WHILE Donald Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ has been making headlines across the world for many reasons – including his spectacular fall out with the world’s richest man Elon Musk and the beefed-up border patrol – little has been said about the agricultural side of the bill.

As the bill is subject to vigorous debate in Washington, the Trump administration has been at pains to demonstrate how the bill benefits the farming sector. Trump has repeatedly shown public support for farming and the industry’s peak body has welcomed the latest bill (see bottom of this item).

To show the farming side of the bill, US agriculture secretary Booke Rollins penned this op-ed in Newsweek claiming the bill was a win for agriculture.

Our nation’s farmers and ranchers are ready to put America First. Over 97 percent of our agricultural counties voted for President Donald Trump last November, and he will never forget their commitment to his agenda.

Now is the time to put that agenda into effect. The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) unleashes economic growth and restores fiscal sanity.

With the largest tax cut for middle- and working-class Americans in history, an increased child tax credit, new Trump savings account for newborns, historic tax relief for seniors, and no tax on tips and overtime, every American family wins with the OBBB.

And this bill will serve no one more than our nation’s farm families. The OBBB cuts taxes for farmers by over $10 billion and prevents the death tax from hitting 2 million family-owned farms that would otherwise see their exemptions cut in half.

Along with bolstering the farm safety net for producers to protect against significant economic losses, which has not been updated since 2014, the OBBB also makes risk management tools more affordable at a time of significant risk because of the previous administration’s neglect of our rural communities.

The bill also helps the 98 percent of farming operations that are taxed according to their owners’ individual tax rate by protecting the small business deduction. Because the agricultural industry leverages one-fifth of all small business deductions across the American economy, the OBBB’s doubling of Section 179 deductions to $2.5 million will provide major relief for farming operations across the country. The extension of the Section 199A Qualified Business Income Deduction will also save farmers thousands of dollars every year.

The OBBB also realigns the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to President Trump’s mission of cutting waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal bureaucracy. On any given day, USDA spends nearly $265 million on SNAP benefits alone, not including the 15 other nutrition programs at the department. In 2023, over $11 billion in erroneous SNAP payments was issued. The bill is centered on increased accountability, on both the individual recipient and the state administering the program.

To address this waste of taxpayer dollars, the OBBB implements a state cost-share program proportionate to state payment error rates, which will incentivize states to distribute SNAP funds only to those who qualify. The bill also expands work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents. Welfare should be a helping hand, not a pathway to lifelong dependency. With over 4 million jobs available across the country, SNAP work requirements will restore dignity through work. Under President Trump’s leadership, this careless use of taxpayer money is ending so USDA can refocus its resources on revitalizing rural communities and uplifting the farm families that provide the food, fuel, and fiber for our great nation.

And the OBBB finally ends taxpayer subsidization of mass migration by ensuring only U.S. citizens or green card holders are eligible for SNAP. Our food assistance programs are funded by Americans for Americans. This bill puts the American people first by providing assistance to those in need while doing right by hardworking taxpayers.

Over the next decade, the OBBB increases the farmer safety net, crop insurance, and trade programs. These changes to farm support will allow USDA to return to our core mission of putting Farmers First and restoring rural prosperity across the country. At USDA, we are working every day on behalf of our farmers and ranchers to ensure President Trump’s America First agenda unleashes prosperity for generations to come.

The bill has received a warm welcome from the US cattle industry’s peak lobby group, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Vice president of Government Affairs Ethan Lane thanked the Senate for passing the bill and urged the House of Congress to do the same.

“The Senate version of the One Big Beautiful Bill protects family farmers and ranchers across the country from a massive tax hike at the end of the year, increases the Death Tax exemption, makes the Section 199A tax deduction permanent, increases the Section 179 tax deduction, funds foreign animal disease prevention programs, and delivers so many more wins for cattle producers.

“The Senate version of the bill also does not include controversial provisions that have gained national attention. The bill does not include any sale of public lands, and it does not include controversial language on eminent domain. NCBA’s grassroots policy supports landowners’ private property rights, and we oppose the expanded use of eminent domain.

“It’s time for the House to pass this bill and send it to President Trump’s desk so he can sign it into law.”