The leaders of the House Agriculture Committee put on a display of cordial bipartisanship at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. Now, the hard work begins.

Rep. Angie Craig, D-MInn., who was just recently sworn in as the new ranking member of the House Ag Committee, said her priority is to get a new farm bill done, but she made clear that it needs to be bipartisan and include Democratic support.

“Unfortunately, the farm bill that passed in the last session, it couldn’t even get across the finish line with just Republican votes,” she said. “That’s a tricky situation the chairman is in on his side, but we ought to get back to the table.”

Craig said a farm bill that funds itself through cuts to nutrition programs would be a nonstarter for some Democrats. And while she supports moving Inflation Reduction Act money to the farm bill’s baseline funding, it will likely have to include “climate-smart” guardrails to garner Democratic support.

In 2022, almost $20 billion was set aside in the IRA for producers to implement climate-smart agriculture and conservation measures on their land.

The funding supports four Natural Resources Conservation Service programs — the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, the Conservation Stewardship Program, the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, and the Regional Conservation Partnership Program — but requires USDA to prioritize projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve soil carbon, reduce nitrogen losses, and capture or sequester greenhouse gas emissions. 

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Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., chairman of the committee, has proposed moving the $20 billion to the farm bill’s baseline funding to help pay for conservation programs, but it has faced strong opposition from lawmakers and others who feel the money could go to projects that don’t prioritize greenhouse gas reductions.

Thompson said a compromise farm bill he helped negotiate in December that included bringing whole milk back to school lunches in exchange for bringing in IRA dollars was not enough to get the bill out of the House due to opposition from conservationists.

"I want those in the farm bill. We'll see how we make out," he says.

He didn’t provide a timeline as to when a new farm bill could come out of committee, as new members have to get up to speed on it and a hearing will likely have to be held.

Farm bill timeline 

Here is a timeline of recent events involving the farm bill:

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Another big change is the fact that this farm bill will be negotiated with a new secretary of agriculture at the helm of USDA. Brooke Rollins, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for ag secretary, will have to go through Senate confirmation, but she’s already making the rounds on Capitol Hill attempting to garner support.

Thompson called Rollins impressive and with a great ag background and said she would be great to work with.

Craig said she is interested in seeing how Rollins will approach trade and what her stance will be on tariffs and possible impacts to farmers.

“I’ve been an open critic in that I didn't think this current administration has put enough resources on trade, ag trade in particular, and so I'll be looking to her in particular to talk about how we get back to expanding trade and new market opportunities for our family farmers," she said.

Related:Senate announces Brooke Rollins confirmation hearing