Policy Updates and Issue News July 2025
Agriculture and Food
Farm Bill
Many farm bill provisions were included in the budget reconciliation bill that the President signed into law on July 4. See “What’s in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for Farmers and Ranchers” in this newsletter.
“Skinny” farm bill is next
Although several major sections of the farm bill were included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), many key policies haven’t been updated since the last farm bill was passed in 2018. These include reauthorization of the Conservation Reserve program, USDA direct and guaranteed loans, rural development grants, industrial hemp, and more. At this time, it is uncertain when Congress will address the remaining farm bill provisions. Many farm bill veterans are concerned that the traditional bipartisan farm bill coalition on the Hill may have been damaged by the cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) contained in the OBBBA.
Surveillance of foreign ownership
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has released the USDA’s National Farm Security Action Plan to track foreign adversaries’ ownership of agricultural land, agricultural transportation, agricultural storage, and agricultural processing. A webpage will track which countries own land and agriculture-related assets by U.S. county. It will have a new reporting portal to receive and review claims of adversarial foreign influence with respect to the purchase of farmland and business dealings in other facets of the U.S. agricultural supply chain.
Health Care
Medicaid cuts will affect rural health care
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, contained approximately $1 trillion in cuts over the next decade to the Medicaid program. Rural hospitals and clinics are critical access facilities that treat large percentages of uninsured and underinsured patients. These rural facilities largely depend upon the Medicaid program to cover the costs that patients cannot pay in order to keep the hospital’s doors open. The National Grange partnered with healthcare providers in a high-profile campaign to raise awareness in Congress of the impact such massive cuts would have on the future of rural health. As a result, Congress included a $50 billion, five-year Rural Health Transformation Program in the OBBBA. The fund is to be allocated to the states to implement rural health-related activities. States must use these funds to promote evidence-based interventions, payments to health care providers, promote technology-driven solutions, provide recruiting and retraining for clinical staff, support access to behavioral health, launch local and regional partnerships, develop strategies that produce long-term financial solvency, and more. The Grange’s rural health partners will have to wait and see if this transformation program can make a real difference toward keeping the doors of rural hospitals open.
Immigration / AG Workforce
Agriculture needs a legal migrant workforce
The current focus on the deportation of undocumented immigrants has elevated awareness of the dependency of U.S. agriculture on immigrant farm labor. It’s been over three decades since Congress passed major immigration reform legislation. The time may be right to begin that debate again. See “Opinion - Farms in Crisis: Fixing the Broken Labor System” by National Grange summer intern Annie Johnson in this newsletter.
Taxes
Tax relief extended and many provisions made permanent
The budget reconciliation package passed by Congress and signed into law by the President extended the 2017 tax cuts that were due to expire at the end of this year. Many of the provisions were made permanent in the IRS tax code. Most of these cuts mirrored National Grange policy. See “What’s in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for Farmers and Ranchers” in this newsletter.
Transportation
Expand Highway Trust Fund contributions
Investments in roads, bridges, and other rural infrastructure are critical to America’s agricultural industry and rural residents. However, the HTF is facing challenges that could lead to insolvency within a few years. Gas-powered vehicles support the HTF through gas taxes. However, electric and hybrid vehicles do not pay into the HTF based on the electricity they use. Grange policy is that all vehicles, regardless of fuel type or technology, should contribute to the upkeep and improvement of transportation infrastructure. The National Grange joined 26 agriculture groups in asking Congress to ensure that all vehicles pay into HTF. As a result, the budget reconciliation package/One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law, contains provisions for electric and hybrid vehicles to pay annual fees into the HTF.
Perspectives
“He that never labors may know the pains of idleness but not the pleasures.” ~ Samuel Johnson, English author
“The dignity of labor depends upon not what you do, but how you do it.” ~ Edwin Osgood Grover, American publisher and educator
“When you put on your clothes, remember the weaver’s labor; when you take your daily food, remember the husbandman’s work.” ~ Chinese proverb
“Labor disgraces no man; unfortunately, you occasionally find men who disgrace labor.” ~ Ulysses S. Grant, 18th President of the United States (1869-1877)
“We have neglected the truth that a good farmer is a craftsman of the highest order; a kind of artist.” ~ Wendell Berry, American author