Senate Advances Latest Edition of Farm Bill 2.0 — How Ag Groups Are Reacting

In case you missed it: The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture has officially passed its version of Farm Bill 2.0, drawing us a big step closer to the realization of a long-awaited final Farm Bill legislation update. This comes a little more than four months after the House Ag Committee did the same.

U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) released the following statement after leading committee passage of the Agriculture Act of 2026: “Farm country is hurting and needs results now. Advancing this bill out of committee is a critical step toward getting a fully updated Farm Bill signed into law. While this is clearly welcome progress, we need more of our colleagues’ votes to reflect the urgency of supporting farmers, ranchers, forest landowners, and rural communities.”

The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) was on hand to testify on behalf of specialty crop growers during the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture’s hearing. IFPA Chief Global Policy Officer Alexis Taylor testified before the committee.

Taylor pressed lawmakers on multiple issues that matter to specialty crop growers: meaningful economic assistance, workforce reform, stronger federal nutrition programs, and expanded market access at home and abroad.

“Congress has a vital role to play in easing the pressures facing specialty crop growers, strengthening their competitiveness, and growing demand for American-grown fruits, vegetables, and florals. These are not separate objectives,” Taylor told the Committee. “When we invest in nutrition, reinforce consumer confidence, and expand markets at home and abroad, we help create stronger demand and a stronger future for U.S. specialty crop producers.”

Taylor testified that American specialty crop growers have faced a convergence of economic pressures in recent years including rising input, regulatory, and labor costs that have outpaced farm returns. These challenges are amplified for a sector that is uniquely labor-intensive and highly perishable.

In the near term, IFPA and the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance are calling on Congress to provide dedicated economic assistance of no less than $5 billion for specialty crop growers, structured around actual sales losses rather than acreage to more accurately reflect the economic harm growers face.

Following the U.S. Senate Committee’s passage, there has been both positive and negative sentiments from different agriculture associations. The same goes this time around, too.

Here is what a few agriculture associations are saying in response to the Senate’s version of Farm Bill 2.0.

National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) CEO Ted McKinney issued the following statement: “NASDA congratulates Chairman John Boozman and members of the Senate Agriculture Committee on advancing the Farm Bill,” McKinney says. “NASDA members remain united on the same goal: we must enact a bipartisan farm bill to strengthen American agriculture and support production of food, fiber and fuel for all.”

The Fertilizer Institute (TFI) welcomed the passage of Farm Bill legislation out of the Senate Agriculture Committee that includes key priorities supporting conservation and agricultural innovation.

“These provisions reflect a practical, science-based approach to strengthening American agriculture and ensuring farmers have access to both innovative tools and reliable information in an increasingly complex global marketplace,” says TFI President and CEO Corey Rosenbusch.

Conversely, the National Young Farmers Coalition states the bill still fails to address two issues fundamental to the future of American agriculture: access to land for the next generation of farmers and a strong nutrition safety net that supports families, farmers, and local economies.

“Young farmers have shown up throughout this entire process,” says Michelle A.T. Hughes, Executive Director of the National Young Farmers Coalition “They have written to their Senators, joined meetings, shared their stories, and asked Congress for a Farm Bill that gives the next generation a real opportunity to build a viable future in agriculture. We are disappointed that the Committee has once again advanced a bill without addressing the land access crisis facing young and beginning farmers or restoring the nutrition funding our communities and farm economies depend on. We recognize the bipartisan progress made on several of our priorities, but those victories cannot substitute for the foundational investments farmers need. The Senate still has an opportunity to improve this bill, and we urge Senators to do so before it moves any further.”