The Republican Party has a majority in both the US Senate and House, which lawmakers from Iowa are excited to see renewed energy to pass a new Farm Bill.

Iowa’s Third Congressional District Representative Zach Nunn is more hopeful that a new five-year Farm Bill will be passed this year. Nunn serves on the House Agriculture Committee and says last year, their bipartisan Farm Bill made it out of committee, but it was never taken to the floor for a House vote. He believes that this year will be different, and not many changes need to be made to last year’s bill to move forward again on.

“I’m proud that we had some of the most number of bills included in this that support new and beginning farmers, that provide crop insurance for farmers, that expand access so that rural communities can grow through broadband and infrastructure. And also, this is a good pathway, a model that is ready to go.”

Nunn was also hopeful to include renewable fuels into the Farm Bill, such as ethanol and year round selling of E-15. 

Senator Chuck Grassley also believes the Senate is in better position this year, particularly in the Senate Agriculture Committee, where the Democratic Chair Debbie Stabenow refused to do anything with a new Farm Bill last year. This year’s new Senate Agriculture Committee Chair is John Boozman (R-Arkansas). He shares his thoughts on some of the leadership changes within that committee.

“I think there’s two things. I think (Senator) Amy Klobuchar will be a Democrat leader of that committee that will be more appreciative of Midwestern agriculture and be better able to work better with Boozman. And I think Boozman will start with the ‘framework’ that he put out last fall.”

Before the end of the previous Congressional Legislative session at the end of 2024, a second consecutive one-year extension was given to the 2018 Farm Bill.