Congressional Republicans have passed the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping tax and spending law that includes major changes to agriculture programs. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law on July 4. The legislation extends provisions from the 2017 tax law, imposes new work requirements for Medicaid recipients, and increases state cost sharing for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). It also delivers updates to agricultural support measures.
Senator John Boozman of Arkansas led efforts in the Senate to draft the agriculture and nutrition sections of the bill. Boozman chairs the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, which oversees SNAP and other rural development issues.
“We could have tweaked the 2018 farm bill very easily several years ago,” Boozman said. “Because of inflation, that’s what changed everything. The financial part of the farm bill became very expensive, and it was just always a challenge to come up with the dollars that we needed.”
The One Big, Beautiful Bill Act was approved without Democratic support; all six Republican members of Arkansas’ congressional delegation voted in favor.
According to projections by the Congressional Budget Office, federal spending on agricultural aid—including crop insurance and disaster assistance—will rise by $65.7 billion over ten years as a result of this legislation.
“The reason we were able to do it this time was Congress realized how difficult it is in the ag economy right now,” Boozman said. “With very, very high input costs and very low commodity prices, it costs more to produce a crop than you can sell it for.”
A key provision raises reference prices for covered commodities such as soybeans and rice between 10.1% and 20.7%, with additional annual increases beginning in 2031. Reference prices are used in risk management programs like price loss coverage when revenues or market prices fall below certain thresholds.
Will Maples from Mississippi State University noted that higher reference prices offer farmers “a more solid safety net.” He added: “Producers have been at a point where the cost of production has far outpaced prices for their commodities. Increased reference prices is one of the biggest things they’ve been asking for in this new bill.”
Farmers are under increased pressure due to stagnant reference prices combined with rising input costs and inflation; U.S. Department of Agriculture data shows net farm income dropped from $228.4 billion in 2022 to $163.1 billion in 2024.
“It’s sad, but the last two years have been some of the biggest drops in agriculture income in agriculture history,” Boozman said.
Arkansas Farm Bureau executive vice president Jarrod Yates described local farmers producing strong crops but struggling financially: “The job that farmers are doing on the farm cannot be much better, but the price they’re receiving for such a great product is so minimal that they’re not able to make a profit and cover their costs,” he said.
Despite program updates applying retroactively to this crop year, payments reflecting these changes may not reach producers until fall 2026 at earliest. Yates urged Congress to consider interim economic relief before year-end: “A lot of farmers are going to be making decisions again after harvest about buying seed and preparing for next crop year… all those financial decisions are going to be tough… without some assistance between now and end of year,” he said.
Boozman acknowledged uncertainty about whether additional ad hoc assistance would be necessary but indicated current conditions suggest continued hardship: he noted that 2025 “isn’t shaping up to be a very good year at all” for American crop production.
Other changes include expanded benefits within federal crop insurance programs—especially targeting beginning farmers—and pilot insurance initiatives for poultry growers following discussions between Boozman, Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), and industry leaders last September regarding sector risks.
“When they have drought and extreme heat, their utility costs increase,” Boozman said regarding poultry operations’ vulnerability.“We’re just really recognizing all sectors of agriculture need a safety net… we were able to step up and provide that.”
Some aspects traditionally addressed by comprehensive farm bills remain unresolved; lawmakers may pursue separate legislation covering rural development or USDA loan limits later this year.
Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), ranking member on Senate Agriculture Committee, expressed hope during an August appearance at Minnesota Farmfest: “I think there’s hope for [a bipartisan farm bill] because there’s still other work that we have to do,” she said.”I will acknowledge some of things I supported were in that budget bill.”
Trade policy remains another area drawing attention after recent postponement of tariffs between China and United States left questions open about potential future relief measures if no agreement is reached soon—a concern raised by Maples given prior instances when retaliatory tariffs prompted billions in direct aid during Trump’s first term as president.
Maples observed,“Might we see these types of payments again if we don’t get a deal worked out with China anytime soon? That’s next thing on my radar.”
U.S agricultural exports continue facing challenges; forecasts indicate an agricultural trade deficit projected at $49.5 billion by end fiscal year September 30—after deficits totaling $31.8 billion last fiscal year ($17.2 billion prior).
“We’ve got to find new markets,” Boozman concluded.”This is something we really haven’t created… so that we can sell our products overseas.These are things we have turn around.”
