Jan. 15 webinar to discuss impact of 2024 elections on ag law, policy

By Drew Viguet
National Agricultural Law Center
U of A System Division of Agriculture

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — With the 2018 Farm Bill having expired and an election cycle that has come and gone, what’s on the horizon for agricultural law and policy?

According to Hunt Shipman, principal and director at Cornerstone Government Affairs, one word encapsulates what can be expected: change.

“Election cycles bring with them many changes that have lasting impacts,” Shipman said. “With new members of Congress, as well as narrow Republican control of the White House and narrow control of Congress, among many other factors, 2025 is set to be very impactful for agricultural law and policy.”

On Jan. 15, Shipman will present the National Agricultural Law Center, or NALC, webinar, titled “Looking Ahead: Impact of the 2024 Elections on Ag Law and Policy.”

During the National Ag Law Center’s Jan. 15 webinar, Hunt Shipman, principal and director at Cornerstone Government Affairs, will discuss what the country’s recent political changes mean for the future of agriculture. (U of A System Division of Agriculture photo by Mary Hightower)

Shipman brings an insider’s view to this webinar. He has served in the agriculture law and policy industry for more than two decades, with roles in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Senate Agriculture Committee and more. In 2002, he was USDA’s principal negotiator with Congress on the 2002 Farm Bill.

“Change in government impacts agriculture across the country,” Shipman said. “It’s important for agricultural stakeholders to grasp what is ahead amidst changing structures.”

The presentation will begin at 11 a.m. Central/Noon Eastern. Registration is free of charge online on the NALC website.

“Hunt has years of experience working on Capitol Hill and knows where things stand, as well as great perspective on where they are heading,” NALC Director Harrison Pittman said. “From administration, to policy and regulatory landscape, to the Farm Bill and beyond, Hunt offers valuable insight.”

Shipman said he looks forward to discussing what the country’s recent political changes mean for the future of agriculture.

“We’ll also discuss who is or who may be involved in agriculture under the Trump Administration, potential regulatory changes, along with what the path forward to reauthorize the Farm Bill may look like, as the 2018 Farm Bill expired in September,” he said.

For information about the NALC, visit nationalaglawcenter.org. The NALC is also on X, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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About the National Agricultural Law Center 

Created by Congress in 1987, the National Agricultural Law Center serves as the nation’s leading source of agricultural and food law research and information. The NALC works with producers, agribusinesses, state and federal policymakers, lenders, Congressional staffers, attorneys, land grant universities, students, and many others to provide objective, nonpartisan agricultural and food law research and information to the nation’s agricultural community.

The NALC is a unit of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and works in close partnership with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, National Agricultural Library.

Shipman: Delayed budget could influence development of 2023 Farm Bill

By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture

Uncertainty over President Biden’s budget and whether Congress can achieve true bipartisan agreement are among the challenges facing the 2023 Farm Bill, said Hunt Shipman, principal and director of Cornerstone Government Affairs.

Shipman expects that the good working relationship between Senate Ag Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow and ranking member Sen. John Boozman will help development of the Farm Bill.

The current Farm Bill expires Sept. 30.

“Every Farm Bill is important, and this one is no exception, but it faces unique headwinds in Congress,” Harrison Pittman, director of the National Agricultural Law Center, said. “The outcome will define what the farm safety net will look like in the coming years, which impacts farming operations, lenders, and others throughout the ag industry.”

The Farm Bill was among a spectrum of topics Shipman addressed in “Looking Ahead: Impact of the 2022 Elections on Ag Law and Policy,” a webinar hosted by the National Agricultural Law Center in January.

The president isn’t expected to submit his budget to Congress until March 9. By statute, the budget is due the first Monday in February.

Shipman said the delay “may also influence the timing of the ‘23 Farm Bill being able to truly get underway.”

In an email after the webinar, Shipman said “the desire by some in Congress to cut spending will require some negotiation among the House, Senate and White House to reach an overall spending agreement that likely includes a debt ceiling increase. That agreement will be necessary for the ag committees know exactly what they've got to work with.”

Oversight
In addition to timing, budget oversight will be a major issue for Congress, and Shipman cited rural broadband efforts as an example.

“As we think about other areas that have been of interest in past Farm Bills — rural development, broadband — continues to be a focus,” he said. “If you look at some of the analyses that have been done, there are 133 broadband programs administered by federal agencies … that have spent well over $115 billion to ostensibly expand broadband access in the country.”

Shipman said there’s talk about additional broadband support in the next Farm Bill and expects “close scrutiny as to whether or not the dollars that have been already allocated for that have been spent wisely and in the most efficient manner possible.”

Additionally, “I don't think it's going to get easier to write a Farm Bill in 2024 with an election year looming over us,” he said. “But we've done it in the past, and we may do it again this time.”

Working together

Two factors that may encourage moving the Farm Bill forward are the members of the congressional agriculture committees and the impending retirement of Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

“We’ve got the same four leaders of the agriculture committee that we had in the last Congress just changing roles on the House side, with G.T. Thompson of Pennsylvania taking over as chair, and Sen. Stabenow remains chair of the Agriculture Committee in the Senate, and then the ranking member, it’s Sen. (John) Boozman from Arkansas,” Shipman said.

“After much of the negotiation that happened in the last Congress, I think for them to work together, they now know each other well and hopefully will be able to move forward for a Farm Bill,” he said. “Whether or not there can be true bipartisan agreement on that … we have the foundation for that between Sen. Stabenow and Sen. Boozman.”

Shipman also said that Stabenow announced that she won’t seek re-election in 2024.

“This will be her last Farm Bill,” he said. “I think that’s important to note because she has certainly made her mark on previous Farm Bills and I think she will definitely want to leave with an impactful role on the Ag Committee.”

Shipman also fielded questions about nutrition and insurance programs, as well as industrial hemp.

 To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.