The Impact of Midterm Election Results on Farm Bill Planning

Tuesday’s midterm elections throughout the U.S. marked the departure of at least four long-time members of the House Agriculture Committee. As the 2023 Farm Bill takes shape, there is less experience now at the table to continue improving or overhauling food and agriculture policy. Slightly more than half of all Agriculture Committee members (28 of 51) were in Congress during the creation of the 2018 farm bill.

The Committee remains comprised chiefly of rural lawmakers, despite most of the bill’s funding going toward USDA spending on public nutrition programs. Due to this fact, there are some urban Democrats are taking some of the seats on the committee.

Read more on how this week’s elections could impact the 2023 Farm Bill here.