The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard's Dairyman.
Washington, D.C. (May 15, 2025) —
On May 13 and 14, the House Agriculture Committee held a markup of the Budget Reconciliation bill, which advances deep cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and sidelines key investments for the next generation of farmers.
“This budget proposal is a betrayal of the values that sustain our food system. These are not the investments young farmers need,” said Erin Foster West, Policy Campaigns Director of the National Young Farmers Coalition. “Instead of passing a bipartisan Farm Bill that builds resilience for farmers and families alike, this bill fast-tracks harmful cuts to nutrition programs that serve as both a safety net for families and a revenue stream for farmers. It trades long-term food security for short-term austerity.”
The legislation proposes over $300 billion in cuts from the nutrition title of the Farm Bill—specifically targeting SNAP—at a time when grocery prices remain high, and small farms rely on local market sales to remain viable. SNAP is one of the few programs that supports both food access and farm viability simultaneously.
“Accepting SNAP is essential,” said Kaitlyn Kimball of Sunset Farm in Connecticut, a young farmer and SNAP-authorized vendor. “It makes our produce accessible and supports our business. Cutting this program means cutting off our customers and cutting into our livelihoods.”
SNAP supports over 42 million Americans per month, including children, seniors, veterans, and working families. It also injects billions into the local food economy—supporting roughly 400,000 jobs across farms, grocery stores, and markets. The proposed bill would impose new eligibility restrictions, work requirements, and other changes that could kick at least 3 million people out of the program, according to the Congressional Budget Office, while forcing states to assume new costs they cannot afford.
“SNAP isn’t just an anti-poverty program—it’s farm policy,” said David Howard, Policy Development Director at the National Young Farmers Coalition. “And young farmers can’t thrive in a system that forces us to choose between feeding our communities and supporting our businesses. Congress must reject this bill and return to the work of crafting a bipartisan Farm Bill that reflects the needs of a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient food system.”
While the Committee majority claimed the bill invests in the farm economy, the bill doubles down on increased Title I subsidies that primarily benefit large commodity operations. It does so at the expense of nutrition programs, climate-resilient conservation investments, and equitable access to land and resources.
“The Inflation Reduction Act has been a critical resource for farmers who are interested in both feeding their communities and protecting our environment. While we are pleased to see that the remaining unobligated IRA funding has been rolled into the baseline for Farm Bill conservation programs, we ask that Congress reinstate the climate focus of those funds,” said Lotanna Obodozie, Climate Policy Director of the National Young Farmers Coalition.
The National Young Farmers Coalition urges lawmakers to:
Reject this reconciliation bill and its $300 billion in SNAP cuts;
Protect SNAP as a food access program and economic driver in rural communities;
Preserve climate priorities within the Inflation Reduction Act conservation funding that helps farmers adopt climate-resilient practices;
Support a full, bipartisan Farm Bill that equitably supports all farmers—not just the largest and wealthiest operations.
###
The National Young Farmers Coalition (Young Farmers) is a national grassroots network of young farmers changing policy and shifting power to equitably resource the new generation of working farmers. Visit Young Farmers on the web at www.youngfarmers.org.
