WASHINGTON — The US House Agriculture Committee passed the latest version of the Farm Bill on May 23, with little support from Democrats.

According to a Reuters report, the H.R. 8467 bill passed out of the committee with a 33-21 vote, of which only four Democrats approved.

“This bill may have advanced out of Committee, but it has no future,” said House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member David Scott. “It does not have the Democratic support necessary to be brought to the House Floor.”

The $1.5 trillion “Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2024” looks to expand farm commodity supports, shrink the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding and reallocate nearly $20 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act intended for climate-smart practices.

“I firmly believe the legislation before us today restores a robust rural economy, invests in America’s farmers, ranchers and foresters, and bolsters every facet of American agriculture,” said committee chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson. “And having seen the widespread support from stakeholders across this country, I believe we have achieved that goal.”

Following the passing of the Farm Bill, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) released a statement in support of the decision.

“The 2024 Farm Bill is a golden opportunity to address a top issue for pork producers across the country — California Prop 12 — and I’m pleased to see the US House Agriculture Committee seize the opportunity to stop a potential 50-state patchwork of differing on-farm regulations,” said Lori Stevermer, NPPC president and a pork producer from Easton, Minn. “At a time when bipartisanship is often a four-letter word in Washington, we applaud the House Agriculture Committee for working together to deliver a farm bill that validates America’s pork producers’ needs. We urge the US Senate to follow suit and provide much needed certainty to pork producers and consumers across the country.”

NPPC said the House Farm Bill accomplishes 100% of US pork producers’ priorities, including increase in market access programs for US pork, boost in resources for feral swine eradication, authorization of the National Detector Dog Training Center and preservation of necessary resources to protect the nation’s food supply from foreign animal disease.

Earlier this week, NPPC led a coalition alongside the American Farm Bureau Federation to ask Congress for a “federal fix” to California’s Proposition 12, which the pork group believes to have been answered in the 2024 Farm Bill.

Before the bill can be ratified, the Senate must approve its own Farm Bill draft. Then, leaders from both the House and Senate will form a conference committee to combine the two individually approved drafts. The unified version will need to be approved by the House and Senate before it’s signed into law by the president.