November 18, 2025

Contents

• What We’re Watching
• Notable News
• This Week’s Legislation
• Upcoming Hearings
• Contact the Team

What We’re Watching

Congress 

Appropriations 

Last week, the House and Senate passed a spending package that ended the forty-three day government shutdown. The bill includes a three-bill minibus covering FY2026 funding for MilCon-VA, Agriculture-FDA and the Legislative Branch, along with a short-term Continuing Resolution (CR) that would fund the remaining government agencies through January 30, 2026. While the package didn’t include an extension for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, which was the crux of the shutdown fight, Senate Democrats have been promised a vote on the tax credits in December. That agreement wasn’t made in the House, but we do expect healthcare conversations to be a focal point for the remainder of the year.  

The package also included a full-year extension, through September 2026, of 2018 Farm Bill authorizing provisions that were not included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). The CR package also replenished the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), which is used to fund various USDA programs, including farm programs, and has historically been used for ad-hoc assistance programs. However, it is unclear whether excess funds will be available through the CCC this year to contribute to ad hoc payments. The final bill package can be found here.   

The final FY26 Agriculture-FDA bill had an overall topline number of $26.65 billion, an amount higher than proposed in the House bill and slightly lower than the Senate funding levels. The bill does not contain large scale cuts to agencies and programs, and fully funds high priority programs, while also leaving most agencies and programs funded at previously enacted levels. Notably, the bill has fully restored mandatory funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which lapsed for the first time in history during a government shutdown, causing a delay in benefits. Finally, all federal employees who received notice of a layoff by the Administration during the shutdown have been reversed, and the bill prohibits reductions in force (RIFs) while the CR is in effect. 

Following the passage of the Continuing Resolution, President Trump has commented on SNAP and how people are using the benefits to “leave their job because they figure they can pick this up,” while Secretary Rollins also said the program is full of waste and fraud and should be reformed. She is likely looking at other avenues to restrict SNAP spending that could go beyond the cuts made in the reconciliation package passed in July, and has announced that SNAP beneficiaries will have to reapply for the program to prevent future fraud and abuse.  

Coalitions Send Letter to Congress on Removal of Sec. 453  

Groups aligned with the “Make America Healthy Again” movement co-signed a letter to Congress urging members to remove the Section 453 provision in the Interior Department’s appropriations bill. Section 453 would protect pesticide manufacturers from certain liabilities. The letter was organized by Public Interest Research Group, and includes Moms Across America, MAHA Mommas, and other groups that have had an influential role in HHS Secretary Kennedy’s health agenda. The letter specifically calls out glyphosate, which has been a target for the groups, and says that the section would have “dangerous consequences” to EPA enforcement.  

Anti-Hunger Coalition Writes Letter Opposing SNAP Cuts 

Over 1,400 national, state, and local anti-hunger organizations wrote a letter to Congress urging members to co-sponsor the Restoring Food Security for American Families and Farmers Act of 2025, and opposing the recent cuts to SNAP in the reconciliation bill enacted in July. The letter calls out how the reductions in spending will be the “largest cut to SNAP ever enacted” with 4 million people losing their eligibility for food assistance. The letter also specifically raises concerns with the state-federal cost shift, which has been criticized by Governors around the country for the strain it will put on state budgets.  

Administration

USDA Disaster Programs Announcement

On Monday (11/17), USDA announced three disaster programs for farmers using funds made available through the American Relief Act passed at the end of the 118th Congress. 

1. Stage Two of the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) 
   In total, the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (Stage One and Stage Two) will pay out over $16B to farmers. The second stage covers eligible crop, tree, bush, and vine losses from 2023 and/or 2024 that were not covered under the first stage of the program. This includes non-indemnified (shallow loss), uncovered, and quality losses. The enrollment period for Stage Two is Nov. 24, 2025 – April 30, 2026. Like Stage One, the total SDRP payment to producers will not exceed 90% of the loss and a 35% payment factor will be applied to all payments. If additional SDRP funds remain, FSA may issue a second payment. Of note, due to the establishment of separate block grants for Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, and Massachusetts, losses in those states are not eligible for SDRP program payments. The SDRP fact sheet can be found here.
2. Milk Loss Program  
   The Milk Loss Program provides $1.65 million for eligible dairy operations for milk that was dumped or removed without compensation from the commercial milk market because of a qualifying natural disaster event in 2023 and/or 2024. The enrollment period is Nov. 24, 2025 – Jan. 23, 2026. More information can be found here.
3. On-Farm Stored Commodity Loss Program 
   The On-Farm Stored Commodity Loss Program provides up to $5 million for producers who suffered losses of eligible harvested commodities while stored in on-farm structures in 2023 and/or 2024 due to a qualifying natural disaster event. Eligible commodities include corn, grain sorghum, hay (including alfalfa hay), oats, peanuts, pulse crops, rice (long and medium grain), seed cotton, soybeans, other oilseeds, and wheat. The enrollment period is Nov. 24, 2025 – Jan. 23, 2026. More information can be found here. 

Tariff Reductions on Ag Imports 

The White House released an Executive Order modifying the scope of the reciprocal tariffs on certain ag products, exempting them from reciprocal tariffs regardless of a trade agreement. These exemptions are only for reciprocal tariffs, and if a product is subject to other tariffs (such as the pre-existing MFN rate or a trade remedy duty like anti-dumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD), those tariffs still apply. Products that are named under this EO include coffee, tea, fruit juices, tropical fruits, cocoa, spices, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, beef, and certain fertilizers.

USDA Announces Screwworm Response Plan 

Last week, USDA Secretary Rollins announced the opening of a sterile fly facility in Tampico, Mexico to prevent the spread of the New World screwworm (NWS). USDA is also investing $21 million to support Mexico’s renovation of an existing fruit fly facility in Metapa, which will double NWS production capacity and will begin as soon as the summer of 2026. Additionally, USDA has begun construction on a sterile fly dispersal facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, TX that is projected to begin operating in early 2026 and  APHIS is  expediting design and construction of a sterile fly production facility in Southern Texas, with a targeted maximum capacity of 300 million sterile flies per week. 

Trump Administration Meets with Stakeholders on Year-Round E15 

Biofuel stakeholders had a meeting with senior Trump administration officials and USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins to discuss a path forward for year-round E15 fuel. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) praised the meeting as a positive step forward in granting E15 sales year-round, a priority of his and other midwestern lawmakers looking for ways to expand markets for producers of feedstock crops. The Trump administration has approved temporary waivers for E15 sales, but industry stakeholders and farmers have pushed for permanent adoption to allow for more certainty.  

Notable News

• Trump Administration Considers Bringing Back the Food Pyramid – Bloomberg 
• ‘We need to get out of here’: Trump’s immigration crackdown is quietly reshaping where immigrants live in America – NPR 
• Food Stamps May Face Lasting Damage From Trump’s Halt to Funds in Shutdown – New York Times 
• Most emerging nations can realign trade to weather US tariffs, report finds – Reuters 
• Sonny Perdue Inducted into National Agriculture Hall of Fame – FOX5 
• Price Check: With turkey prices up, how much will Thanksgiving cost this year? – Forth Worth Star Telegram 
• Infant botulism in 10 US states linked to formula being recalled – AP 

This Week’s Legislation

• Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS) introduced the Better Food Disclosure Act (The Better FDA Act), which will require food companies to report the ingredients that they put in their food supply to the FDA. 
• Congressman Tony Weid (R-WI) introduced the Bringing Assistance to Rural Needs during Shutdowns (BARNS) Act to direct the USDA to automatically consider the FSA as an essential agency and ensure those offices remain open during any future shutdown. 
• Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (D-OR) introduced HR 6041, which would authorize the USDA Secretary to provide rural partnership program grants and rural partnership technical assistance grants 

Upcoming Hearings

Wednesday, November 19 

• 10:15 AM: The House Education and Workforce Committee will hold a hearing titled “E-Verify: Ensuring Lawful Employment in America.” 
• 9:30 AM: The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing to examine how the BLM land use planning process under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (FLPMA) affects permitting for energy, mining, grazing, and infrastructure projects on public lands.
• 10:00 AM: The House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries will hold a legislative hearing on H.R. 338 (Rep. Costa), “Every Drop Counts Act” H.R. 1514 (Rep. Ezell), “Mississippi River Basin Fishery Commission Act” H.R. 3756 (Rep. Crenshaw), “Fighting Foreign Illegal Seafood Harvests Act of 2025” or the “FISH Act of 2025” H.R. 5699 (Rep. Rutherford), “Fisheries Data Modernization and Accuracy Act of 2025”
• 10:00 AM: The House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party will hold a hearing titled “Predatory Pricing: How The Chinese Communist Party Manipulates Global Mineral Prices to Maintain Its Dominance.”
• 10:00 AM: The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a hearing to examine the Future of PFAS Cleanup and Disposal Policy.

Contact the Team

Feel free to contact Michael Torrey, Tara Smith, Cassandra Kuball, Barbara Patterson, Katie Naessens, Julie McClure, Nona McCoy, Danielle Nelson, Ashley Smith, Olivia Lucanie, Caroline Sowinski, Eden Lambert, Tracy Boyle, or Grace Walker with any questions or comments.

Food and agricultural organizations that need the right results in Washington, D.C. can trust Torrey Advisory Group to put its relationships, reputation, and expertise to work on your issue. Since 2005, the firm has successfully provided legislative and regulatory guidance, issues management, and association management services to a wide variety of clients. Learn more about us at torreydc.com.