’m very optimistic going into the markup of the farm bill on the House floor,’ Thompson said.”

Senate Farm Bill Could Begin Within Weeks

Capital Press’ Tim Hearden reported that “the chairman of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee said the body could get a new farm bill marked up in ‘weeks rather than months,’ but it must be bipartisan to pass.”

“Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., noted there’s urgency in putting a 2026 farm bill together since the House Agriculture Committee passed its own 802-page version with seven Democratic votes in early March,” Hearden reported. “‘An additional farm bill remains a top priority,’ Boozman told reporters at the Capitol on April 14. ‘But given the makeup of the current Congress, there is no pathway forward for a farm bill unless it is bipartisan.'”

Ag Committee Leadership Could Change Soon

Successful Farming’s Lisa Foust Prater reported that “if a new Farm Bill isn’t passed before the end of the year, the Ag Committees working on them could look very different in 2026.”

“The House Committee will have a new chair, as the two-year term of Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (R-Penn.) expires at the end of this year. Beef producer and wheat grower Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) is the longest-standing member of the House Agriculture Committee and was chairman when the 2014 Farm Bill was being negotiated,” Foust Prater reported. “When asked about leading again, he said, ‘When GT successfully finishes the ‘26 Farm Bill, it wouldn’t be a bad job.'”

“If Democrats regain control of the House in November’s mid-term elections, however, the committee will be chaired by a member of that party,” Foust Prater reported. “Current Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-Minn.) is running for Senate. Vice Ranking Member Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) said she’s interested in becoming chair or ranking member. ‘That is a decision that will be up to [my colleagues], but I haven’t been shy about my aspirations,’ she said.”

“Even with the possibility of flipping the House, Brown said she doesn’t want to wait on the Farm Bill,” Foust Prater reported. “‘I joined the Agriculture Committee because I want to get things done,’ she said. ‘I absolutely would love to be able to pass the Farm Bill.'”