On Thursday, the House was able to advance its farm bill that failed on May 18, securing additional Republican votes after the chamber considered immigration bills that had held the farm bill hostage the first time around.

The bill approved was in the same form as the one brought up in May, which was unable to secure support from Democrats because it limited food assistance for able-bodied adults. In May the vote failed 198-213. The June 21 vote was close again -- at 213-211 -- but House Agriculture Committee chairman Mike Conaway (R., Texas) was able to round up the Republican votes needed.

“Today’s vote was about keeping faith with the men and women of rural America and about the enduring promise of the dignity of a day’s work,” Conaway said. “It was about providing certainty to farmers and ranchers who have been struggling under the weight of a five-year recession and about providing our neighbors in need with more than just a handout but a hand up. I’m proud of what this body has accomplished and now look forward to working with the Senate and the President to deliver a farm bill on time to the American people.”

Committee ranking member Rep. Collin Peterson (D., Minn.) said following the vote, “The partisan approach of the majority has produced a bill that simply doesn’t do enough for the people it’s supposed to serve. It still leaves farmers and ranchers vulnerable, it worsens hunger and it fails rural communities. The only upside to its passage is that we’re one step closer to conference, where it’s my hope that cooler heads can and will prevail.

“The Senate’s version isn’t perfect, but it avoids the hard-line partisan approach that House Republicans have taken here today, and if it passes, I look forward to working with conferees to produce a conference report both parties can support, which is the only way to get a farm bill enacted into law,” Peterson said.

The Senate passed its bill out of the agriculture committee and looks to advance it to the floor before the Fourth of July recess. The Senate’s version is starkly different from the House bill, abandoning efforts to implement welfare reforms to the nutrition program and instead offering a strong bipartisan approach between leadership as well as the entire Senate Agriculture Committee.

Agricultural groups commended the House and said they continue to seeka  farm bill reauthorization ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline.

North American Wheat Growers (NAWG) president Jimmie Musick said NAWG is pleased that the legislation includes funding for the Market Access Program and Foreign Market Development program and will continue to advocate for increased resources for both. NAWG continues to advocate for a strong crop insurance program and ongoing choice between Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage in the final version of the bill.

While Thursday’s vote was largely divided along party lines, National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) president and chief executive officer Jim Mulhern said the bill’s dairy provisions were the product of bipartisan efforts. He thanked Conaway and Peterson for their continuing work to improve dairy risk management programs.

The measure raises the maximum covered margin in the dairy Margin Protection Program to $9/cwt. and provides increased flexibility in the amount of milk that can be insured. NMPF said the changes will improve the program for dairy producers of all sizes. The bill also includes provisions to improve milk price risk management, reflecting an agreement reached between NMPF and the International Dairy Foods Assn. on changes to federal milk marketing orders.

The farm bill provides essential funding for the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, along with other important conservation programs and beginning farmer programs -- a welcomed inclusion, according to American Farmland Trust. The House bill also improves the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), boosting funding and adding provisions to help project partners measure beneficial outcomes. This will enable RCPP to model how other federal programs can more effectively achieve conservation goals. The bill includes two new initiatives -- the Commission on Farm Transition and the Farmland Tenure, Transition & Entry Data Initiative -- that the trust believes will provide valuable insights to guide future policies to attract and support the next generation who works the land.

The farm bill also includes initiatives from Rep. Steve King (R., Iowa), including the Protect Interstate Commerce Act (PICA), which prevents activist states like California from “unconstitutionally regulating interstate commerce in agriculture by imposing regulatory hurdles on other states.”

National Cattlemen’s Beef Assn. president Kevin Kester also was pleased that the House advanced the farm bill. It includes a number of priorities for livestock producers, such as authorization and funding for a national vaccine bank that prioritizes foot and mouth disease prevention.

Support for the House passage was not unanimous. National Farmers Union president Roger Johnson voiced disappointment in the passage in the House but said his group stands ready to make improvements during the conference process. “Farmers Union is disappointed by many components of the House’s version of the 2018 farm bill. Family farmers and consumers alike require strong safety nets, farm sustainability measures and accessible markets," Johnson said. 

James Weill, president of the Food Research & Action Center (FRAC), said the passage "betrays the historic bipartisan commitment to making sure people who are struggling have enough to eat."

He added, "Instead of passing a bill that would end or reduce struggling families’ access to food, Congress needs to support policies that end hunger and lift people out of poverty. The Senate farm bill (S. 3042) recognizes the important role of SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) in addressing hunger and poverty and provides a more constructive path to bipartisan passage of a farm bill with a strong SNAP component. As the legislative process continues, FRAC will continue to urge policy-makers to reject H.R. 2’s SNAP cuts and instead maintain the approach adopted by the Senate farm bill (S. 3042)."