Rachael Lange is a second year student at Harvard Law School and a guest contributor to this blog.
In the midst of a tumultuous legislative session, the critical question for agriculture policy stakeholders and observers is: when will we get a new farm bill and what will it look like? Fallout from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), entrenched partisanship, and the ongoing government shutdown could all hold up the passage of a new farm bill in 2025. Legislators from both parties have noted these concerns, with Republican Senator Mike Flood of Nebraska stating that he is “not very hopeful for the future of a farm bill” in the event of a lengthy government shutdown and Democratic Representative Angie Craig of Minnesota lambasting Republicans for “shatter[ing] the farm bill coalition” through passage of the OBBBA.
Following the Republican-led push to pass the OBBBA, Democrats have signalled a deep frustration with the idea of negotiating future spending bills. They cite the unilateral push to gut nutrition programs as a significant barrier to bipartisan cooperation. The OBBBA addressed a wide range of policies that would traditionally have been contained in a farm bill. Among the most high-profile of these changes were significant changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that could reduce or eliminate benefits for 22.3 million U.S. families. Funding for nutrition programs made up about 76% of the 2018 Farm Bill – a figure that would have been projected to increase prior to passage of the OBBBA. The Act also increases funding for crop subsidies and makes conservation funding from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act a permanent part of farm bill funding. In response to the range of traditional farm bill issues covered by the OBBBA, an alternative “Skinny Farm Bill” with fewer provisions has been floated.
A final consideration is the ongoing government shutdown. The current farm bill expired on September 30, 2025. If Congress fails to either extend the existing farm bill or pass a new one before January 1st, agricultural policy will revert back to “permanent law,” a set of archaic laws passed in the 1930s and 40s. Small “orphan” programs, so called because they lack permanent baseline funding, will wind down unless additional funding is approved. Programs with permanent funding may face service delays and other administrative challenges. Finally, a prolonged government shutdown will sideline negotiations on the farm bill as long as more urgent funding considerations are negotiated.
The views and opinions expressed on the FBLE Blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FBLE. While we review posts for accuracy, we cannot guarantee the reliability and completeness of any legal analysis presented; posts on this Blog do not constitute legal advice. If you discover an error, please reach out to contact@farmbilllaw.org.