07.02.25

Hoeven: We Secured the Heart and Soul of the Farm Bill in One Big Beautiful Bill

Bill Approved by Senate Updates Reference Prices, Strengthens Crop Insurance

FARGO, N.D. - Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today held a roundtable with North Dakota farm leaders to outline provisions he secured in the One Big Beautiful Bill, including:

  • Updated reference prices, with built-in future increases.
  • Elements of Hoeven’s FARMER Act to strengthen crop insurance and make higher levels of coverage more affordable for producers.
  • Sugar Program Extension.
  • Improvements to Livestock Disaster Programs.

“The One Big Beautiful Bill provides significant tax relief for working Americans, including our farmers and ranchers, but we also secured the heart and soul of the farm bill in this legislation,” said Hoeven. “That includes priorities like updated reference prices for this crop year, stronger and more affordable crop insurance, as well as updates to the sugar program and improvements to livestock disaster programs. These are the core pieces of the farm bill and vital to farm country. The Senate has now passed what is essentially a seven year farm bill.”

Specifically, the legislation:

  • Increases reference prices for Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) by 10% to 20% (specific increase varies by commodity).
    • Built-in future reference price increases with an inflation adjuster and an improved price escalator to prevent reference prices from becoming outdated when market and input costs change.
    • New safety net begins right away – producers can receive the higher of the ARC or PLC payment for this crop year, 2025, with the new updated reference prices. North Dakota farmers will see tens of millions of dollars in relief in 2025 alone thanks to these updates.
  • Key provisions of Hoeven’s FARMER Act to strengthen and expand access to affordable crop insurance:
    • Increases premium support for individual-based coverage across nearly all levels – starting at 55% -- by an additional 3-5%.
    • Enhances the Supplemental Coverage Option by raising the coverage level from 86% to 90%, and boosts premium support from 65% to 80%.
  • Extension of the sugar program through 2031, while increasing the sugar loan rate to better align with current market conditions.
  • Improvements to livestock disaster programs
    • Sets Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) payments at 100% of market value for losses from federally protected predators and 75% for weather and disease losses.
    • Improves the Livestock Forage Program (LFP) to provide one monthly payment to eligible producers with grazing land in counties rated D2 (severe drought) for at least four consecutive weeks and two payments if D2 persists during any seven of eight consecutive weeks within the normal grazing period.

Tax Relief for Agriculture Producers

The legislation permanently extends current individual tax rates and bracket changes of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, preserving $4 trillion in tax breaks, and increasing take-home pay by up to $10,900 in the first four years for the typical family as a result of economic growth and tax relief. The legislation also provides tax relief for farmers and ranchers and other small businesses, including:

  • Permanent relief from the death tax by setting the exemption to $15 million or $30 million for those married filing jointly, adjusted for inflation.
  • Permanently extending the Section 199A pass-through deduction for small businesses, farmers and ranchers.
    • Permanently extending the Section 199A(g) deduction used by agricultural cooperatives.
  • Increasing the Section 179 expensing amount to $2.5 million and increasing the phaseout for qualified property at $4 million.
  • Making permanent the 30 percent interest expense allowance.
  • Making permanent 100 percent bonus depreciation.

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