Wyoming agricultural leaders say they are encouraged that the Senate Agriculture Committee advanced the 2026 Farm Bill on Wednesday, but they have doubts whether it’ll get to the full Senate in time to become law – or become law at all.
“Our people feel that even though it is moving in committee, there is no optimism that it will get through the Senate before they adjourn in 10 days,” Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, told Cowboy State Daily.
Doug Miyamoto, director of the Wyoming Department of Agriculture, said eventual passage of the bill is critical for Wyoming farmers and ranchers.
“The bill is imperative to providing stability for producers and setting a path forward on a variety of important issues like conservation, disaster relief and prices,” Miyamoto said in an emailed statement.
Todd Fornstrom, president of the Wyoming Farm Bureau and a Laramie County farmer who operates a farm and feedlot, agreed.
Producers are dealing with high input costs while average crop and livestock prices have put pressure on margins, Fornstrom said.
“It’s all political. There is a lot of wrangling going on,” he told Cowboy State Daily.
Wyoming's ag leaders say the bill would move farmers and ranchers another step toward a new federal agriculture policy, but all concede it has a difficult path ahead in the full Senate.
The Agricultural Act of 2026, also known as “Farm Bill 2.0,” squeaked through the committee 12-11 along party lines.
The vote came after a failed attempt in August in a 10-11 vote amid a partisan dispute over changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., returned to the Senate on Monday after a three-month absence and voted Wednesday to advance the bill. His absence had had left the 23-member committee evenly divided, preventing the legislation from advancing when Democrats opposed it in August.
The bill now heads to the full Senate.
The current extension of the 2018 Farm Bill expires Sept. 30. The farm bill is generally renewed every five years and sets federal policy for agriculture, nutrition, conservation and rural development.
Wyoming agriculture watching closely
For Wyoming producers, the legislation could affect several programs and policies important to the agricultural industry.
“In Wyoming, we pay close attention to the Conservation title (Title II) and the EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program) funding because these are both highly used by producers in our state and are very important to Wyoming Ag,” Miyamoto said.
The Senate Agriculture Committee describes its bill as a modernization of farm programs, including changes to risk-management tools, conservation programs, specialty-crop assistance, drought flexibility, agricultural financing and rural development.
Miyamoto said moving the bill forward gives producers a clearer picture of what could be available in coming years.
“Passage of the bill means that producers across the country can move forward with certainty and a clear understanding of what may be available in the coming years,” he said.
Magagna said the Wyoming Stock Growers would be satisfied with the bill in its current form because it addresses issues important to the state's livestock producers.
But the broader political fight surrounding the bill remains a concern.
SNAP dispute threatens farm bill
The primary roadblock in the Senate Agriculture Committee has been a provision involving SNAP, the federal food-assistance program.
Under legislation passed last year, states with SNAP payment error rates of 6% or higher will eventually be required to pay a portion of the cost of SNAP benefits. The Senate farm bill would delay that requirement by one year, to fiscal year 2029, while also changing the potential cost-sharing requirements for states with higher error rates.
Democrats on the Agriculture Committee have pushed for a two-year delay instead.
That disagreement killed the bill's first attempt to advance out of committee Aug. 6.
Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., chairman of the Agriculture Committee, said Wednesday that Republicans had offered Democrats a one-year delay without additional cost to states, but that offer was rejected.
“The rest of the story is this: We offered a one-year delay with no payment, no cost. It was rejected,” Boozman said during Wednesday's meeting. “We’re running out of time, and we’re rapidly losing a window that we can actually get this thing passed.”
The disagreement over SNAP has become intertwined with the larger effort to pass the farm bill, even though the legislation also contains provisions covering agricultural production, conservation, disaster assistance, rural development and energy.
Wyoming farmers want certainty
The Farm Bureau’s Fornstrom said the agricultural community also wants assistance addressing economic conditions that aren't necessarily reflected in the farm bill itself.
The Farm Bureau has called for additional economic assistance for farmers facing high production costs and financial losses. The organization has also said a new farm bill is needed to provide producers with greater certainty as they continue operating under the extended 2018 legislation.
Why some of those priorities weren't included in the current legislation is difficult to determine, Fornstrom said.
“It’s political, most likely,” he said.
He said producers also want fewer regulatory barriers.
“We would appreciate a level playing field,” Fornstrom said. “We need to reduce regulations so we can get the American public the safest meat and produce in the world.”
Farm bill faces another hurdle
The Senate committee's action Wednesday does not guarantee passage in the full Senate.
The bill will need 60 votes to move forward. Republicans hold 53 seats, so the bill will need support from at least seven Democrats.
That makes the unresolved disagreement over SNAP significant as the Sept. 30 expiration of the current farm bill extension approaches.
The House already passed its version, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, by a 224-200 vote April 30. Fourteen Democrats joined Republicans in supporting the legislation, while three Republicans, including Wyoming Rep. Harriet Hageman, voted against it.
Hageman criticized the House bill, telling Cowboy State Daily in an emailed statement that “special interests have taken over this critical agenda and filled the legislation with so much bloat it is impacting our producers and their ability to feed and fuel the nation.”
The House and Senate bills would have to be reconciled if both chambers pass legislation.
For Wyoming's agricultural community, however, the immediate issue is less about the details of the congressional process than getting a new farm bill across the finish line.
“This is a critical part of the toolbox for farmers and ranchers,” Fornstrom previously said of the farm bill.
With the current farm bill extension set to expire at the end of September, Wyoming producers are now watching to see whether the Senate can turn Wednesday's narrow committee vote into a bill that can pass the full chamber.
Kate Meadows can be reached at kate@cowboystatedaily.com.
