Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Clears Senate, Sending it Back to House

(7/1/25) Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 tie in the U.S. Senate today to pass President Donald Trump’s centerpiece legislation on tax cuts and spending, the 940-page “One Big Beautiful Bill,” reports Oklahoma Farm Report. In order to pay for spending on tax breaks, the bill makes significant cuts to nutrition programs, Medicaid, and farm conservation initiatives. The package of legislation now goes back to the U.S. House for consideration. Highlights:

• The bill rakes back as much as $16 billion in ag conservation funds from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and rolls those funds into the 10-year budgets for USDA’s main conservation programs. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) forecasts that move will result in nearly $1.8 billion in cuts compared to what the IRA and Farm Bill funding could have provided for conservation programs.
• Farm program payment limits would increase from $125,000 to $155,000 for individuals, and the payment limit would increase based on an inflation index. The bill also removes income caps for farmers or entities that draw 75% or more of their income from agriculture or forestry.
• Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) proposed an amendment that would have limited farm payments to working farmers, and thus exclude non-farm investors, absent landholders, or recipients who act as pass-throughs from receiving USDA checks. However, that provision was not included in the final Senate version of the bill. “Unfortunately, the exclusion of this provision fits with the theme of the bill — small and mid-sized family farms and their communities are left to fend for themselves amidst an environment of uncertainty,” wrote Mike Lavender, policy director for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, which LSP belongs to.
• The bill was projected to cut food aid for low-income people by $185.9 billion over 10 years, mainly by tightening provisions around the country’s largest food-aid support program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The bill also restricts the Agriculture secretary from offering waivers to SNAP work requirements based on areas with higher unemployment rates. Combined, the work requirements would reduce SNAP spending by $92 billion over 10 years.
• The package of legislation contains various safety net features and tax provisions that will benefit farmers, particularly those who are raising mainstream commodities on a large scale. But before Trump’s bill passed the Senate, Joshua Baethge, the policy editor for Farm Progress, wrote about a 2025 USDA Economic Research Service report that found that loss of nutrition program spending will reduce farm income by about $30 billion. USDA data also shows SNAP spending generates more economic output and employment in rural areas. According to the National Grocers Association, a trade association representing independent supermarkets, SNAP funding brings in more than $4.5 billion in state and federal tax revenue. It also accounts for approximately 388,000 jobs and more than $20 billion in direct wages. “There is little debate that those cuts would put more money in farmers’ bank accounts. The yet-to-be answered question is how much of it will ultimately stay there?” Baethge writes.
• The Associated Press reports on a CBO analysis that showed the bill would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion over the decade. That would cost the government hundreds of billions in interest and mean higher interest rates on consumer debt.

In coming days, NSAC will be posting a full analysis of the budget reconciliation bill here.

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Who owns most of the farmland in Illinois? Not farmers.

(6/2/25) The Chicago Tribune reports that less than a fourth of Illinois farmland is owned by the farmer who works the land. The rest is leased to farmers by individuals, family trusts and, increasingly, businesses. Highlights:

•  The Tribune analyzed over 3.7 million acres of farmland in 10 counties with the most fertile soils, highest cash rents in 2024, and available historical data. It found that over 1 in 5 acres are owned by business entities. This is an almost 170% increase since 2005. In the same 20-year window, farmland owned by businesses with out-of-state mailing addresses increased by nearly 250%.
•  Average farmland rents in Illinois have already outstripped the inflation rate, more than doubling from $129 to $269 per acre annually from 2005 to 2024.
•  Over 80% of Illinois’ 26.3 million acres of farmland is dedicated to corn and soybeans. Short-term leases disincentivize farmers from growing anything but corn and soybeans and it often takes a few years of additional expenses and reduced yields to realize the benefits of soil health practices, such as planting cover crops, reducing tillage, and limiting fertilizer use. Farmers reported being more likely to adopt conservation practices on land they owned, according to the Tribune.

LSP has created a landing page for landowners who are seeking to sell or rent farmland to farmers who will continue their stewardship legacy. Check out the Land Transition Resources page here.

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First-ever Ban on Watering Lawns in Central Iowa Due to Nitrate Levels in Rivers

(6/16/25) In Iowa, a ban on watering lawns has been issued in the Des Moines metro area for the first time to avoid a potential water crisis due to high concentrations of nitrates in local rivers, according to ABC News. Highlights:

• The Central Iowa Water Works banned about 600,000 commercial and residential customers from watering lawns as near-record levels of nitrates in the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers threaten to overwhelm the water utility company’s capabilities to treat the water. There is an “imminent risk” of violating nitrate standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to Central Iowa Water Works.

• The EPA sets a maximum containment level of 10 milligrams per liter — equivalent to 10 parts per million. The standard is to protect infants under six months of age.

• Fertilizer and manure runoff from agricultural fields are often the source of nitrates in rivers. Spring rains, especially when following drought conditions, can increase nitrate levels in rivers.

• As the Associated Press reports, in 2015 the water works utility took the issue to court to ask for the millions of dollars it was being forced to spend to filter unsafe levels of nitrates from drinking water taken from the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers. A judge ultimately dismissed the lawsuit against three northwest Iowa counties, ruling the issue was one for the Legislature to address.

For more on farming’s fraught relationship with nitrogen fertilizer, check out LSP’s blog post: “Nitrate’s Season of Reckoning.”

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Conservation Work on Farms and Ranches Could Take a Hit as USDA Cuts Staff

(6/23/25) Civil Eats reports that reductions in staff at the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service could jeopardize the agency’s work to protect land, water, and wildlife across vast swaths of U.S. range and farmland. Highlights:

• According to a USDA document provided to members of Congress and reviewed by Civil Eats, of approximately 2,400 NRCS employees who accepted resignation offers between January and April, only about 30 were based in Washington, D.C. The rest were working with farmers in local offices across the country.
• The Department of Government Efficiency has proposed shutting down more than a dozen NRCS offices nationwide, along with additional county USDA offices where NRCS staff work. In their 2026 budget requests, President Donald Trump and the USDA have also proposed eliminating an entire source of funding for farmer technical assistance from NRCS.

Check out LSP’s federal policy web page for details on how to let Congress know we need to support farm conservation programs.

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Trump’s Immigration Crackdown Straining Labor Force for Minnesota Ag, Food Operations

(6/18/25) The Minnesota Star Tribune describes the concern farmers and others in the food industry have as the Department of Homeland Security announces there will be “no safe spaces” for businesses using undocumented labor, including farms. Highlights:

• Minnesota was home to anywhere between 50,000 to 70,000 unauthorized immigrant workers in 2022, according to estimates from the Center for Migration Studies and the Pew Research Center. A large share of them work on farms or in food and meat processing.
• In Minnesota, 27% of farms hire outside help, said Lauren Heers, a University of Minnesota Extension educator for the central part of the state. A good number of those workers are immigrants.
• According to the U.S. Census Bureau, foreign-born workers made up less than 19% of employed workers in the United States in 2023. But they accounted for nearly 24% of jobs preparing and serving food and 38% of jobs in farming, fishing, and forestry, reports the Associated Press.
• A Minnesota Chamber of Commerce report in February highlighted how the state’s immigrant population is driving population and labor gains. Employment among immigrant workers increased by 7% between 2019 and 2023, compared with less than 1% for native Minnesotans.

What’s the historical relationship between immigration and farming in Minnesota? Check out episode 373 of LSP’s Ear to the Ground podcast for a conversation with Ryan Perez, COPAL’s leadership and organizing director.

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The Atmosphere’s Growing Thirst is Making Droughts Worse, Even Where it Rains

(6/5/25) The University of California-Santa Barbara News Service reports on a new study that shows that the atmosphere’s growing thirst for water is making droughts more severe, even in places where rainfall has stayed the same. Highlights:

• Hot air holds more moisture, and the study, which was published in the journal Nature, details how the atmosphere’s increased “thirst” has made droughts 40% more severe across the globe over the course of the past 40 years.
• Droughts are usually blamed on a lack of rain. But scientists have discovered another factor at work: warming air is increasing the atmosphere’s evaporative demand. Atmospheric evaporative demand (AED) acts like a sponge, soaking up moisture faster than it can be replaced. This can pull more water out of soils, rivers, and plants.
• This study reinforces past work showing that droughts will become more intense in a warming world. The study underscores the importance of early warning systems, drought risk management, and effective anticipatory actions. Predicting droughts, and increased atmospheric demand, can trigger effective interventions. For example, farmers might use micro-irrigation or water-retentive soil treatments to offset increased AED.

LSP and U of M Extension are teaming up to provide a “Risk to Resilience” summer program for commodity crop and small grain farmers. Via four online sessions, growers can learn how to prepare their operations for unpredictable, extreme weather events. Details are here. Episode 299 of LSP’s Ear to the Ground podcast features a conversation with Laura Lengnick, the author of Road to Resilience. 

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A National Soil-Judging Contest Prepares College Students to Steward the Land

(6/24/25) A reporter for Civil Eats attended the 2025 National Collegiate Soil Judging Contest in central Wisconsin, where more than 200 students from 27 colleges and universities across the U.S. vied for a gleaming three-foot tall trophy — the Stanley Cup of soils. Highlights:

• Teams can range in size from three students to more than 20. They compete both individually and as a group to most accurately describe the origin and characteristics of five “competition pits” over two days. These pits expose the top five to six “horizons,” or layers, of soil.
• Students use a color book to determine the exact shade of each soil layer; a triangle to classify soil, based on its mix of clay, silt, and sand; a soil knife to get a feel for the texture of each horizon; and a muffin tin to transport soil samples in and out of the pit. Students need to manually squeeze, squash, and smash the soil to get a sense of its composition, down to its exact percentage of clay versus sand.
• To show students the range of farming styles in the region and how they impacted the soil, Bryant Scharenbroch, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, took them to visit a handful of local producers during their practice week. There, students saw how farming practices like tillage caused soil layers to be tighter and less permeable, making it harder for water to penetrate. Farms that used techniques like compost application and cover cropping had deeper, darker-brown top layers that were better at absorbing moisture and less at risk of erosion.

Check out LSP’s Soil Builders’ Network web page for resources on how to build soil health profitably.

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The Ruin & Redemption of the American Prairie

(6/11/25) National Public Radio‘s “Science Friday” featured a discussion about how we are destroying prairies at an alarming rate, which is bad news for the climate, soil, wildlife, and rural communities. Highlights:

• The guests were Dave Hage and Josephine Marcotty, two Minnesota journalists who have recently published a book titled Sea of Grass: The Conquest, Ruin, and Redemption of Nature on the American Prairie. The book describes how mono-cropping and other land uses have decimated one of the most diverse biomes on the planet.
• Frontier colonial farmers plowed up 300 million acres in less than a century; that’s one-sixth of the continent. During the past few decades, new seed hybrids and other cropping advancements have enabled farmers to plant soybeans and corn farther West, which threatens the shortgrass prairie ecosystem. This has resulted in tremendous erosion and runoff, release of greenhouse gases, and the loss of pollinators, grassland birds, and other wildlife.
• However, in the course of their reporting, Marcotty and Hage saw firsthand how farmers and researchers were developing regenerative systems such as adaptive rotational grazing to save grasslands and provide an economic incentive to preserve remaining prairie and even reestablish new prairie plantings.

On Aug. 2, Hage and Marcotty will be featured at an LSP “Prairie Walk and Author Talk” event being held at Lac qui Parle State Park in Watson, Minn. For details, see our web events page. The latest Land Stewardship Letter includes a review of Sea of Grass.

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