While Congress’s One Big Beautiful Bill budget package included $65.6 billion in investment in key farm programs, there’s still work to be done.

Brian Glenn, director of Government Affairs with the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), said a key focus was on improving risk management programs.

“About $60 billion of that investment was put towards modernizing farm safety net programs,” he said. “These modernizations include extending key commodity support programs through the 2031 crop year. The bill also raises statutory reference prices for major covered commodities. It expanded premium support for beginning farmers and ranchers.”

Despite those wins, Glenn said there are still several critical farm programs that need updating through a new farm bill.

“Some of those programs include reauthorization and funding for the Conservation Reserve Program. Also, support for rural broadband programs in the rural development title, and support for additional research and extension programs, and there’s also opportunity to make important policy updates, such as securing a fix to Proposition 12,” he said.

Congress is working on the next steps in the farm bill process now, Glenn noted.

“Chairman GT Thompson of the House Agriculture Committee is drafting a farm bill that addresses those remaining farm bill programs. They’re doing that as we speak,” he said. “Both the House and Senate Agriculture committees are currently conducting hearings on important policy priorities, and they’re looking to move the bill this fall.”

A provision also needs to be included to trigger permanent price-support laws if existing commodity programs are allowed to lapse after 2031.

Thompson said he wants to address nutrition assistance issues in the new farm bill, as well.

For more about the farm bill, visit fb.org/issue/farm-policy/farm-bill.