Mike Wolanin | The Republic Rob Larew, president of the National Farmers Union, addresses members of the Indiana Farmers Union during their annual meeting at The Forge of 4th in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, January 29, 2025.
While it may surprise some, there has not been a farm bill passed by Congress since the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018.
During a visit to Columbus for the Indiana Farmers Union’s annual meeting, National Farmers Union (NFU) President Rob Larew said a new farm bill must be made a priority. But as he began to discuss the issue, the union leader sighed in what seemed like exasperation.
“I’m so tired of talking about trying to get this farm bill across the finish line,” Larew said. “The timeline has been crazy.”
Besides causing disruptions and challenges across the economy, Larew said the 2020 pandemic had a negative impact on agricultural policy designed two years earlier to stand the test of time.
But as the NFU tried to seek some resilience for a new farm bill, the country found itself facing a series of ongoing disasters, Larue said. They were followed by politicians who wanted to avoid creating a farm bill during an election year, he said.
“We can guarantee there will not be a farm bill done in an election year,” Larew told a group at the Forge on 4th. “In an election year, all bets are off.”
There was a bipartisan agreement on a farm bill last year, but Larew said it fell apart in a matter of days. Instead, lawmakers found they had their hands full with a stop gap measure and disaster relief, the IFU president said.
“The Senate never took action in committee on a farm bill,” the NFU leader said. “That was definitely a huge, missed opportunity.”
And after President Joe Biden announced in July he would not seek reelection, Larew said his union couldn’t get support from a lame duck administration. By the end of 2024, Congress could only manage to extend the six-year-old farm bill until late September of this year, he said.
Beside resilience, Larew said a new farm bill is necessary to create a strong safety net such as improved crop insurance. Country of origin labeling is expected to be a significant issue this year, he added.
Other major concerns mentioned Wednesday was ensuring program assistance goes to farmers who need it the most, working climate programs into conservation legislation, and maintaining and examining rules of competition created during the Biden Administration.
Since there will not be a federal election this year, the NFU is strongly urging members of the House and Senate to create a farm bill that will be voted on in 2025.
“To be honest, there is a lot on the agenda right now for Congress,” Larue said. “But it has got to be a priority for the session.”
Getting a farm bill passed is largely going to be a question of money, the union leader said. There are going to be efforts to find savings in order to extend tax cuts, as well as other Congressional and White House priorities, according to Larue.
“It’s getting increasingly hard to get anything done,” Larue said. ” It’s all the more important for a coalition to help get a farm bill across. The number of votes for just farm provisions are so few. I think it’s an absolute recipe for disaster.”
Joining in the discussion was NFU Vice-President of Advocacy Mike Stranz and Mike Buis, director of the Indiana Farmer’s Union. One of the first things Stranz said was that the NFU strives at all times to be nonpartisan.
“There are too few of us involved in agriculture to not try to build bridges and work across the aisle wherever possible,” Stranz said. “As farmers, we just want things done.”
Stranz said he expect NFU’s efforts to be supported by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota. Thune has strong connection to agriculture, has plans to stay on the Senate Agriculture Committee, and has indicated a willingness to work on significant issues with the union, Stranz said.
Stranz also expressed optimism about President Trump’s selection of Brooke Rollins as Secretary of Agriculture. Rollins, the president and CEO of the conservative think tank “America First Policy Institute”, also has deep ties to rural America and an abundance of policy experience, Stranz said.
Larew says Rollins became a close associate of President Trump at the end of his first term.
“Politically, its going to be good to have someone who has been in Trump’s circle a long time and has his confidence,” the NFU president said.
However, Larew said family farms and ranches are facing some stiff challenges ahead.
“What we’ve seen over the last couple of decades that doesn’t surprise anybody is that we have an economy now that is also driven by a lot of monopoly,” Larew said. “We have to make sure we don’t monopolize power so much that it limits our innovation, our choices, and ultimately drives down the (amount) we receive amd increases the prices we have to pay. Competition and fairness in the marketplace is paramount.”
As he looks ahead to the upcoming year, Stranz has placed reconciliation at the top of his list. The term refers to certain committees being asked to change spending, revenues, deficits or the debt limit by specific amounts.
In addition, Stranz says he also foresees procedural maneuvers to pass budget-related items, as well as legislation that includes tax reform packages.
Larue said he finds encouragement from the strong support his union has from lawmakers like Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, and Senator John Boozman, R-Arkansas.
At every recent farm meeting he’s attended, Larue said it seems everybody is concerned about tariffs. While he said it might surprise some individuals, the NFU has endorsed a policy that supports the use of tariffs.
“But at the same time, we would strongly argue that (tariffs) need to be artfully and strategically done in such a way that we are getting real gains,” the union president said. “Certainly in Indiana and across the country, the farm economy is hurting. It’s a horrible time to put agriculture at risk.”
One farmer in the audience said tariffs will cost him an additional $8,500 for a semi load of fertilizer from Canada. Another warned that if Canada retaliates against U.S. tariffs, the price of a plant nutrient he imports could immediately rise from $450 to $800 a ton.
“Tariffs and embargoes are no good for agriculture,” the farmer said.
One of the last conversations dealt with the controversial issue of farm labor.
Larue says his union would like to eventually see a path to citizenship created for immigrant farm workers who have proven their productivity for an extended period of time.
“From a government perspective, folks who are bad actors for a lot of reason need to be dealt with,” Larue said. “But the fear it is invoking in a lot of communities and farms right now is something that is very concerning.”
