WASHINGTON, DC – On Friday, the Fourth of July holiday, President Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB Act, officially known as
H.R. 1), which concluded a frenzied two weeks of legislating, lobbying, and advocacy aimed at getting the bill across the finish line. For rice farmers, there have been several key policy wins that USA Rice has been advocating for since the farm bill reauthorization process began in 2022. Let's break it down.
After two years of impasse in trying to pass a comprehensive farm bill, the OBBB Act delivers on many of the core USA Rice priorities that are typically accomplished as part of the farm bill process. At a time when the current farm safety net is falling short in the present economic environment rice farmers are experiencing, these improvements will help ensure that another generation of rice family farmers has hope, as do our millers, merchants, and allied businesses.
“We cannot thank President Trump, Senate Majority Leader Thune, House Speaker Johnson, Senate Ag Chair John Boozman (R-AR), House Ag Chair GT Thompson (R-PA), and all our rice champions in Congress enough for recognizing the economic hardship the rice industry has faced and for their unwavering support in improving and strengthening these crucial farm bill programs,” said USA Rice President & CEO Peter Bachmann.
Notably, the Price Loss Coverage Program (PLC), the cornerstone of the rice farmer safety net, was strengthened by increasing the reference prices for rice farmers. Beginning with the 2025 crop year, reference prices are increased to $16.90 per hundredweight for southern long and medium grain, and $24.33 per hundredweight for Temperate Japonica. The first payments under these new statutory reference prices cannot be made until November 2026 after the conclusion of the 2025 crop’s marketing year. Additionally, statutory reference prices for all Title I commodities are set to increase by 0.5 percent beginning with the 2031 crop year, not to exceed 113 percent of the new statutory reference price.
The Title I improvements also included priorities to update payment limits, provide equitable treatment for all pass-through entities, and include an exemption from the adjusted gross income (AGI) in certain instances. Specifically, the OBBB Act increases the individual payment limits from $125,000 to $155,000, with an inflation factor based on the Consumer Price Index beginning in 2025. The language included in the enacted bill defines the term "qualified pass-through entity" to include partnerships, S-Corps, LLCs, joint ventures, and general partnerships. This requires the Secretary of Agriculture to treat such entities in the same manner as current law treats joint ventures and general partnerships for payment limit purposes. The AGI improvements provide an exemption to the $900,000 means test for current disaster programs, as well as Title II Conservation programs for certain farm operations if 75 percent or more of the average gross income is derived from farming, ranching, or silviculture activities.
Another Title I change is its historic opportunity to add 30 million new base acres to farms that do not have base acres or have been planting in excess of existing base acres. The provision does not modify or impact existing base acres, but a farm can qualify if its 5-year average planting exceeds its existing base acres as determined on September 30, 2024.
Looking beyond the Title I policy improvements, the OBBB Act contains many other rice policy wins. The bill invests in the Federal Crop Insurance Program by increasing premium support for underlying products as well as for area-based coverage plans. It would also enhance investment in agricultural trade programs by creating an additional supplemental agricultural trade promotion program that would function alongside existing programs – like MAP and FMD – and would essentially double those funds, authorized at $285 million beginning in 2027. Working lands conservation programs would also receive some annual funding increases as a result of rolling the remaining Inflation Reduction Act conservation funds into the Farm Bill baseline.
Outside of agriculture, the OBBB Act has increased the federal estate and gift (Death Tax) tax exemption to $15 million per individual, indexed for inflation, making it permanent. The Act also includes a permanent extension of Section 199A as a major victory for America’s farmers and cooperatives.
Bachmann concluded: “While work is still to be done through implementation of the OBBB Act; drafting of a ‘skinny Farm Bill’ that covers the remainder of the traditional Farm Bill programs that need to be extended, funded, or reauthorized; and critical agricultural appropriations, agriculture was able to breathe a collective sigh of relief last week regarding certainty of the farm safety net.”