Senate Agriculture Chairman John Boozman says Congress has roughly six weeks to negotiate a five-year farm bill, and he intends to start bipartisan conferencing immediately rather than wait until after the Nov. 3 midterms.

"We'll be talking with members of our committee and conferencing this thing," the Arkansas Republican told an Arkansas Farm Bureau podcast late last week. "We won't wait until we come back, we'll do that right now, so we'll be ready to go."

The arithmetic is tight. The Senate reconvenes Monday for one legislative work week, then adjourns until Nov. 9 — the same return date as the House, which began its fall break earlier this month. Waiting until mid-November, in Boozman's view, leaves too little time to pass a full five-year bill this year.

The biggest agriculture question on Capitol Hill this week is whether those bipartisan talks actually begin. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, the top Democrat on the Senate Ag Committee, has said her party wants to resolve differences with Republicans so a bill can pass this year. The logjam centers on how to address costs some states face under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Senate GOP leaders don't want a floor vote until there's clear evidence of bipartisan support. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, an Ag Committee member, wants a vote before the October recess for a different reason — to put Democrats on record.

"It would be good if they had a vote on it, bring it up, and find out if we can get seven Democrat votes," Grassley told reporters. "If all the Democrats vote against it, then the world knows that Republicans want a five-year farm bill, and Democrats don't want one."

Fuel and input costs in play

Elevated prices for fuel, crop nutrients and other inputs are drawing attention in Washington as President Donald Trump weighs potential action to lower gasoline and diesel costs. An embargo on U.S. diesel exports has support from both parties in Congress, while major oil groups are urging Trump against it.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Friday told Heatmap's Shift Key podcast he doesn't believe the administration will pursue a "blanket ban on diesel."

The Iowa Corn Growers Association has floated an alternative: an IRS waiver letting on-road truckers use tax-exempt farm diesel, which is dyed red to prevent illegal on-road use. Iowa Corn estimates the waiver could save 55 cents a gallon in Iowa and as much as 70 cents a gallon in other states — a direct lever on freight costs that feed into farm basis and grain-handling margins.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy says new fuel economy standards approved by Trump are coming Monday.

China trade takeaways

Trade policy experts are still parsing government readouts from last week's Trump-Xi meeting in Washington. Both sides indicate the leaders will meet twice more this year — at China-hosted APEC in November and the U.S.-hosted G20 summit in Miami in December.

Under the joint Board of Trade, the White House says the two countries agreed on suggestions for more favorable tariff treatment for $30 billion of non-sensitive goods "in each direction." U.S. agricultural products are included, though the administration hasn't specified which ones beyond fish and seafood, and logs and wood products.

China also agreed to import at least 10 million metric tons of U.S. coal in 2027 and 2028, according to the White House.

The week ahead

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., wants a vote this week on energy permitting reform, but a deal between the parties remains out of reach. The Senate is expected to vote Monday on a major college sports bill and may take up a consumer-protection bill targeting power-bill increases tied to data centers and AI infrastructure.

On the calendar for agriculture:

• Monday, Sept. 28: The Fertilizer Institute's World Fertilizer Conference convenes in Dallas through Wednesday; Crop Life America holds its annual meeting in Dallas through Wednesday; USDA Crop Progress report at 4 p.m.
• Tuesday, Sept. 29: World Dairy Expo opens in Madison, Wisconsin, through Friday.
• Wednesday, Sept. 30: USDA releases its quarterly grain stocks report and small grains annual summary at noon — harvested-results data that will anchor old-crop balance sheets.
• Thursday, Oct. 1: USDA Weekly Export Sales at 8:30 a.m.; the International Food Policy Research Institute and Agricultural Market Information System co-host a discussion on Black Sea disruption to global grain trade at 9:30 a.m.; the North American Millers' Association annual meeting runs in San Antonio through Sunday.
• Friday, Oct. 2: Ozark Fall Farmfest opens in Springfield, Missouri, with more than 1,200 exhibits and more than 600 head of registered livestock, through Sunday.

With the Senate gone after this week and both chambers dark until Nov. 9, whatever progress Boozman's conferencing effort makes in the next six weeks will largely determine whether growers see a new five-year farm bill — or another extension — heading into 2026.