Sen. Boozman introduces ‘Farm Bill 2.0’ with higher loan caps

The Agriculture Act of 2026 that would modernize loan limits that currently are based on 2012 realities, but bridge payments for struggling farmers would better come in a supplemental appropriations bill that also would include President Trump’s military spending request, U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., said Tuesday (June 23).

Boozman, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, discussed what he called “Farm Bill 2.0” with reporters after introducing the bill on the Senate floor that day.

Boozman said the text of the “discussion draft” incorporates more than 100 bipartisan bills and priorities. He expressed confidence that his committee could pass the bill when the Senate meets in Washington in July before it breaks in August.

The bill is largely based on the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, which the House passed April 30. Boozman said his staff has been communicating with staff members working with House Committee on Agriculture Chairman U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Penn.

“It’s just a matter of getting it passed, and then getting it into conference, working expeditiously to get the group meeting, and then getting it out,” he said. “I can’t give you a for-sure timeline, but I think everything’s greased to get it done once we get it passed out of the Senate, to get the little things resolved, and then signed into law.”

The Farm Bill was last reauthorized in 2018 and expired in 2023, but Congress has extended it to Sept. 30, 2026. Boozman said that 80-85% of the reauthorization has already occurred through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the tax cut passage President Trump signed into law last year.

The new bill provides support for farmers facing revenue losses due to factors outside of their control. It increases Farm Service Agency guaranteed operating loan limits to $3 million and guaranteed ownership loans to $3.5 million. Direct operating loan limits would increase to $750,000, direct ownership loans would increase to $850,000, and micro loans would increase to $100,000. Boozman said previous loan limits were based on the 2018 Farm Bill, which was based on 2012 data.

“The current caps simply fail to reflect current economic conditions,” he said on the Senate floor. “This bipartisan provision is not optional. It is essential to ensuring producers have the financing that they need at a critical time for American agriculture.”

The bill streamlines conservation programs and includes numerous policies related to rural development, such as broadband expansion and other infrastructure enhancements. It enables water systems to aid struggling neighboring systems and establishes a Commission on Rural Maternal Health.

Two areas that Boozman said are needed aren’t currently included. One is a bridge payment program to help struggling farmers survive until the One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage enhancements take effect later this year. Boozman said the better place would be a supplemental appropriations bill that would include President Trump’s military spending request as well as disaster relief spending.

The new bill also does not include provisions related to E15, a blend of ethanol and gasoline. Expanded E15 use would create markets for farmers, and Boozman said he believes the Senate has enough votes to pass it. But the House version separated E15 into another bill, and he believes the Senate will follow that model. He noted the issue is not within his committee’s jurisdiction.

The bill also does not change current plans to force states to cover some Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program costs, a Democratic Party priority. Boozman said the program has been marked by “unreasonable overpayments and underpayments” and has been managed “sloppily.” He said the goal is to have leverage over states to ensure they run the program efficiently. He said the committee would be working with states and the administration to craft a solution.

It also is designed to increase trade by more than doubling funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Market Access Program and the Foreign Market Development Program. It also increases international food assistance efforts.

Boozman said he has always supported U.S. foreign aid programs that provide money to impoverished nations that is then used to buy American products. He hopes a future version of the bill contains a provision, not included in this one, that moves the Food for Peace program from the State Department to the Department of Agriculture.

“We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, but that’s something that we’re working hard to do, and we’ve got several people that are very involved in this, and have been for many, many years, and it’s just a place to find a home,” he said. “Secretary [Marco] Rubio is involved and is supportive, so hopefully we’ll get this done in the very near future.”

Boozman noted that farmers are losing money because input costs have risen but prices depend on the international market. He called it a “generational crisis” and the “worst that it’s been in farm country across the board in decades.” But he said that Ranking Member Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, is “working very hard to get to yes,” and he’s optimistic that the Senate can reach 60 votes.

“The good news is, is that everybody’s working in good faith to get a farm bill,” he said.