Senate hearing: farm groups and lawmakers press for swift 2025 farm bill with higher reference prices and stronger crop insurance

Chairman Bozeman convened the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee hearing and opened with a warning that ‘‘since 2022, producers have lost more than $50,000,000,000 in net income,’’ framing testimony from commodity and farm‑group leaders who urged rapid passage of a modernized five‑year farm bill.

The hearing brought a unified message from farm leaders across commodities: producers need immediate, multi‑year certainty and stronger Title I support, including higher PLC reference prices, expanded and more affordable crop insurance, and other risk‑management reforms that take effect for the 2025 crop year.

Why it matters: witnesses said sharply lower commodity prices, sustained high input costs and rising interest rates have created narrow or negative margins that threaten family farms, rural economies and the U.S. food supply. Multiple witnesses said temporary emergency aid passed in December provided relief but cannot substitute for a…