‘Big Beautiful Bill’ signed by President Trump

Farm, ag and alternative energy interests mostly celebrated the House of Representatives passing a reconciled version of President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” in time for Trump to sign it by his self-proclaimed July 4 deadline, after it needed the tie-breaking vote of Vice President J.D. Vance to make it out of the Senate.

The final House vote of 218-214 for the 887-page bill was almost completely party-line, with only two House Republicans—Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania—voting against it. President Trump held overnight meetings or phone calls with a handful of Republican members who had concerns about some provisions, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The bill was passed under a budget reconciliation rule, which allowed the slim Republican majority to avoid threats of a Democratic filibuster.

In a Newsweek op-ed, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins wrote,  “Over the next decade, the OBBB increases the farmer safety net, crop insurance, and trade programs. These changes to farm support will allow USDA to return to our core mission of putting Farmers First and restoring rural prosperity across the country.”

Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, who as chair of the House Ag Committee was a key to getting it passed, called the bill “a game-changer for America.”

“This historic legislation delivers the largest tax cut in American history, providing direct relief to working families and boosting take-home pay,” the Pennsylvania Republican said. “It slashes wasteful Washington spending, eliminates red tape, and makes major investments in border security, energy independence, and national defense. It is the codification of President Trump’s campaign promises… [It makes] the largest investment in agriculture in decades, restoring integrity to SNAP, and saving millions of family farms from the death tax. This bill gives President Trump the tools he needs to keep America safe, strong, and free.”

Producer safety net strengthened

In a brief statement, Zippy Duvall, CEO of the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the bill will bring “certainty” to farmers and ranchers. Duvall praised the strengthening of the producer safety net in the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage commodity programs.

“Improvements to farm safety net programs that reflect today’s agricultural economy and maintaining important tax provisions will directly benefit farm families,” Duvall said. “The combination is taking a toll—America lost more than 141,000 farms in a five-year period, leading to more consolidation of family farms. Increases to reference prices as well as investments in conservation, research and trade are desperately needed, especially since it’s been seven years since passage of a new farm bill. Farmers will stand a better chance of enduring tough times so they can plant for another season.”

All major farm commodity organizations praised the bill.

National Association of Wheat Growers President Pat Clements said,  “This legislation will empower America’s wheat producers to invest in their operations, remain globally competitive, and support national food security and economic resilience.”

National Corn Growers Association President Kenneth Hartman, Jr., said, “Corn growers have been pushing for many of these improvements since at least 2023 and spent much of the last year preparing to shape the federal tax provisions. We appreciate the members of Congress who worked to ensure our views and these provisions were included in the final bill.”

He added that “Corn growers from across the country will arrive in Washington, D.C., in less than two weeks to continue advancing other priorities, including year-round E15 and a mini farm bill, as additional legislative opportunities arise throughout the rest of this Congress.”

The National Sorghum Producers said the bill included “major policy victories for sorghum farmers…and significant gains for sorghum growers,” citing increased reference prices under Title I of the farm bill, improvements to PLC and ARC programs to strengthen the commodity safety net, and crop insurance improvements to enhance producer risk management.

Iowa, Missouri farm groups support

Iowa’s congressional delegation, all four of whom voted for the bill, reacted to the bill’s passage. “President Trump’s ‘One, Big, Beautiful Bill’ is the largest tax cut for Iowa families, farmers, workers, seniors, and small businesses in American history. This legislation will dramatically grow our economy, cut deficits, spur U.S. manufacturing, fully fund the border wall, and support American energy independence,” said Rep. Randy Feenstra of the Fourth District.

Rep. Zack Nunn (Third District) said, “It rewards hard work, fuels growth on Main Street, and puts more money back in the pockets of Iowa families. It protects benefits for our most vulnerable by cutting out waste and fraud, strengthens our national defense by investing in border security, and positions Iowa farmers and producers to lead the charge in delivering affordable, American-made energy.”

Rep. Mariannette Miller (Second District) added, “This bill strengthens and preserves Medicaid for those it was meant to serve: children, pregnant women, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities. It also delivers $50 billion in relief for rural hospitals serving communities like ours. This is a once-in-a-generation victory for the American people. I was proud to vote for it and look forward to President Trump signing it into law just in time for Independence Day.”

Reference prices

Missouri Farm Bureau President Garrett Hawkins said the bill “marks a monumental step in advancing Farm Bureau’s top priorities on key agriculture and tax provisions … Among them are several critical tax provisions such as an increased estate tax exemption, expanded access to Section 179 expensing, and continued use of key tools such as cash accounting, business interest deductions, and expensing for farms and small businesses.”

“Additionally, the bill provides additional risk management tools across the agriculture industry, including a reference price increase under farm bill programs and updates to dairy margin coverage. We are pleased to see several provisions related to promoting affordable, reliable and domestically produced energy and biofuels contained in the legislation. Together, these measures will help build a stronger, more resilient rural economy for our children and grandchildren to call home.”

Estate tax reform, funding disease prevention

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association said, “America’s cattle farmers and ranchers are pleased by the final passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill. This legislation will protect family farmers and ranchers from the devastation of the ‘Death Tax,’ it will avoid a massive year-end tax hike that could have put cattle operations out of business, it expands and protects many of the small business tax deductions that family producers rely on to save more of the hard-earned money, and it funds critical foreign animal disease prevention measures that protect cattle health.”

Growth Energy, the nation’s leading biofuel trade association, praised the bill’s extension of the 45Z tax credit for clean fuel production.

“The president wants to go big on American energy dominance, and this legislation delivers,” said Emily Skor, CEO of Growth Energy. “An extension of 45Z will unlock billions of dollars in new investments across rural America supporting strong, stable markets for America’s farmers and positioning American biofuel producers to compete in global fuel markets. We applaud our champions in the House and Senate, who fought hard to ensure that U.S. biofuel producers are positioned to deliver more clean energy, hold down fuel costs, and restore industrial might across the heartland.” 

Some muted and dissenting reactions

Not all ag and alternative fuel interests expressed unqualified support for the bill, however.  Michael McAdams, president of the Advanced Biofuels Association, said, “We are disappointed that the final reconciliation bill restricted foreign feedstocks under 45Z. We will continue to advocate for both domestic and international feedstocks to ensure advanced biofuel refineries and biorefineries have the resources they need to maximize production and contribute to America’s energy dominance agenda.

“We turn our attention now to the EPA’s work developing its final RVOs for 2026 and 2027. The proposed rule currently calls for a 50% reduction in RIN value for fuels made with foreign feedstocks, which will only hurt American biorefineries and their workers. We urge the EPA to reconsider this current restriction and support American advanced biofuel production.” 

During negotiations over the bill in Congress, restrictions to the SNAP program divided the ag community. National Farmers Union President Rob Larew said the bill’s “gains are paired with harmful tradeoffs. Cuts to SNAP divide the farm bill coalition and reductions in Medicaid will have harmful effects on millions of Americans. Farm policy should unite us. This approach undermines the foundation of the farm bill and puts its future at risk.” He urged lawmakers to “finish the job” with a comprehensive farm bill.

The Farm Aid organization, founded by musicians John Mellencamp, Willie Nelson and others, also criticized changes to the SNAP program: “While cutting SNAP funding in favor of agriculture programs may on its surface sound like a win for farmers, the reality is SNAP benefits farmers too, through its use at farmers markets and farm stands. SNAP is an important economic multiplier, meaning that each dollar spent returns that dollar and more to the local economy. SNAP helps create thriving local communities, jobs and impacts our national GDP positively.”

David Murray can be reached at [email protected].