As the second half of the 119th Congress gets into full swing, lawmakers are looking to act on a number of priorities, including passage of a fiscal 2026 funding bill and a new farm bill.
The 2026 fiscal year started Oct. 1, 2025, and the government currently is operating through January under a continuing resolution.
Farm bills govern agricultural and food policy and are typically in place for five years. However, the 2018 Farm Bill expired in Sept. 2023 and subsequently has been extended several times.
Speaking recently at the American Farm Bureau Federation annual convention, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) said his committee likely will consider a new farm bill markup in late February. Likewise, Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, indicated farm legislation will get done this year.
It is unclear whether the farm bill will include a fix to California Proposition 12, which bans the sale in that state of pork from hogs born to sows raised anywhere in housing that does not meet California’s arbitrary standards. Thompson said he supports inclusion of a fix, meanwhile Boozman highlighted concerns that inclusion would divide Senate lawmakers, making it harder to pass a bill.
Agriculture Committee leaders also agreed that agriculture’s workforce shortage should be addressed by reforming immigration laws. Current law allows such laborers only for temporary and seasonal farm work. Based on recommendations from the bipartisan Agriculture Labor Working Group, with which NPPC worked closely, Thompson is expected to introduce legislation that includes reform to the H-2A visa program for immigrant farmworkers in the first quarter of this year.
In related news, a lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court Eastern District of California Fresno Division following the U.S. Department of Labor’s publication of the interim final rule, which modified the methodology for calculating the hourly adverse effect wage rate for H-2A nonimmigrant workers. NPPC is monitoring the litigation and will keep members updated.
NPPC’s take:
NPPC supports quick passage of a new farm bill that fixes the problems caused by Proposition 12.
NPPC continues to advocate for the year-round needs for labor in the pork industry. Statutory reform to the H-2A program would allow producers to better utilize the program to continue to supply consumers with affordable and nutritious pork.
