It’s the responsibility of Congress to sign a full, comprehensive farm bill into law by Dec. 31, regardless of the outcome of the presidential election, National Association of Wheat Growers CEO Chandler Goule told the Capital Press.

Not passing a farm bill could set into motion one of several scenarios, he said.

If either the House or the Senate flips majorities, which Goule thinks has a chance of happening, that means a new chairman in one or both chambers.

“That’ll start the farm bill process completely over,” he said. “You have to get everything re-scored. If you have a change in leadership, there’s probably going to be a change in priorities. I can see that easily pushing the farm bill into late 2025 or 2026, because it will literally hit the reset button. That’s why it’s so important we get it done by December.”

Obstacles

The “four corners” — the House Speaker, House Minority Leader, Senate Majority Leader, Senate Minority Leader — are meeting, but it comes down to whether they can find enough money to write an appropriate bill that reflects the increased cost of production for all farmers and ranchers, Goule said.

“There are a couple obstacles in the way,” he said. “We don’t have very many days after the election before the end of the year. We also have to fund the government, because the funding runs out Dec. 20. A lot has to be done very quickly, as soon as the election is over.”

Goule believes the pressure and willingness is there for both the Senate and House agriculture committees.

But finding the additional funding in either or both chambers and making sure House and Senate leadership put in on the calendar are tall orders.

“That’s a lot of stars that need to line up, but I know the pressure’s there to get that done,” he said.

Next steps

In September, NAWG and other ag groups spoke to 100 congressional offices to emphasize that the entire ag industry supports completing the bill this year.

Goule and other agricultural commodity CEOs spoke with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on Oct. 22, asking him to also take the message to Capitol Hill: “We need to get this bill done now.”

Every House member and one-third of the Senate is up for re-election. Goule advises wheat farmers to take advantage of campaign season.

“If your House member or senator is having any meetings, we need you to go to those meetings and stress that we’ve got to have a farm bill Dec. 31,” he said.

Goule is still optimistic that can happen.

“I think we’ll have a much better feel for that post-election, and seeing how much energy is in the Senate and House ag committees,” he said.

The chairs and ranking members of each ag committee need to hammer out the details together, Goule said.

“The funding is the issue, because that’s going to tell you which priorities you can complete, which ones you can’t, and at what levels,” he said. “There’s challenges out there, but I know there’s a desire to get this done.”