Senate budget reconciliation bill addresses funding for many programs historically included in the Farm Bill

Through the development of its budget reconciliation bill, the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry addressed funding for many programs that have traditionally been addressed in a stand-alone Farm Bill. For more information on this committee’s work on the current reconciliation bill, which is commonly referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill (or OBBB), see this announcement. This Senate Committee’s work is similar to the House Committee on Agriculture’s work on OBBB, which can be found here. The Irrigation Association continues to watch and engage on the OBBB as it moves towards the July 4 goal for passage.  

However, it’s important to note that elements of the committee-released text may still be subject to change, pending the Senate parliamentarian’s review for compliance with the Byrd Rule—a procedural check that limits what can be included in reconciliation bills. 

The recent approach of including Farm Bill-related funding in reconciliation bills began with the Inflation Reduction Act, although it is worth noting that funding decisions in the IRA were very different than what is in the OBBB. This approach of including funding for ag-related programs in reconciliation bills means that the ag and irrigation industries should pay careful attention to what is in the OBBB. It’s much more than taxes. Furthermore, this approach reduces the likelihood that Congress will work on another Farm Bill in the near-term because funding for many ag-related programs would have already been addressed. There is much that benefits producers and the irrigation industry in OBBB, but it is worth noting that the reconciliation process is more limited than the Farm Bill in that there is less flexibility to address policy issues. As a result, the Irrigation Association is evaluating additional avenues for pursuing federal policy change that benefits the irrigation industry.  

While OBBB addresses funding for numerous ag-related programs, this article highlights one key area of particular importance to the irrigation industry. Both the House and the Senate versions of OBBB increase mandatory baseline funding for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program by redirecting unspent EQIP funding from the IRA. Here are the updated baseline numbers:  

When accounting for the IRA EQIP funding being redirected, this increase in mandatory baseline represents similar or moderately higher EQIP funding levels. Unlike IRA funds for EQIP, which were limited to climate-smart practices, the reallocated EQIP funding in OBBB is not restricted to climate practices only. 

While the EQIP program funds a range of practices, in recent years it has funded between $150 and $300 million in irrigation and irrigation-related practices, making it a very significant program to the ag irrigation industry. The IA is developing initiatives to make it easier for producers to use EQIP funding for irrigation practices. Stay tuned for updates on these initiatives.  

The bottom line is that OBBB includes funding for many ag-related programs, and it will be increasingly important to understand them if and when OBBB is signed into law. At that point the likelihood of a new Farm Bill in the short-term decreases, and ag and irrigation policy changes may need to come through other legislation or through Executive Branch changes.