FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
News from Progress Michigan
March 5, 2026
Contact: Levi Teitel, levi@progressmichigan.org
Congress Advancing Farm Bill Will Hurt Michiganders—Both Rural and Urban
MICHIGAN – Upon the House Agriculture Committee voting to advance the Farm, Food and National Security Act (H.R. 7567), otherwise known as the farm bill, multiple Michigan organizations are expressing their opposition.
“Congress votes on a farm bill only once every half decade, so it’s important to get it right the first time,” said Bob Thompson, president of Michigan Farmers Union. “In many ways, this farm bill misses the mark. What the farm bill doesn’t include are the fundamental changes needed to fix what’s broken in American agriculture — reining in corporate consolidation, building true safety nets, and investing in local communities.”
“As families struggle to afford groceries and independent farms are on the brink of bankruptcy, House Republicans have proposed a farm bill that will only exacerbate this nationwide crisis,” said Justin Mendoza, executive director of Progress Michigan. “This farm bill undermines renewable energy programs, strips funding for conservation programs, creates new environmental loopholes, and will allow taxpayer dollars to be funneled to wealthy corporate commodity farms. In other words, the farm bill is a MAGA wish list that’s a giveaway to billionaires. Any farm bill that doesn’t restore nutrition assistance program funding is an immediate non-starter. We are also disappointed with Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, who voted to advance this legislation in committee. Once the farm bill comes to the full house for a floor vote, our legislators must stand together against it.”
“There are many things wrong with the farm bill,” said Bee Friedlander, executive committee member of Michiganders for a Just Farming System. “It harms people, farmers, workers, the environment, rural communities, and animals. We emphasize the inclusion of the so-called ‘Save the Bacon Act’. This will eviscerate state and local laws, including California’s Prop 12 and Michigan’s cage-free law that provide some relief to farmed animals in the confinement agriculture (factory farm) system. It is based on misleading claims that farmers and producers are against these laws and want them repealed. In reality, many farmers have already adjusted to these new regulations. We are hearing that there may be pushback in the full House to this misguided bill.”
To learn more about how Michigan has a special role in the farm bill process, go to progressmichigan.org/farmbill.
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