ANAHEIM, Calif. (DTN) -- Farmers heading into 2026 are facing what congressional agriculture leaders repeatedly described as a "perfect storm" -- high input costs, weak commodity prices, labor shortages and lingering trade disruptions. But top lawmakers from both parties say there is renewed urgency to complete some unfinished farm-bill work and potentially tackle agricultural labor reform.

Speaking before Farm Bureau members, leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees said their priorities next year center on strengthening risk management tools, expanding credit and loan programs, fixing the H-2A guestworker system, and restoring stability in export and domestic markets

The "four corners" -- the two chairs and ranking members -- joined American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall in a late afternoon session on Sunday at AFBF's annual convention.

Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said the majority of the farm bill was passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) which included a ten-year boost of the commodity title with $68 billion.

"We have got the majority of the farm bill passed. Now we need to come back and finish that up," Boozman said.

The OBBBA didn't address USDA credit programs, Rural Development or conservation programs. A lot of policies remain open even if the OBBBA dealt with some major funding issues.

Boozman and other lawmakers noted the need to raise Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan limits -- a change that could help producers now struggling to secure credit. "We've got to figure out a path forward," he said.

Talking about some market issues, Boozman later added, "We've got to get ourselves in a situation where agriculture is sustainable."

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, challenged the president's tariff policies to move trade, saying a lot will hinge on how the Supreme Court rules. She said she would like to see the administration back down on tariffs that affect input prices for farmers.

"I do believe reversing the tariffs is about the best thing we can do," she said.

Klobuchar added she recognized farmers faced a tough year, saying a Minnesota farmer described it as "a perfect storm of ugly between the tariffs and the input costs, markets drying up and some of the other things going on."

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., said he believes the committee could draft a farm bill by the end of February based on several provisions in the 2024 Farm, Food and National Security Act. He said he's waiting for some updated budget scores, but he's talked with House leadership for floor time.

Thompson said he's confident Congress also will find funds to increase credit limits and make other funding adjustments.

He said efforts to start off this year have been slowed by the death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., who died unexpectedly last week. Rep. Jim Baird, R-Ind., was also injured in an auto accident last week.

Thompson described what was left in the farm bill as about 20% of spending but 80% of the policy.

Lawmakers also touted the passage of the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids bill, which is now awaiting President Trump's signature before becoming law. "Looking forward to President Trump signing that, hopefully this week," Thompson said.

Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., the ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, said the "skinny farm bill" or "farm bill 2.0" has some hope of passage if the legislation focused on bipartisan provisions.

"I do hope we can come to a bipartisan consensus on some of these things," she said.

Craig also said health care remains a major issue, especially with 27% of farmers and ranchers on some kind of ACA plan. Congress needs to provide some relief for insurance premiums.

"We have some really hard work in a very difficult political environment," she said.

PROP 12, PESTICIDE LABELS

Some divisive issues remain in trying to get a farm bill. Thompson wants to find a way to eliminate California's Proposition 12, which restricts the sale of pork in the state based on California's standards for animal housing. Thompson said the Supreme Court was clear that Congress needs to address Prop. 12.

Also, Thompson said Congress needs to pass a provision recognizing EPA's sole authority over pesticide labels. Thompson said it could actually become a health safety issue for farmers if every state had its own labeling standards for pesticides.

"EPA has an army of scientists who do a really great job of doing their analysis and specifying the directions for safe applications, cleanup and those types of things," Thompson said. "I think that 50 different instructions could create confusion."

Craig countered Thompson, noting the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement supports both pesticide labeling and keeping provisions such as Prop 12 in place.

"It's a complicated situation to try to find a way to move forward here," Craig said. "What would be the easiest way to get this across the finish line is to take a bare-bones approach. Let's make sure we get Farm Credit and Rural Development done and let's not try to put some other big policy issues that could be controversial into the bill."

LABOR CHALLENGES

More than the farm bill, Duvall also wanted to know what it would take to get Congress to pass a farm-labor reform act this year. All four of the lawmakers agreed new legislation is needed. Duvall said passing a farm labor-immigration bill is a once-in-a-generation effort.

Klobuchar noted there have been a lot of bipartisan attempts over the years that all tend to eventually fall apart because immigration remains so divisive.

"We all know how hard this has been hitting our farmers," she said, adding, "We know there are a lot of ways we can ... try to make sure we have a stable workforce when it comes to agriculture and other areas," Klobuchar said. "I know that feels far away, but I think it's such a need right now."

In the past, border security has been the big argument against passing a labor bill. Given how tight the border is now, that's not an excuse.

"I'm not giving up on immigration reform," Klobuchar said,

If the U.S. wants to continue to feed the world, the country needs a smart immigration system that works for both employers and workers.

"It's getting so difficult right now. Sometimes when things are worse, you find an opening and we've got to find an opening right now."

Thompson noted House Ag had a bipartisan group in the last Congress that worked on agricultural labor needs. The group produced a final report with 21 recommendations, of which 15 were unanimous. Thompson said he has been trying to put out a possible bill based on those recommendations for discussion. One of the members who was part of that House Ag effort is now Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer

"We need to do agricultural labor and break that gridlock we've had since the 1980s," Thompson said.

Craig saw more problems with getting an immigration reform bill, pointing to the current conflicts right now in Minnesota where the administration has deployed more than 3,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, which led to an agent shooting and killing an American citizen last week.

"I got a text a couple of days ago -- one from a dairy farm and ICE agents sitting at a gas station near the dairy farm," Craig said. "People didn't want to come into work whether they were legal immigrants or not. They don't want to come to work because they fear in this environment right now."

Speaking to reporters, Craig said ICE is targeting local businesses trying to simply spot people of color to question them. "It's not a targeted approach at all. They are not looking for someone with a criminal warrant or anything. They are just literally looking for brown or Black people in Minnesota to pull them over and ask them to prove they have documentation to show they are here legally."

Craig said the country has to decide if the U.S. is going to be a place where immigrants want to come and feel safe to work and travel.

"My concern is the administration, at times, does not act like they actually want immigrant labor here in the United States of America and we know that we need them. They are central to the economy and we all know it."

Duvall said he believes Trump can work on immigration reform. Duvall also said it is important for Congress to provide some protection or recognition for undocumented workers who have spent a long time working in the U.S.

"They are ingrained in our communities and in our farms. That's going to put us in a difficult spot, but they deserve our attention," Duvall said.

E15

Multiple times on Sunday either Farm Bureau speakers or members of Congress put in a plug for passing E15.

Klobuchar said she would like to see Congress finally pass year-round E15. Craig also said she was hopeful E15 could pass this year as well.

Boozman said he favors E15 but suggested efforts to pass such a bill are now getting push back from oil companies because of declining oil prices.

"It's a really different situation right now because oil prices are down so much that the oil companies have come out against it," he said.

RECOGNIZING BILL NORTHEY

At the group's general session on Monday, Farm Bureau also honored former Iowa Agriculture Secretary Bill Northey, who was undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation during the first Trump administration. Northey died in February 2024 in Iowa at age 64. Farm Bureau recognized Northey with the group's 2026 Distinguished Services to Agriculture Award.

Also see, "Farm Bureau President Says Bridge Payments Not Enough to Cover Farm Losses," https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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