Specializing in Crop Insurance

Farm Groups Call for Additional Aid from Congress, GOP Ag Lawmakers Working on New Package 

Over fifty key agriculture groups, led by the American Farm Bureau Federation, penned a letter to Congressional leadership last week, urging Congress to “provide immediate economic support to fill in the gap of remaining losses for both field and specialty crop farmers.” The groups added, “Additional support will stabilize the farm economy, protect rural communities, and ensure a secure food supply. This support must be robust enough to fill in sector-wide gaps.”

The letter comes as reports indicate that House Agriculture Committee Chairman GT Thompson (R-PA), Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR), and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Hoeven (R-ND) are discussing a second tranche of aid, reportedly around $15 billion, to be attached to this month’s work on government funding. Chairman Boozman stated that he hopes to finalize the plan “fairly shortly.” Chairman Thompson stated, “We’re looking at exactly what the need is and how it would be dispersed.”

RCIS will keep you apprised as the situation develops.

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House Agriculture Committee Democrats Propose “Farm and Family Relief Act”

House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member, Angie Craig (D-MN), last week introduced a framework for the “Family and Farm Relief Act,” which would, according to a one-pager, provide roughly $29 billion in farm relief, $28 billion in SNAP relief, and also provide tariff relief.

According to a release from Ranking Member Craig, the proposal includes $29 billion for a one-time supplemental payment to agricultural producers, particularly specialty crop growers and foresters, and includes additional aid for crops eligible for USDA’s Farmer Bridge Assistance Program (FBA), including prevented planting acres, which are not covered by FBA.

The framework would also “provide breathing room to states and the millions of Americans who rely on food assistance by delaying the benefits cost-shift for SNAP by four years and the increased administrative cost-shift by two years.” The measure would also provide tariff relief through “reasserting congressional authority over tariffs and foreign commerce …” 

Release of the Farm and Family Relief Act legislative text is expected this week.

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Chairman Thompson Eyes February for House Ag Committee Markup of Farm Bill 2.0

Last week, House Agriculture Committee Chairman ‘GT’ Thompson reaffirmed his desire to hold a committee markup of “Farm Bill 2.0” as soon as next month. 

Chairman Thompson stated that there were still several outstanding scores on the text from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), and added, “Which means a February markup for Farm Food and National Security Act of 2026; I’ve already spoken to the Speaker and the Majority Leader regarding floor time because we’ll want a fairly efficient pathway to the floor.” Chairman Thompson has indicated a desire for bipartisan told reporters, “I’ve made a pledge and a promise that we put it in the committee members’ hands on both sides of the aisle — the text — ahead of time so they can really go through it thoroughly.”

The Ranking Member of the Committee, Congresswoman Angie Craig (D-MN), stated, “I do hope we can come to a bipartisan consensus on some of these things.” Meanwhile, Chairman Thompson and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) are expected to meet in the near future to discuss the matter. Chairman Boozman stated, “We’ll see what we can do. The House dynamics are a little different than the Senate.”

USDA is Targeting February 28 to Begin Issuing Farmer Bridge Assistance Payments 

The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Thursday formally received the final rule for the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program for review from USDA. USDA is targeting the 28th of February to begin issuing payments to eligible producers under the recently announced FBA Program. A payment calculator and additional information on the program may be accessed here.

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Additional reminder: The comment period for the Expanding Access to Risk Protection-Final Rule with Comments is open until close of business on January 27, 2026