The “big, beautiful” reconciliation bill would overwhelmingly benefit large farms at the expense of small ones, some farm program critics told reporters on Wednesday, as reported by Agri Pulse. “This legislation that the ag committees have produced is clear "fiscal malpractice” said Josh Sewell of Taxpayers for Common Sense. Sewell was joined on the call by consultant Ferd Hoefner, formerly of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and the Environmental Working Group’s Scott Faber.
Among the provisions they criticized: increases in farm subsidy payment limits and an exemption for large farms from a longstanding means test used to determine disaster aid and other payments. Faber said, “perhaps the most troubling provision … [would allow] every individual member of a farm organized as a joint venture or LLC to collect up to $155,000,” a $30,000 increase.
Hoefner said the end result will be “more farm consolidation, more economic concentration. It means smaller family farms are put at a competitive disadvantage in the rental market and the real estate market in general. It's devastating for beginning farmers.”