House Passes Farm Bill Without E15, Pesticide Protections

Progressive Farmer’s Chris Clayton reported that “the House of Representatives on Thursday passed its newest version of the farm bill in a 224-200 vote without including provisions to allow for year-round E15 sales. The vote came after lawmakers also voted to strip provisions from the bill that would have benefited the pesticide industry.”

“After a contentious day on Wednesday driven primarily by Republican divisions on E15, lawmakers began debating amendments to the bill essentially overnight. The House then came back Thursday morning to vote on several amendments and pass the bill. Fourteen Democrats sided with 209 Republicans to pass the bill,” Clayton reported. “The farm bill now advances to the Senate, which will need to either take up the House version of the bill or draft its own version. The Senate will need a bipartisan 60-vote majority to pass.”

Politico’s Grace Yarrow reported that “the House’s successful vote marks the farthest a farm bill has made it in Congress since the most recent reauthorization was signed into law in 2018. The legislation still faces long odds against becoming law due to policy disagreements in the Senate. Thursday’s vote came after weeks of pressure from farm-state Republicans and agriculture lobbying groups that have stressed the need for largely bipartisan updates to help farmers facing high production costs, increasing bankruptcies and economic uncertainty.”

E15 Vote Now Expected in Mid-May

Agri-Pulse’s Kim Chipman, Oliver Ward, Lydia Johnson, and Noah Wicks reported that “a major sticking point throughout the process was the push by farm-state lawmakers to allow year-round U.S. sales of higher ethanol fuel blends, known as E15. A plan was scuttled on Wednesday to give E15 a separate vote alongside the farm bill after concerns arose that the biofuel measure might not have enough support amid oil refinery opposition and cost concerns.”

“The plan now is for a vote on E15 on May 13, after House lawmakers return from a recess next week, Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, told Agri-Pulse,” according to the outlet’s reporting.

Pesticide Provisions Removed

CNBC’s Garrett Downs reported that “the House of Representatives on Thursday stripped a set of controversial provisions aimed at protecting pesticide manufacturers from the farm bill, following a Make America Healthy Again uprising that could have sunk the broader package.”

“The amendment led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla, to strip the language was passed by a vote of 280-142, after a bipartisan groundswell of opposition from lawmakers and MAHA advocates who said the provisions amounted to a ‘liability shield’ to protect Bayer from allegations that its Roundup herbicide and its chemical glyphosate cause cancer,” Downs reported.

“Bayer, in a statement to CNBC, said the removal of the provisions is ‘a missed opportunity for Congress,'” Downs reported. “…House Agriculture Chair G.T. Thompson pushed back on the amendment, arguing to reporters Wednesday night that striking the provision would be ‘such a blow to the American farmer.’ Thompson repeatedly pushed back on accusations that the language represented a liability shield, arguing it would prevent only ‘frivolous lawsuits’ and that ‘bad actors’ could still be sued.”

What Else the Bill Does, and Doesn’t, Address

E&E News’ Marc Heller reported that “while the loudest arguments centered on only a few of the bill’s provisions, the measure covers a wide swath of Agriculture Department programs around research, conservation, forestry and rural development programs.”

“The measure builds on farm program changes made in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which covered most of the farm bill’s cost. However, most of the policies in the farm bill were left to be addressed in the legislation considered Thursday, Thompson said,” according to Heller’s reporting. “Among environmental and energy policies, the bill would expand an assistance program for fruit and nut trees damaged in storms — a growing concern related to climate change.”

“It would boost ‘precision agriculture’ practices in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and create a new conservation easement program in forestry to help prevent conversion of productive forest lands,” Heller reported.

“While major farm groups support the bill, others — such as the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition — urged lawmakers to vote against it,” Heller reported. “The NSAC and other organizations said the bill does nothing to address staff shortages at USDA, which encouraged several thousand employees last year to take deferred resignations, and doesn’t do enough to help beginning farmers or organic farmers who rely on the department to help with startup costs.”

Clayton reported that “Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., won a close vote, 215-213, that would strip some EPA emission requirements from farm machinery. In a speech on the House floor, Spartz noted Brazil doesn’t have such requirements and equipment manufacturers are basically running separate operating lines to provide machinery for South American farmers then putting emissions equipment on U.S. machinery, raising costs and complicating the operation of that equipment as well.”

“In the credit title, the bill would increase loan limits for guaranteed operating loans to $3 million and guaranteed ownership loans to $3.5 million,” Clayton reported. “Direct ownership loans would be increased to $850,000, while direct operating loans would be increased to $750,000. The bill also includes provisions meant to speed up approval times, especially for certified and preferred guaranteed lenders.”