Capital Update – For the Week Ending Jan. 30, 2026
In the weekly recap from the National Pork Producers Council: House Agriculture Farm Bill markup set for late February; and top Ag Committee democrat to run for governor. Take a deeper dive below.
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House Agriculture Farm Bill Markup Set for Late February
What happened: House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “G.T” Thompson (R-PA) told his Republican colleagues he hopes to mark up a farm bill the week of February 23. The five-year blueprint is expected to be similar to the bill approved in May 2024 by the committee during the 118th Congress.
That measure, which never was considered by the Senate, included a fix to California’s Proposition 12, which bans in that state the sale of pork from hogs born to sows raised in housing that fails to meet California’s standards, a major NPPC priority.
Thompson said he’s aiming for a vote by the entire House before Congress takes a two week-plus break around Easter. A new farm bill has not been approved since 2018. That one expired September 30, 2023, and has been extended several times.
NPPC’s take: NPPC and a nearly 1,000-strong agriculture coalition want a farm bill fix to the impending patchwork of conflicting state laws spurred by Prop. 12, which took effect January 1, 2024. The California law has increased pork operating costs, creating uncertainty for business owners and increasing pork prices for consumers.
A recent study found that many farms against fixing Prop. 12 are not affected by the law and are not involved in pork production.
Notwithstanding the long-awaited Prop. 12 fix, NPPC secured all its remaining farm bill asks in the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” Act, which was signed into law in 2025.
Why it matters: The five-year farm bill sets farm, conservation, forestry, and nutrition policy and authorizes various agricultural programs, including ones related to foreign animal disease preparation and prevention and export promotion.
Top Ag Committee Democrat to Run for Governor
What happened: The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry could see a change in leadership in the next Congress, which begins in early January 2027, if current Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) wins the race for the governorship of Minnesota.
She recently announced her candidacy for the state’s top executive job. The primary election is August 11; the general election is November 3.
Her victory would require Senate Democrats to pick a new leader for their party on the agriculture panel. If Klobuchar loses either the primary or general election, though, she would retain her Senate seat and leadership role on the committee.
Currently next in line for the Agriculture Committee’s ranking member position – or chairman should Democrats take control of the Senate after the November 2026 election – is Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).
“I would be excited and privileged to be the chair of one of the most important committees to Americans and American farmers and the American food system,” said Booker, a vegan, in an interview with the media outlet Agri-Pulse.
Why it matters: The chair and ranking member of a committee help set the panel’s agenda, determine schedules, and coordinate procedural issues. Each acts as his or her party’s primary voice on a committee, articulating the party position on important issues that come before the panel.
In the past, Booker has criticized U.S. animal agriculture, for example, sponsoring legislation to restrict the use of concentrated animal feeding operations and transition to “higher welfare, certified farms, and alternative crop production.”