Verbatim with extra THANKS to author BARRY PIATT, including thanks for Barry’s artwork. Barry has a lot of credentials, including being my long-time friend, but this FARM BILL TRACKER is one of my all-time favorites. How do Republicans go home to face their farmer constituents and keep a straight face?
FARM BILL TRACKER: 777 DAYS OVERDUE
A new Farm Bill is now 777 days overdue.
A new Farm Bill is needed to replace the 2018 Farm Bill that expired on September 30, 2023. That was 777 days ago (as of Sunday, November 16, 2025. Yet, Congress, with both the House and the Senate controlled by Republicans and the White House in their control, too, either has not been unable to – or couldn’t be bothered to – pass new basic farm policy legislation to replace the Farm Blll that expired 777 days ago. That makes a new Farm Bill more than TWO YEARS OVERDUE.
The legislation that ended the government shutdown included another simple one-year extension of some provisions of the Farm Bill, which is no substitute for a new five-year Farm Bill. It’s one more kick of the can down the road and means farmers will continue operating under often outdated federal farm programs and policies, most likely for at least another year.
Iowans in Congress, all Republicans, once claimed the Farm Bill was one of their top priorities. There is scant evidence to back those claims. Two-thirds of Iowa’s congressional delegation are members of either the House or Senate Agriculture Committees:
- Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA);
- Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) ;
- U.S. Representative Zach Nunn (R-3rd IA);
- U.S Representative Randy Feenstra (R-4th IA)