WASHINGTON — Though it’s been barely a week since the 119th Congress convened, with Republicans in control of both the House and the Senate for the first time since 2019, food industry groups already are rallying around a shared concern: a new Farm Bill.

The existing bill, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, covers a range of programs, from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides food access for low-income families; to crop insurance for farmers, commodity price loss protection and conservation work.

It became law in December 2018 and was set to expire in 2023 — the Farm Bill historically is renegotiated every five years — but has gone through multiple extensions. Most recently, the bill was extended through Sept. 30 of this year as part of measures to avert a government shutdown in late December 2024.

“For many farmers, the disaster relief provided will be the difference between planting for another year or going out of business,” Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), said of the extension. “(It) offers a short reprieve and gives lawmakers some breathing room to pass a modernized farm bill that will provide risk management support.”

Two Republican lawmakers involved in the extension are now primary players in the next Farm Bill’s fate. Rep. Glenn (GT) Thompson of Pennsylvania will continue as chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, while Sen. John Boozman of Arkansas has taken the reins of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, after serving as ranking member in the previous Congress.

Meanwhile, Democrats are welcoming two new ranking members to lead their agriculture committee efforts, both from Minnesota. Rep. Angie Craig replaced Rep. David Scott of Georgia as ranking member of the House committee, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is now ranking member on the Senate committee.

“I hope to move quickly to enact a five-year Farm Bill that aligns the farm safety net with the needs of producers, among many other policies, to minimize the need for annual economic aid,” Thompson said. “I appreciate the partnership of incoming-chairman Boozman, as well as members and stakeholders, all who quickly and effectively highlighted the needs in farm country.”

The original Farm Bill took shape in the 1930s as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation. Its intention was to keep food prices fair for farmers and consumers, to stabilize the US food supply and to protect natural resources. It has since grown to include rural development, forestry, energy and biofuels, and nutrition assistance — the last of which makes up a vast majority of the program’s costs.

A key sticking point in the ongoing negotiations is the inclusion of SNAP benefits, which some fiscal conservatives view as an entitlement program. Of the current Farm Bill’s original $428 billion value, more than $325 billion, or 76%, is devoted to nutrition assistance through SNAP, according to data from the US Department of Agriculture and the Congressional Budget Office. That compares to 9% that’s tabbed for crop insurance, 7% for commodity price loss coverage and 7% for conservation efforts.

Craig, who describes herself as “the granddaughter of an Arkansas farm foreman” and “someone who grew up relying on nutrition assistance,” said she is committed to preserving SNAP benefits as a new farm bill takes shape.

“We can strengthen the farm safety net … and we can ensure that nutrition assistance programs are available for the Americans who need them,” Craig said.

With Democrats previously in control of the Senate, another hangup in negotiations had been liberal efforts under the Green New Deal to expand environmental protections as part of any new legislation. The latest extension largely was light on those elements, and it is likely Republican leaders will work to cap their expansion now that they control both chambers.

“We are deeply discouraged by the political decision to limit countless farmers’ ability to build both their productivity and resilience against future disasters,” said Mike Lavender, policy director of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. “Beginning in early 2025, agriculture committee and congressional leaders must prioritize a bipartisan farm bill reauthorization that recoups the remaining fraction of the conservation investment left on the table by this deal.”

Food industry groups with Farm Bill interests already have begun lobbying the new Congress and committee leaders, expressing a range of priorities. But all are focused on getting a five-year Farm Bill done sooner than later, after years of lawmakers kicking the can down the road.

One industry that has scored early points with new committee leadership is dairy. The bipartisan duo of Thompson and Craig already have co-sponsored a bill, the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025, that would restore whole and 2% milk in federal school meal programs for the first time in a decade.

A similar measure failed to advance through the Senate in 2023. Minnesota, which Craig and her Senate counterpart Klobuchar represent, is seventh in the nation in milk production.

“The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act enjoys widespread bipartisan support in Congress, and among parents, nutritionists and school meals professionals alike,” said Michael Dykes, president and chief executive officer of the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA). “We’re so pleased to see congressional leaders working together in a bipartisan fashion to pass commonsense legislation that will improve access to nutritious milk options for our kids. IDFA urges the House and Senate to pass this legislation this year.”