Boozman Predicts Five-Year Farm Bill Passage as Arkansas Leads Chapter 12 Filings

USDA has announced $13.8 billion in Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage payments for the 2025 crop year, and Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman, R-AR, says Congress will pass a five-year farm bill by the end of the year.

Boozman laid out the timeline during the Future of Arkansas Agriculture and Beyond Speaker Series on Oct. 30. Committee chairs, ranking members and key staffers are now meeting to assemble a plan that can clear both chambers before year-end, he said.

What is driving the urgency?

Arkansas led the nation in Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies last year and again in the third quarter. Boozman tied the filings to high input costs, shrinking margins and market uncertainty.

"Behind every one of those filings is a hardworking farm family, often with generations of effort invested in the land," Boozman said. "They know hope is not a business strategy."

Producers facing repeated losses are selling equipment, scaling back operations or questioning whether they have a future in the industry, he said. "If you're growing something in the ground right now, almost without exception, you're losing money," Boozman said. "The input costs and the cost of production are so high now and in many cases the price that we're getting might be the same as we got 10 years ago. It just doesn't work."

Boozman noted the 2018 farm bill was built on 2012 data. "We cannot afford to lose the farms and the people who grow our food because policies have failed to keep pace with the reality of modern agriculture's evolving economy," he said.

How much money is reaching growers?

The $13.8 billion in ARC and PLC payments for the 2025 crop year put a safety net in place for 2026, said Sen. Jerry Moran, R-KS, a committee member.

"It's the one that matters the most at this moment when commodity prices are so low, and input prices are so high," Moran said.

Arkansas farmers are estimated to receive $1 billion, roughly $650 million more than they would get without the aid, Boozman said. He also credits the Working Families Tax Cut legislation, which he calls "Farm Bill 1.0," for strengthening the safety net, risk management, animal health, trade programs and crop insurance.

President Donald Trump announced $8 billion in relief for high diesel prices. Boozman said that helps but does not solve longstanding problems. He said the war in Iran has driven up fertilizer and fuel costs in 2026 and underscored U.S. dependence on foreign suppliers. "That's something we actually can fix," he said.

What stands between the bill and 60 votes?

The proposal Boozman calls "Farm Bill 2.0" contains more than 100 policies covering production, conservation, nutrition, forestry, rural development, trade and research. Roughly 90% of the House and Senate bills align, with the remaining differences unresolved.

The House passed its farm bill 224 to 200 in April. The Senate Agriculture Committee passed a version on a partisan vote. Passage in the full Senate requires 60 votes, meaning at least 10 Democrats must support the bill.

Boozman argued the legislation has bipartisan backing. "Farm bills shouldn't be about Republicans and Democrats," he said. "It's about farmers, not Republican farmers or Democrat farmers. These should be apolitical. It's about regions of the country. Southern agriculture is different than the Great Plains, or Middle America."

Senate adjournment, he said, gave members time to hear from constituents, and he believes farmers and ranchers are pressing members of both parties to act.

The farm bill also matters for rural communities. USDA rural development programs, Boozman said, help communities expand water systems, improve access to affordable energy, connect to high-speed broadband and strengthen health care and child care. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-SD, a member of the Agriculture Committee, considers the bill important, support Boozman said strengthens the case for passage. With roughly 90% of the chambers' texts aligned, the remaining disputes decide whether a five-year bill lands on the president's desk before January.