AUDIO: Glenn “GT” Thompson
Time for certainty.
“There’s a lot of pain right now in American agriculture financially, and they need a bridge.”
Chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, Glenn “GT” Thompson says the newly introduced Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, or Farm Bill 2.0, would provide five years of stability with a modernized farm safety net.
“It encompasses all 12 titles of the farm bill.” He says, “It’s about 20% of the funding needs. We really focus on making refinements to policy, but we made significant improvements.”
He tells Brownfield updated conservation, market access programs, and enhanced disaster programs are all highlights, but says updated credit programs could be the most vital for farmers.
“Making sure there’s access to credit, raising the loan limits.” He says, “I mean, we heard that soundly as a need that was out there. Being able to borrow sufficient number of monies to be able to expand your farm or to break into farming for the first time.”
Thompson says the legislation is scheduled for markup in committee Monday afternoon and he’s optimistic it will quickly move to the House floor for a vote.
Brownfield spoke with Thompson at the Illinois Pork Producers Association annual meeting and Swine Mixer in Springfield.
