U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said ahead of Friday’s congressional recess that the federal Farm Bill would likely be extended for another year. The bill is typically, taken up by Congress every five years and encompasses not only national agriculture but supplemental nutrition programs, conservation practices and forestry policies. The 2018 Farm Bill was previously extended in November of 2023. (File photo)
By Seth Boyes,
Passing a new five-year Farm Bill will be one of many legislative priorities in Congress next year, according to Iowa’s U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley.
Grassley estimated 85 percent of the Farm Bill, which is typically taken up by Congress every five years, doesn’t necessarily relate to agricultural. The bill also encompasses other federal efforts like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — or SNAP — as well as forestry policies and conservation practices.
Congress did not pass a new version of the 2018 Farm Bill when it expired in 2023. Rather, federal lawmakers approved a one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill in November of 2023, which extended the bill into September of this year. Grassley said during a Dec. 16 interview that he expected Congress to extend the bill once more before lawmakers recessed on Friday.
“We’re going to pass a one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, so it ends up being a seven-year five-year Farm Bill — if that doesn’t sound too funny,” Grassley said. “And I think that the new Republican Congress and new Republican president will pass a five-year Farm Bill next year.”
The Republican senator went on to say he would have preferred the matter be resolved before the end of session, but he indicated the matter will now be taken up by the next Congress.
“I don’t think that that’s wise procedure, but I believe the politics of the House of Representatives dictates that,” Grassley said in a Dec. 4 interview. “I’d rather (not) have a new president get all this old business — not have it on his platter. It ought to be the responsibility of this Congress and this president to finish that. But this extension of the Farm Bill will be part of that decision that we call a continuing resolution.”
Grassley said, though Democrat U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan — who chairs the Senate Ag Committee — released the text of a proposed bill on Nov. 18, he felt there was little time to properly discuss a full five-year Farm Bill in light of other urgent year-end matters, such as disaster relief bills and a defense authorization bill. Grassley indicated the timing of Stabenow’s bill left the legislation a slim chance of being passed unless it was somehow added to a year-end omnibus bill. Iowa’s senior U.S. senator went on to say he resented the chair’s decision, adding he felt the 20-plus members of the Senate’s Ag Committee weren’t given a voice in preparing the bill — Grassley as well as Iowa’s U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst are both on that committee, as are Minnesota’s U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith.
“It’s a sad commentary that the chair woman had two years to put out a Farm Bill, and hasn’t done it,” Grassley said in mid-November. “Farmers are entitled to a five-year Farm Bill — the certainty that comes from it. So in the meantime, we’re going to have a one-year extension of the existing Farm Bill.”
Grassley said ahead of Friday’s recess that he and his fellow legislators would likely focus on approving a federal budget to avoid a potential government shutdown at the end of the week. He expected they would also focus on the passage of the defense authorization bill, and he said a number of nominations made by President Joe Biden toward the end of his term would be voted upon at some point.
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