Boozman Pushes Stronger Farm Safety Net, Weighs in on Immigration and MAHA Report

Senate leadership is still aiming to have the budget reconciliation bill through the Senate by July 4. On this episode of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers, Senate Ag Committee Chair John Boozman joined the show to outline the benefits farm country will see in the bill. He also discussed immigration, the MAHA Commission report, and his optimism for passing a complete farm bill this Congress.

Plus, Mike Stranz with the National Farmers Union and Tas Smith from the National Cotton Council discussed the extension of the 45Z tax credit in reconciliation, the Buy American Cotton Act, and the MAHA Commission report.

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Please note: This transcript has not been edited.

Lydia Johnson: Welcome to “Agri-Pulse Newsmakers,” where we aim to take you to the heart of ag policy. I’m your host, Lydia Johnson. This week we’re joined by Senate Ag Committee Chairman John Boozman. He discusses the benefits farmers can see in reconciliation, the Make America Healthy Again commission report, and ag labor. But first, here’s this week’s headlines.

The Department of Homeland Security says immigration raids will continue on farms. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said there will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE’s efforts. This decision appears to be a reversal from last week. According to the New York Times, ICE earlier told regional staff to pause all work site enforcement investigations involving agriculture. In the Oval Office earlier this month, President Trump said farmers and the hospitality industry shouldn’t lose long-term workers that had been working without incident.

Farm organizations and food industry leaders want the Make America Healthy Again commission to consider their input as food and agriculture policy is developed. Over 250 groups wrote a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins, and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, urging the administration for an opportunity to provide input after they say the most recent report lacked transparency and an opportunity for public engagement. The groups say the commission’s last report contained errors that created doubts about the safety of the country’s food supply. The report criticized the amount of ultra processed foods, added sugars, food dyes and additives in Americans’ diets. It also cited studies linking exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, with adverse health outcomes.

The Senate Finance Committee released its tax and Medicaid provisions for the GOP budget reconciliation bill this week, including an extension of expiring 2017 tax cuts. The package would keep the section 199A deduction for pass-through business income at 20%, and make it permanent. It would also set the estate tax exemption at $15 million, or 30 million for a couple, and index the limit to inflation. The finance committee’s provisions also include an extension of the 45Z Clean Fuels Production Tax Credit through 2031. Republicans in the House and Senate are closely aligned on the farm bill provisions and their version of the budget reconciliation bill. The House bill adds $60 billion in spending to farm programs, while the Senate version adds $67 billion.

Senator John Boozman serves as chair of the Senate Ag Committee. We asked him where farmers can see the biggest benefits in reconciliation.

John Boozman: We’ve gone through the country. The thing that I hear the most from our producers is if they need a better safety net, they need more risk management tools in the sense that with these low commodity prices, very high input cost, it’s very, very difficult. They need a hedge, and so we worked hard to help really across the board as far as row crop, dairy, sugar producers, all of these various entities, livestock, the specialty crops, honeybees, you name it, trying to give them a better safety net, which, again, I think is the most important thing that we can do for our farm community right now. The feedback that we’ve gotten has been very, very good. Most of this stuff was what we proposed last year. We worked very closely with GT Thompson, who does an excellent job in the House, he’s outstanding, to try and try and go ahead, and as we had this vehicle going through to get some of the farm bill out of the way, we’d like to get these things done, and then come back later in the year and actually pass the rest of the farm bill.

Lydia Johnson: The tax finds savings for those farm programs by cutting the cost of the supplemental nutrition assistance program. Congress hasn’t taken money from food assistance before. Should farmers, should producers be concerned about the impact this could have on passing future farm bills?

John Boozman: No, and we’re really not taking money from food assistance in the sense. What we’re doing is, is we’re looking at the error rate. Right now, there’s, you know, about a hundred billion dollars over 10 years that is just due to overpayments. So we’re saying, let’s recoup those dollars and get them, you know, in a better place. And so that’s really what we’re doing. So it allows the states to become more efficient.

Lydia Johnson: Republicans still seem to be divided on some issues, including the impact on rural hospitals of the bill. How confident are you that it can be passed by the July 4th goal that leadership has?

John Boozman: I think we’ll get it done. Right now, there’s still a lot of negotiation going on. People are concerned, rightfully so, in the sense of making sure that we do the very best for our rural hospitals, which are so important. There’s so many headwinds right now in rural America with the farm economy, loss of population, things like that. Certainly we don’t wanna do anything that would, you know, make it such that it’s that much more difficult.

Lydia Johnson: And as you’ve mentioned, there’s some very important farm bill elements included in reconciliation, but wanna gauge your optimism on a complete farm bill still being passed yet this Congress.

John Boozman: Yeah, I’m very much committed to that. I’ve got a great partner in Amy Klobuchar. Senator Klobuchar does a really good job. She and I have done some difficult things in the past, and look forward to working with her in the future. We need to pass a complete farm bill. We’re able to do some of the big things in reconciliation. The risk management tools, those are the cost drivers. Those are the things that cost so much money. If we can get those out of the way, we’re also doing things with research and trade, which are so, so very important for our farmers. But if we can get some of those things out of the way, then we can come back and finish up. And there’s so many policy areas that, again, you know, we’ll be working together to straighten out that will make life easier for our farmers and the farm communities that we’re anxious to serve.

Lydia Johnson: The Department of Homeland Security recently said they would pause raids on farms, hotels, and restaurants, but quickly reversed that decision. We asked Senate Ag Committee Chairman John Boozman about his message to President Trump when it comes to shaping immigration policy that could affect the nation’s food supply.

John Boozman: Well, I think the biggest problem that we got now is uncertainty. You know, one minute, it’s one way, and the next minute it’s the another way, you know, who can plan? It really makes it very, very difficult. And so, I think that there’s all kinds of people that we can be going after, you know, initially that are here illegally, that have committed crimes, you know, things like that, that I think that’s where we really need to concentrate. Certainly, those that are here illegally, the president campaigned on sending back, and so we’re gonna have to deal with that. Now that we’ve secured the border, and the president’s done a tremendous job in that, nobody said he could, but already in the first few months of his presidency, we’re having record low border movements, which is great. We can celebrate that. That was the first step towards, you know, at some point, getting together a Visa program so that we can get the workers that we need and do things in an orderly process. That’s really what things should be all about. So, I’d like to see us expand that, again, making sure people are here illegally, making sure people are here legally versus being here illegally and continue to secure the border.

Lydia Johnson: The Make America Healthy Again Commission Report is continuing to raise concerns with farm groups who had limited input in how it was developed. You know, what are your thoughts on the report and are you concerned about the claims it makes about pesticides?

John Boozman: Well, I’m very concerned about the report in general, and not only the report, but some of the statements that have been made just off the cuff. And so, you know, this is really important stuff, and we need to use common sense, but we also need to use science. And right now, the report was not based on science. It was very sloppily done. There was no transparency at all as to how it was done, who was doing it. So we had a really good meeting with several members and RFK Jr. and, you know, the people that worked with him, Lee Zeldin was there, who’s doing a tremendous job at EPA, but really expressed in a very frank way that we were concerned about this. We felt like a lot of the things that were in it were not accurate, that were contrary to what, you know, the studies were showing. And so, the good news is I think they listened, and hopefully will be more responsible as we go forward in the future. One of the most important things we need to do is get some farmers involved so that they can explain exactly what they’re doing. Nobody does a better job at, you know, working hard to protect the soil, protect our health, and so many of the things that we’re concerned about from a climate standpoint depend on using safe herbicides and pesticides so you don’t have to disturb the soil. So we can do that and, you know, maybe we can do it more efficiently.

Lydia Johnson: Your committee is continuing to move forward on nominees to support Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins and President Donald Trump’s agenda. Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden was recently confirmed, so I’m wondering, what’s next on your timeline for nominees coming up?

John Boozman: Well, we’re trying to get ’em done as quickly as we can, and so, they have to get their paperwork filled out. They have to have an FBI background check. We’ve got several that are, you know, that we’re gonna vote out of committee in the near future. And then after that, after we get ’em out of committee, and the secretary desperately needs help, you know, it seems like this administration’s been in power, for a long time, but it’s only been a few months, but right now it’s basically the secretary and a few others that are, you know, at the top trying to set new policies that we desperately need. So then we have to rely on, really the White House decides, because it’s not only agriculture that’s in that situation, it’s all of the agencies. So we have to rely on the White House to, you know, direct who they feel like is most important to get done. But we’ll be pushing really hard, encouraging the White House to select us, to get some votes on the floor for these nominees so that we can fill out Secretary Rollins’ cabinet.

Lydia Johnson: Wonderful. Well, Senator Boozman, thank you so much for joining us. We’ll be right back with more of our panel discussion, but first, Allie Herring looks at public perception of the Make America Healthy Again movement in this week’s Ag by the Numbers.

Allie Herring: Most Americans view the Make America Healthy Again movement positively, but their level of support depends on their party affiliation. The results of the Gardener Food and Agricultural Policy Survey show that MAHA support was strongest from very conservative participants, with 76% of this group holding very or somewhat positive views of the movement. By contrast, only 46% of very liberal survey takers indicated very or somewhat positive views of MAHA. Additionally, only 5% of very conservative participants had very or somewhat negative views of MAHA versus the 26% of very liberal respondents who fell into this camp. Survey takers on each end of the political spectrum were more likely to be aware of the MAHA movement than their moderate counterparts. For Agri-Pulse, I’m Allie Herring.

Lydia Johnson: Budget reconciliation could bring many benefits to farm country, including a boost to reference prices. We’re joined by Mike Stranz with the National Farmers Union and Tas Smith from the National Cotton Council on our panel this week. We’ll begin with you, Mike. What do you see as the biggest wins included in the budget reconciliation bill for farm country?

Mike Stranz: One of the biggest things we need to see from reconciliation or a farm bill process in general is to get rid of this uncertainty. For too long, almost two years, we’ve been operating without a five-year farm bill. And by moving that process along, over the last couple of months through the reconciliation process, in this case, that helps address that big concern about… concerns about what our next farm bill’s gonna look like. So having some boost to reference prices, including some of the important programs that were part of the last, the 2018 Farm Bill, that helped provide for rural America, is a help. It’s a boost. We are concerned though, about the long-term viability of the Farm Bill Coalition as this approach that we see through reconciliation of doing some parts of the farm bill, but not all of it, breaks apart that long-term coalition. We’d like to see progress and we’re glad to see those increases in reference prices and other boosts. But there’s concerns out there.

Lydia Johnson: There’s numerous beneficial tax provisions included in the bill as well that will benefit rural America, including extension of the 45Z tax credit for biofuels. What’s the importance of having that for farm country?

Mike Stranz: Absolutely. Yeah, glad to have those tax provisions in there that can help rural America and farmers in particular. With the 45Z clean fuels production tax credit, there’s more opportunities to make sure that we’re unlocking the potential of clean energy production. We’ve seen this over the last few years when this was part of the Inflation Reduction Act, but by making sure that that 45Z rule and the tax provisions work the way that they ought to, we can help make sure that farmers have greater flexibility and ease when they’re making investments and tailoring strategies towards their operations.

Lydia Johnson: Tas, bringing in the discussion here, what are you watching in regards to how cotton growers could benefit from the reconciliation package?

Tas Smith: We’re excited about a lot of the provisions in there, particularly for growers. Our reference prices have needed to be increased. Our cotton cost of production has gone up 20, 25% over the last three years. The reference prices has been outdated and needed to be because that in here gets that reference price for seed cotton more in line with cotton cost of production. It also makes some critical crop insurance changes. We have a area-wide cotton insurance product called STAX, Stacked Income Protection Plan, that growers have not been able to use the PLC provision, the price loss coverage provision, and arc provisions on that. So this would allow growers to… It makes the SCO, supplemental coverage option, more like STAX. It allows growers to be able to do PLC, price loss coverage, on their seed cotton based acres. It also made some critical changes to the marketing loan, gets the loan rate… It makes an increase in the cotton loan rate, but also make some provisions that with adjuster world price calculations, they get that more in line to make some critical changes on that front as well. This is gonna be really good for growers.

Lydia Johnson: The National Farmers Union and other producer groups have spoken up about the Make America Healthy Again commission report, after there was little industry input in the development process. We asked Mike Stranz about the group’s message to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about the report.

Mike Stranz: Well, whenever there’s new policy approaches or kind of a statement of purpose and principle, I guess for a big effort, like what came through in the MAHA report, we gotta make sure that anytime we’re trying to address the chronic disease issues, nutrition, environmental exposure, concerns, all this needs to be grounded in sound science. It’s gotta reflect the science. We need to have a transparent process and how this is built and overall a commitment to public health. And while that fell short through this MAHA Report process, we hope that future efforts can reflect the broad perspectives and important perspectives within agriculture to make sure that these sorts of projects work for farmers. One thing that I do wanna hold up though that the report, rightly, highlights and raises to the forefront, is the threat of corporate consolidation on our food and agriculture system. So we’ve gotta make sure that that continues to be part of the discussion in the MAHA Report, and just the overall effort. And we’re glad to see the administration include that as one of the big concerns. We can help the overall health of our American population by making sure family farmers aren’t being pushed out, and that we continue to have diversity in farming and local food systems and rural economies.

Lydia Johnson: Tas, I wanna get your perspective as well, as the cotton industry, also concerned about the Make America Healthy Again commissioner report.

Tas Smith: Yeah, there’s some things in the report that we are concerned about. I mean, you know, anytime you have a report on health, that needs to be grounded in science. We have made tremendous strides with our crop protection products. We have to have that, moving forward. We control, protect, pest control is a very, very important part of fresh agriculture in cotton. And we need to make sure that those tools remain available for growers in the long term. We do see opportunity, though, with the MAHA report. One of the provisions that was outlined in the report was the concern about microplastics, and the health impacts of microplastics. And we feel like cotton is a natural fiber, natural clothing. We believe that we can do some education with that, with the administration about the possible positive impacts of wearing more natural fibers in your clothing to mitigate some of the damaging, possible health impacts of microplastics.

Lydia Johnson: Tas, Senator Cindy Hyde Smith recently introduced, the Buy American Cotton Act. What’s the importance of providing those tax credits for American Grown Cotton, and do you see that as something that could be rolled into President Trump’s one big, beautiful bell?

Tas Smith: Yeah, we’re working on that front, now. Grateful for the support we have from Senator Cindy Hyde Smith, and we’ve got great co-sponsors with Senator Bozeman, Senator Britt, Senator Tuberville, Senator Marshall have been great supporters so far, and so we’re trying to get that worked in. This bill would basically incentivize the consumption of US cotton. A lot of that cotton is growing in the US where it’s exported to Asia, to a near shore here in Mexico. with some of our pre-trade agreements we have with that. But we wanna get that brought back in because that is US cotton being produced here and brought back into the US, incentivize the importers and the retailers to source US cotton and all that cotton can be traced through the Cotton Trust Protocol and through technical genesis, it’s very traceable. So we could utilize on that front and get this incentivization going and really enhance demand for growers, enhanced demand for US cotton as well.

Lydia Johnson: We’ll be back with more Agri-Pulse Newsmakers. But first, Allie Herring looks at US Senate seats up for election in 2026 in this week’s “Map It Out.”

Allie Herring: 2026 is shaping up to be a Republican heavy election cycle in the Senate. As you can see here, of the 33 Senate seats up for reelection in 2026, 20 are held by Republicans. Five of these Republican senators currently sit on the Senate Ag Committee. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, Roger Marshall of Kansas, Cindy Hyde Smith of Mississippi, and Joni Ernst of Iowa. Four Senate Ag Democrats are also up for reelection in 2026. Dick Durban of Illinois, Tina Smith of Minnesota, Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico, and Cory Booker of New Jersey. McConnell, Tuberville, Durban, and Smith will not be seeking reelection. All are retiring, except Tuberville, who is running for Alabama Governor. Republicans currently hold a 53 to 47 majority in the Senate. When the 20 Republican held seats were last up for reelection in 2020, four were decided by a margin of less than 10 percentage points, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, and Texas. For Agri-Pulse, I’m Allie Herring.

Lydia Johnson: Thanks for joining us for another episode of “Agri-Pulse Newsmakers.” Next week in Washington, both the House and Senate will be in session. Senate Majority Leader John Thune still has his eye set on passing the Senate version of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act by the 4th of July. Tune in next week and check our website anytime for the latest developments. For Agri-Pulse, I’m Lydia Johnson. Thanks for watching.

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