What's Missing from the Farm Bill 2.0

## What didn't make it A bill of this scale always reflects what's *not* in it as much as what is. Here are the major provisions that **could have been in the Farm Bill 2.0** but aren't. ## 1. Year-round E15 ethanol **The biggest omission.** Year-round E15 sales, letting gas stations sell 15% ethanol blend gasoline year-round in markets where summer Reid Vapor Pressure restrictions normally limit it, is the priority issue for corn growers and the ethanol industry. It's not in the farm bill. Speaker Mike Johnson promised a separate vote on a standalone E15 bill in May 2026. Whether that vote happens, and whether it passes, is the single biggest open question for corn-state Republicans. If E15 fails on its standalone vote, expect aggressive lobbying to attach it to the Senate version of the farm bill. ## 2. Restoration of $187B in SNAP cuts The 2025 budget reconciliation law (H.R. 1) cut $187 billion from SNAP over 10 years. The Farm Bill 2.0 keeps all of those cuts intact. Democrats offered amendments to restore the cuts. None passed. Senate Democrats will try again, but reversing reconciliation policy in a non-reconciliation bill is structurally hard. They'd need 60 Senate votes. ## 3. Comprehensive H-2A / farmworker reform The Farm Workforce Modernization Act has bipartisan support among rank-and-file members but not among House Republican leadership. It would create a pathway to legal status for long-term farmworkers and modernize the H-2A guest worker program. It wasn't allowed an amendment vote. The agricultural industry quietly supports it. Republican leadership opposes it because of immigration politics linkage. Democratic leadership won't agree to it without broader immigration reform. This will continue to be the single biggest unresolved labor issue facing U.S. agriculture. ## 4. Hemp THC product fix The previous farm bill extension created a federal recriminalization timeline for hemp-derived THC products (Delta-8, Delta-9 in beverages, etc.). That timeline kicks in later in 2026. Hemp industry advocates wanted the Farm Bill 2.0 to delay or modify the recriminalization. It wasn't included. The hemp industry now faces a federal shutdown of a multi-billion-dollar product category unless Congress acts separately. ## 5. APHIS electronic ID tag repeal The cattle industry is divided on the APHIS rule requiring electronic identification for breeding cattle and dairy moving across state lines. A repeal amendment was offered and failed. The bill includes a study/report requirement instead. For ranchers in Wyoming, Montana, Texas, and other states with strong opposition, this fight continues. ## 6. Forest Service staffing requirements A Pettersen (D-CO) amendment would have required minimum Forest Service staffing for wildfire response. It failed on jurisdictional grounds, staffing levels are an appropriations issue, not an authorization issue. The result: the Farm Bill 2.0 expands NEPA categorical exclusions and provides funding for wildfire mitigation, but doesn't require Forest Service to actually staff up to do the work. ## 7. Tariff cost reimbursement Multiple Democratic amendments would have authorized USDA payments to producers harmed by 2025–2026 tariff changes (similar to the 2018-2019 Market Facilitation Program). All failed. If commodity prices crash because of trade dynamics, expect this to come back as standalone legislation. ## 8. National SNAP soda/sugar restrictions Several states have USDA waivers to prohibit SNAP purchases of soda and sugary drinks. There's no federal rule. An amendment to create one was offered and failed. This will likely come back via state-by-state expansion of waivers rather than federal action. ## 9. Climate and carbon-specific provisions The 2018 farm bill had implicit climate provisions (carbon sequestration in CSP, cover crops in EQIP). The IRA created explicit climate-tied conservation funding. The Farm Bill 2.0 mostly **removes** climate-specific framing while keeping the underlying programs. CSP no longer specifically prioritizes "carbon sequestration or reduction in greenhouse gas emissions", though the underlying practices are still funded. This is a politically deliberate shift, not an oversight. ## 10. Transformation of the SNAP-EBT system Several proposals to modernize SNAP delivery (mobile EBT, online purchasing expansion, prepared meal pilots) didn't make it in. Hot rotisserie chicken did. But the broader EBT modernization didn't. ## 11. Tribal-specific food sovereignty provisions Several proposals to expand tribal authority over USDA Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), strengthen Self-Determination Act demonstrations, and add tribal-specific conservation set-asides did not advance. ## 12. Farmer fair pricing / Packers and Stockyards Act updates Cattle producers have been pushing for stronger Packers and Stockyards Act enforcement, mandatory minimum cash trade requirements, and country-of-origin labeling for beef. None of this is in the Farm Bill 2.0. Some of it is being pursued through standalone bills. ## What this tells us about Senate priorities The Senate will likely **not** restore most of these. The political dynamics that kept them out of the House bill apply in the Senate too. But three may have a real Senate path: - **E15** (corn-state Republicans have more leverage in the Senate) - **Hemp THC fix** (industry lobbying, bipartisan rank-and-file support) - **Some SNAP delays** (Senate Democrats push to delay state cost-shifts) If the bill goes to conference, these are the most likely additions. Watch for them.