House Ag Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson (R-PA) and Senate Ag Committee Chairwomen Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) ...

House Ag Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson (R-PA) and Senate Ag Committee Chairwomen Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) released their high-level summaries of their versions of a new Farm Bill. While the bills have many similarities; increased reference prices, new investments in many titles (conservation, research, and rural development), etc.; they also have many large differences. Of particular importance to Nebraska Farm Bureau is the inclusion of language in the House version which would eliminate the ability of states to impose animal welfare regulations on producers outside of their borders, effectively eliminating the larger effects of California Prop 12 and Massachusetts Question 3. The Senate version fails to address the issue. Also of note is that both bills bring unused conservation program funding from the Inflation Reduction Act permanently into the Farm Bill. However, each bill invests those funds differently with the Senate version keeping the funding in Title II conservation programs and the House using the funding to pay for increases in producer support programs. The release of these summaries starts the long and politically complicated process of signing a new Farm Bill into law, and Farm Bureau stands ready to work to ensure the next Farm Bill works for Nebraska's farm and ranch families.

High level summaries of each bill can be found here: