Sen. Thad Cochran yesterday was named the new ranking member on the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, a move that could change panel dynamics as work begins anew on the farm bill this year.

The Mississippi Republican replaces Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), who has served as ranking member since 2010 and will remain on the committee. Roberts yesterday announced the switch and offered his "full support" to Cochran, who chaired the committee from 2003 to 2005.

"I wish Sen. Cochran the best in his new position and will work with him and his staff to ensure a smooth transition on the committee," Roberts said. "I look forward to working closely with Sen. Cochran in this new Congress to pass a five-year farm bill."

But Cochran's ascension to ranking member could throw a wrench into negotiations over the farm bill, which funds rural conservation and energy programs, commodity subsidies, and food stamps. Cochran voted against the bill written by Roberts and Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) last year in committee and again on the Senate floor.

Cochran was among several Southern senators who opposed the measure on grounds that its proposed changes to the commodity subsidy title put rice and peanuts -- two major Southern crops -- at a disadvantage. The Senate farm bill had proposed replacing traditional price supports and direct payments for farm commodities with a new revenue insurance program, a plan backed by Roberts.

With the 112th Congress failing to pass the five-year measure -- the bill was instead partially extended for nine months in the "fiscal cliff" legislation -- work on the farm bill will begin anew in the 113th Congress that was sworn in yesterday.

The composition of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee will largely remain the same in the new Congress. The only differences are two new Democrats, Sens. Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) and Joe Donnelly (Ind.), who replace the retiring Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), and the loss of a Republican seat previously held by former Sen. Dick Lugar of Indiana.

The House Agriculture Committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, predicted yesterday that Cochran's rise to the top of the minority party on the Senate committee will give Southern states more power.

"I think that's a good thing," Peterson said.

On the Senate farm bill's commodity title, Peterson added, "They screwed him. ... I would have voted against it, too, if I had been from Mississippi."

Peterson said Cochran as ranking member would likely result in a final farm bill that looks more like last year's House Agriculture Committee-passed version, which included traditional price supports.

Southern agriculture in general "won big" in the fiscal cliff deal's nine-month extension, Peterson added, because it maintains the current system of price supports and direct payments. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), an Agriculture Committee member who also voted against the five-year farm bill last year, negotiated the fiscal deal with the White House.

Stabenow, on the other hand, has aggressively promoted the revenue insurance program included in the Senate farm bill. She said during fiscal cliff negotiations, though, that she may be open to compromise. Her office did not provide a comment on Cochran's assumption of the ranking member position.

In a statement, Cochran said he looked forward to working with Stabenow.

"I will use the experiences I've gained in serving on the committee since 1979 to help quickly advance a new farm bill that will meet the needs of our country's farmers, small businesses and those who rely on the nutrition programs under the committee's jurisdiction," he said in a statement. "I look forward to working with Chairman Stabenow and members of the committee in this new Congress, and I thank Sen. Roberts for his dedicated service as the ranking member during the 112th Congress."

Roberts will assume the position of ranking member on the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, which was held by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) in the 112th Congress.