Agriculture policy is a moving target. From Farm Bill debates and climate action to supply chain cracks, even the concept of "resilience" is under pressure. Small and mid-sized farmers are still reeling from the pandemic shocks as technology-driven growers push for innovation.
For government affairs teams, success depends on understanding how these changes affect industries and shaping their organization's response. Here are four policy areas you need to watch.
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The Farm Bill
The Farm Bill underpins U.S. food policy, shaping conservation, supply chains, and climate priorities. But political and budget pressures cloud the 2025 rewrite, according to Mike Lavender, policy director at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC).
The recently signed reconciliation bill H.R. 1, the One Beautiful Big Bill Act, redirected funds from nutrition assistance to farm and rural support, breaking the decades-long balance that held together bipartisan coalitions, Lavender says.
“It's really perverse cannibalization and dismissal of a long-term era in food and farm policy,” Lavender says. “It’s a new frontier, and the old rules don't apply. That has to be top of mind for anybody who's thinking about the next step of food and farm policy.”
While Lavender points to political instability, others see policy changes with far-reaching implications.
Shawn Arita, associate director at North Dakota State University’s Agricultural Risk Policy Center and a former economist with the Department of Agriculture, calls the broadened safety net programs one of the most significant developments in years.
“The expansion of USDA support programs, crop insurance, and risk management tools represents an additional $60 billion in support over the next decade,” he says.
Trade tensions, biofuel policy, and the expanded safety nets also fuel uncertainty for farmers, Arita says. Biofuels, in particular, have become a crucial tool to boost domestic crop demand.
“People can’t force people to eat more, but biofuels are one potential lever that policymakers can use,” he says.
Supply Chain Resilience
The pandemic exposed cracks in America’s food systems, as bottlenecks in a highly consolidated processing network emptied shelves nationwide.
“Those things were happening because we hadn’t invested in a resilient supply chain that actually created market opportunities for all different types of producers,” Lavender says.
NSAC calls for federal investment in local and regional processing facilities. Without them, farmers face long waits, missed market windows, and cascading delays. Smaller, diversified networks would strengthen the system and give independents a chance to compete, according to Lavender.
Arita notes that trade instability remains a significant source of uncertainty.
“There’s a lot of tariff actions rolling everywhere,” he says. “Everything has just been very, very much volatile. Trade is a huge thing that we follow — it’s such an important part of the connection of farmers to their markets.”
Climate-smart Agriculture Incentives
Federal and state leaders increasingly look to agriculture to address emissions, water conservation, and food security. This opens the door for agtech innovations, says Jed Portman, senior manager of public affairs at 80 Acres Farms, a vertical farming company that grows pesticide-free produce with robotics, artificial intelligence, and renewable energy.
“In the [Make America Healthy Again] and America First political movement, we’re seeing more interest in policies that support resilient, regional food systems,” he says. “That’s an opportunity for vertical farming and other forms of [Controlled Environment Agriculture] that are reshoring food production, year-round.”
Although an Investment Tax Credit failed to make it into the last Farm Bill, momentum is growing. At the federal level, interest is rising for incentives for climate-smart agriculture, Portman says.
“We’ve been advocating for an investment tax credit (ITC) for investments in innovative agricultural technology, which has had broad bipartisan support,” he says. “The sponsors of the Supporting Innovation in Agriculture Act are leaders in both parties.”
Decades of subsidies have locked the food system into a narrow focus, says Thomas Zoellner, an agtech expert and secretary-general of FarmTech Society, a nonprofit that supports CEA and builds sustainable, resilient farming systems worldwide.
About 95 percent of subsidies go to major commodity crops, such as soybeans, wheat, corn, sugarcane, and rice, says Zoellner, who is based in Brussels. “The whole supply chain grew around them, creating the green revolution that has been feeding the world`s population, but it’s become fragile and unstable,” he says. “Entire regions are impacted by droughts and extreme heat, making it impossible for farmers to even earn a living and plan a future with succession.”
Digital tools could help farmers adapt, but adoption remains low. Only 5 percent of farmers globally are using them, Zoellner says, citing limited access to knowledge and capital as major barriers.
The 2025 State of Government Affairs
Energy, Food Safety & Workforce Development
As agriculture becomes more tech-driven, new policy gaps are emerging. Portman highlights three areas:
Energy policy: Vertical farms depend on reliable energy, but few policies support microgrids, demand response, or renewable partnerships. Smarter frameworks and incentives for microgrids and renewables could give agtech stability to maximize impact and resilience.
Food safety and labeling: As vertical farms introduce new products and methods, outdated standards risk slowing progress. Clear, consistent guidelines would build consumer trust and smooth the path for innovation.
Workforce development: While H-2A visa reforms remain vital for traditional farms, vertical farms need a different approach. Their workforce relies on technical, operational, and systems expertise, making policies for advanced manufacturing, automation, and high-tech skills a key priority.
Policy teams need direct engagement to understand the real-world impact of their decisions — including site visits and in-depth conversation with operators and technical teams, Portman says.
“So much of what we’re doing has never been done before, so even agriculture experts may not have a good sense of our needs or our potential as an industry,” he says. “One farm visit can be game-changing.”
Advisory councils or industry working groups, including agtech leaders, can also help ensure that policies evolve in step with technology, he adds.
How to Stay on Top of it All
Ag policy touches energy, water, labor, and trade, all while climate and geopolitical pressures raise the stakes for government affairs teams. Lavender says staying ahead takes careful attention.
“It’s a constant process,” he says. “There’s always something to monitor, and the priority for us is vigilance and staying aware and plugged into everything that could potentially move.”
That means tracking proposals broadly, then narrowing them down to the few that directly impact NSAC members. The focus on filtering and prioritizing is important, but it’s only part of the equation. Portman says early engagement with policymakers can make or break an organization’s ability to shape outcomes.
Arita highlights the importance of actionable tools. His team recently launched an agriculture trade monitor to track tariffs and their impact on U.S. exports and imports.
For government affairs teams, this reality underscores the need to pair strong relationships and internal alignment with tools that turn strategy into action. PolicyNote helps by monitoring policy shifts and enabling teams to respond with confidence, freeing up time to influence outcomes, shape policy, and advise leadership.