The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee will take up its version of a five-year farm bill this week, filling in areas of farm policy Congress didn’t address in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The new measure introduced by Chair John Boozman (R-Ark.) would steer conservation programs more heavily to drought resilience, while ramping up thinning of trees in national forests to reduce wildfire risks. Much of the bill has a bipartisan look, but Democrats frustrated by changes in nutrition programs could ultimately hold up the proposal.
Boozman left out contentious issues around pesticides and human health, but he included a provision to allow year-round sales of E15 fuel, which hadn’t appeared in an earlier draft.
Overall, the bill follows the approach taken in the House by Agriculture Chair Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.), borrowing elements from Democratic-sponsored legislation in an effort to draw votes from the other side of the aisle. Thompson had just enough success with that tack to gain a handful of Democratic votes in committee and pass the bill on the floor.
