Congressional leaders are preparing another one-year extension of the farm bill, according to multiple reports. The most recent farm bill, passed in 2018, expired nearly 15 months ago and was extended to the end of this September. After operating without a current authorization since Oct. 1, lawmakers plan to renew the law until Sept. 30, 2025, to avoid reverting to decades-old farm policies.

Negotiations are reportedly ongoing to add supplemental farm support payments to the extension, but a final deal has not yet been announced. According to a document first obtained by Agri-Pulse, lawmakers are considering payments to farmers in the range of $10 billion. While many farm-state elected officials have advocated for using the bill to move excess conservation funding into the farm bill’s funding baseline, earlier this week it was reported that the idea was squashed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

The package is expected to be attached to a three-month continuing resolution to fund the government. Current funding expires Dec. 20, setting a hard deadline for an agreement before the holidays. Other major legislation is also still being negotiated with the goal of tacking it onto the package, including hurricane relief, permitting reform, healthcare funding provisions, and the annual defense authorization bill.

Related:Farm Progress America, Nov. 26, 2024

Proposed dietary guidelines harshly criticized by livestock farmers

Members of the livestock industry spoke out strongly against the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s Scientific Report after its release on Tuesday. The 421-page report recommends that federal nutrition guidelines include a reduction in red meat consumption and an increase in protein from plant-based sources like beans and lentils.

The committee, a panel of independent experts appointed by USDA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is tasked with compiling the latest science and making recommendations to the agencies every five years. The ultimate federal dietary guidelines developed from the report are crucial to shaping federal nutrition policies and programs like school lunch standards, food labeling and public health initiatives.

In response to the recommendations, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association President and Wyoming rancher Mark Eisele said, “This reduction is a solution in search of a problem. Public health advice should be based on the totality of scientific evidence. The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee ignored robust and rigorous scientific evidence about beef’s essential nutrients and the foundational, positive role it plays in health as a preferred protein food in a variety of healthy diets for all Americans.”

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“The Meat Institute remains strongly opposed to the report’s recommendation to reduce meat consumption and will urge the agencies to reject it,” said Meat Institute President and CEO Julie Anna Potts. “For the 95% of Americans who consume meat, the Report’s recommendations are tone deaf and unrealistic. Americans need guidance on how meat fits in a healthy diet. Directives from out-of-touch academics to eat legumes and avoid the nutrient-dense foods they love does not foster improved health and fails to account for the central role of meat within America’s cultural diversity.”

The federal government must now review and weigh the recommendations of the Scientific Report before drafting proposed dietary guidelines. The public will still have opportunities to comment on the proposals before they are finalized.

USDA adjusts meat production forecasts in December report

The USDA’s December update to the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) introduced minor changes to 2024 meat production projections, while trimming the 2025 forecast slightly.

For 2024, total beef, pork, broiler, and turkey production is now estimated at 107.936 billion pounds, a modest increase of 6 million pounds from November's forecast. Minor adjustments were made for beef, pork, broiler, and turkey production. The 2025 outlook saw a more pronounced revision, with total production projected at 107.863 billion pounds, a reduction of 591 million pounds. Key adjustments include a 615-million-pound cut in beef production, a 30-million-pound reduction for pork, a 75-million-pound increase for broilers, and a 20-million-pound reduction for turkey.

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The World Agricultural Outlook Board attributed the 2024 beef production increase to higher steer and heifer slaughter rates and heavier dressed weights. Pork production was adjusted downward due to lighter dressed weights, while turkey production is expected to rise in the fourth quarter on heavier weights.