Boozman Unveils Senate Ag Republicans Framework Answering Call to Put More Farm in the Farm Bill

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June 12, 2024

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(U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry) U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR), ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, released the following statement after unveiling the Senate Republican-drafted framework answering the call for a farmer-focused farm bill.

“From the onset of this process, we have sought to draft a farm bill that reflects the needs of stakeholders. The world has changed dramatically since the 2018 bill became law, and the unprecedented challenges and economic uncertainty that farmers face now are only projected to get worse in the coming years.

This is why producers have been calling on senators to put more farm in the farm bill.

Our framework released today meets that call by modernizing the farm safety net, facilitating the expansion of access to overseas markets, fostering breakthroughs in agricultural research and growing the rural communities our farmers, ranchers and foresters call home – all while making a historic investment in conservation and protecting nutrition programs that help Americans in need.

Following on the House Committee on Agriculture’s bipartisan passage of farmer-focused farm bill, we are putting forth a framework that exhibits a shared common ground with our Democrat counterparts on several key priorities and offers a path forward in the places where we differ.

Our framework builds on the momentum from committee passage in the House and Chairwoman Stabenow’s release of Senate Democrats’ priorities. I am eager to follow the House’s lead and draft a bill that will garner support on both sides of the aisle.

I have been proud to partner with Chairwoman Stabenow on priority issues and shepherd significant reforms into law, particularly the accomplishments focused on climate and nutrition. These accomplishments would not have been possible without a commitment to working together as good faith partners. Senate Republicans have every intention of continuing farm bill negotiations in the same manner and remain committed to advancing a bipartisan farm bill that meets the needs of farmers, ranchers, foresters, rural communities and consumers nationwide."

An overview of the framework and title by title highlights are available through the links below.

Key Priorities

Short Summary

Title I – Commodities

Title II – Conservation

Title III – Trade

Title IV – Nutrition

Title V – Credit

Title VI – Rural Development

Title VII – Research

Title VIII – Forestry

Title IX – Energy

Title X – Horticulture

Title XI – Crop Insurance

Title XII – Miscellaneous

READ MORE

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Boozman releases Senate farm bill framework: Republican proposal similar to bill approved by House Ag Committee in May. (Farm Progress)
Boozman Releases Farm Bill Outline That Includes SAF, Biorefining Provisions (Ethanol Producer Magazine)
Boozman reveals farm bill framework as deadline for action nears (Arkansas Democrat Gazette)
U.S. Senate Republicans outline their farm bill framework (Ohio Capital Journal)
Competing US farm bill drafts boost SAF (Argus Media)
New Poll: Farmers Want Congress to Protect Climate-Smart Agriculture in Farm Bill (AgWeb)
Senate Ag Republican: We’d be better off punting farm bill to next year (Agri-Pulse)
Farm Bill, Extension Discussed at RNC -- GOP Congressional Aggies Talk About Farm Bill, Trade at RNC (DTN Progressive Farmer)
National, state groups make last-ditch appeal for farm bill action (Agri-Pulse)
MN FARMER: A PERFECT STORM COMING FOR AG (Brownfield Ag News; includes link to hearing)
Grassley Says Lame Duck Farm Bill Unlikely (AgWired.com)

Excerpt from Ethanol Producer Magazine: The Energy Tile of the 2024 Farm Bill summary released by Boozman includes language directing the USDA to establish a strategy for advancing the production of SAF and clarifies that SAF is an eligible technology under the USDA’s Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Program (Section 9003 loan guarantee program).

The legislation also includes provisions that aim to increase transparency and provide certainty to 9003 program applicants by establishing a technical review agreement that specifies clear outcomes and timelines that applicants need to achieve in order to secure funding. In addition, it also restores a grant component to the program to develop, construct or retrofit pilot or demonstration-scale biorefineries.

The bill aims to improve the Rural Energy for America program by increasing the eligible project size to $50 million; increasing the federal cost share to 50%, creating a new covered rebate pilot program to meet immediate producer needs incurred outside the application period; making grants available to organizations that provide technical assistance to producers and rural small businesses applying for REAP awards; and requiring a simplified application process for projects less than $50,000.

Additional provisions set to be included in the bill aim to strengthen the BioPreferred program by increasing the number and volume of biobased federal procurement contracts; directing the agency to consider increasing the minimum biobased content for each designated product category by up to 5% every five years; strengthening reporting of biobased products that are purchased through online federal procurement systems; and directing the U.S. Commerce Department to develop North American Industry Classification System (NBAICS) product codes for biobased products.

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The outline released by Boozman on June 11 is the third such 2024 Farm Bill outline released over the past several weeks. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, released an outline of the Senate Democrats’ version of the legislation on May 1. The House Agriculture Committee also released a summary of the House version of the 2024 Farm Bill on May 1, followed by a discussion draft that was released May 17. The House Ag Committee on May 24 completed markup of its version of the bill and passed the proposed legislation by a 33-21 vote. Once the full House and Senate are able to pass their respective versions of the 2024 Farm Bill, the legislation will likely be combined into one compromise package via a conference committee. Both the Senate and House must then pass the combined legislative package before it can be signed into law. READ MORE

Excerpt from Farm Progress: Boozman’s framework would shift funds from the Inflation Reduction Act into the farm bill’s conservation title. Republicans have long contended this will allow them to not only increase farm bill conservation spending, but also make it a permanent part of the farm bill. Democrats have been against this because it means a sizable percentage of IRA funding won’t necessarily be used to offset greenhouse gas emissions as originally intended.

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The Senate farm bill framework also takes away the Secretary of Agriculture’s authority to use Commodity Credit Corporation funds for emergency purposes. Instead, Congress would have to authorize all disaster relief spending. READ MORE

Excerpt from Argus Media: Republicans and Democrats say they still have work to do to negotiate a final agreement around this year's US farm bill, although proposals from both parties include provisions to boost production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Senator John Boozman (R-Arkansas) released the latest proposal on Tuesday, which represents the view of the minority Republicans on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. The bill clarifies that SAF is an eligible technology under a federal program that offers loan guarantees for the construction and retrofitting of biorefineries.

Similar language appeared in the Republican-backed farm bill draft that passed the House Committee on Agriculture last month and in Senate committee chair Debbie Stabenow's (D-Michigan) Democratic-backed farm bill framework. The Biorefinery, Renewable Chemical, and Biobased Product Manufacturing Assistance Program currently offers support to producers of "advanced biofuels," a category that does not explicitly include alternative jet fuels and specifically limits fuels derived from corn starch.

A revised definition of "advanced biofuels" could also allow SAF to benefit from other US Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs, including one that pays companies to expand production of renewable fuels.

Corn growers and ethanol producers, which could benefit from Inflation Reduction Act tax credits for low-carbon fuels, are among the groups calling for the farm bill to include such SAF provisions. The White House has set a 2030 goal for US SAF production to reach at least 3bn USG/yr (200,000 b/d), although the types of fuels that can qualify for federal support are still up in the air. Some environmentalists have backed restrictions around crop-based feedstocks while biofuel and airline groups support more flexibility.

The similar SAF language in the three proposals is notable given rifts between Democrats and Republicans over other elements of the farm bill, a major five-year agriculture policy package set to expire after September this year. While a handful of Democrats crossed party lines to advance the House proposal out of committee, others have criticized it for cutting food assistance and removing "climate-smart" requirements included in the Inflation Reduction Act for USDA conservation programs.

Stabenow said that key differences remain between her proposal and Republican bills but that she was looking forward to working with lawmakers to "finish our work by the end of the year."

Full legislative text is not yet available for the Stabenow and Boozman proposals, and it is unclear when the Senate committee will mark up a final bill. READ MORE

Excerpt from AgWeb: A new Farm Journal poll conducted on behalf of Invest in Our Land across 10 leading agricultural states shows that American farmers and ranchers overwhelmingly believe conservation funding has an important role to play in building their operations’ resilience to increasingly extreme weather and addressing the effects of climate change.

The poll — which surveyed 1,019 farmers, ranchers and producers across Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Georgia, Minnesota, Iowa, Colorado, South Dakota, Michigan, Montana, and Wisconsin — also revealed that, by a double-digit margin, farmers and ranchers want Congress to protect $20 billion in conservation funding originally authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and ensure those funds remain dedicated to climate-smart practices in the upcoming Farm Bill.

Commissioned by Invest in Our Land and conducted by Farm Journal’s Trust In Food initiative, the survey shows that:

A supermajority of farmers believe conservation funding has an important role to play in building farms’ resilience to extreme weather and addressing the impacts of climate change. 85% of respondents said that conservation funding plays an important role in helping farmers and ranchers adapt in the face of increasingly extreme weather. Similarly, two-thirds (67%) said that conservation funding plays an important role in protecting our planet from the effects of our changing climate.
Two-thirds of farmers say conservation programs increase farms’ resilience to extreme weather. 66% of respondents said they agree that conservation programs “help farmers implement practices and make on-farm upgrades that can increase operational resilience in the event of extreme weather events (such as droughts, floods, etc.)”
6 in 10 farmers support the IRA’s investment in conservation funding. Sixty percent of respondents indicated that they support the IRA’s $20 billion investment in agricultural conservation programs. By contrast, only 18% oppose this investment.
Farmers oppose removing climate-smart requirements from IRA conservation funding by a double-digit margin. 41% of respondents said they would oppose congressional efforts to remove the requirement that the $20 billion in IRA conservation funding be directed only toward conservation practices that have proven to be more effective in reducing carbon emissions (the so-called “climate guardrails”), while only 28% said they would support such an action — representing a 13-point margin in favor of keeping the dollars dedicated to climate-smart conservation. (24% of respondents had no opinion.)

Toplines are available here.

In 2022, Congress made a historic investment through the IRA to help America’s farmers and ranchers adopt tried-and-tested conservation practices that boost their businesses and strengthen their farms for the long haul. In 2023 alone, demand by farmers for conservation programs exceeded the additional funding allocated to them. READ MORE

Excerpt from Agri-Pulse: Senate Agriculture Committee Republican Roger Marshall said Wednesday farmers would be better off if work on a new farm bill is punted into next year, when Republicans could be in control of the White House and both houses of Congres READ MORE

Excerpt from DTN Progressive Farmer: House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson of Pennsylvania and Arkansas Sen. John Boozman, ranking member on the Senate Agriculture Committee, both offered their views on the state of the farm bill and the impact of the upcoming election at a Politico/CNN event at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Thompson suggested the upcoming election "wouldn't change how he or other Hill Republicans approach the farm bill negotiation process in the coming months, highlighting the bipartisan proposals he included in the House committee's package," Politico said in a report based on the event it held with CNN.

"I didn't do that to get their (Democrats') vote. I did it because there were good ideas that contributed to a strong farm bill," Thompson said. "That is not going to change for me when Republicans take the White House. I think that's the way we should do legislation, especially in the agriculture area, and so I'm looking forward to continuing with that type of approach."

Boozman said he will still push for bipartisan progress on the farm bill in the coming months.

"We're going to be working very hard to get that over the finish line," he said.

Boozman, however, said farmers would be "better off" if lawmakers passed another farm bill extension this fall to allow more time to improve key federal programs instead of settling for a bill that won't do enough to support agricultural producers, Politico reported.

But Boozman added, "You never know. We work so hard on these things, and then all of a sudden they come together. And, so, hopefully that's the case. I think [Thompson] working hard to get it across the floor of the House will be helpful."

Thompson and Boozman noted that former President Donald Trump's selection of Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his running mate could win him some favor with rural voters, Politico said. READ MORE

Excerpt from AgWired.com: (Iowa Senator Chuck) Grassley says there are some bills that have to get done before the end of the year but, “I don’t hear much about agriculture.” However, he does expect to see a one year extension of the current 2018 Farm Bill.

As far as next year’s deliberations on a farm bill, Grassley said there will definitely be pressure to cut spending until a Trump administration. If Republicans control both the House and Senate as well, he thinks it will be easier to get a farm bill but the Democrats will still fight against any food stamp reductions. READ MORE