MN farmer on Farm Bill politics: 'We're just playing Whack-A-Mole'

The U.S. Senate is expected to dig deeper into the next farm bill later this summer, following House approval in April.

Minnesota dairy farmer James Kanne hopes politics stay out of the final push and that fairness for noncorporate operations becomes a priority.

Kanne, who farms in Renville County, recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to push for provisions in the sprawling agricultural policy package. He said the process in recent years has become so fraught with partisan approaches that smaller, independent operations like his are left fighting for scraps.

“We're just playing Whack-A-Mole,” Kanne said. “We're just trying to bat down the biggest of the problems, and to support maybe one or two things that we can add to the farm bill that would be a positive.”

In the Senate version, Kanne said he would like to see language that compels federal agencies to enforce existing antitrust rules covering agriculture. He and like-minded farmers also want mandatory country-of-origin labeling for beef.

In defending their version, House Republicans say it bolsters risk management for food producers, supports rural communities and addresses foreign investment in U.S. farmland.

In last year's “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” congressional Republicans addressed other elements of the farm bill, including controversial changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Moves were also made related to conservation funding.

Kanne said work is still needed to get healthy land-management support in the right hands.

“There is simply not enough funding for the amount of demand,” Kanne said. “You need to have caps on what people can get under some of those programs, because that is part of what's funding the concentration in agriculture.”

Kanne said it might be a lofty goal, but he also wants Congress to get to the bottom of the health-insurance affordability crisis in farming communities.

The chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee said that activity on the farm bill could gain steam after the July Fourth holiday.