INDIANAPOLIS — The Farm Bill, a comprehensive piece of legislation that covers agriculture and food policy, is set to expire Wednesday. Agriculture experts warned about the ramifications if Congress does not move forward and extend the farm bill.

“The Farm Bill provides a certain level of certainty for farmers. And when we don’t have one that is current, it’s a little scary,” Eric Pfeiffer of Hoosier Ag Today said.

The Farm Bill typically gets renewed every five to six years. Congress previously renewed the Farm Bill in 2018.

“We did get some things that get updated in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, some reference prices that were taken care of, but that doesn’t mean that all the certainty is there,” Pfeiffer said. “There is still just these little things here and there that aren’t getting taken care of.”

Pfeiffer points to partisan politics in Washington holding up the Farm Bill, including disagreements over SNAP and Prop 12, and fears we won’t see any action until after the midterms.

“The Farm Bill traditionally hasn’t been a Democrat versus Republican thing,” he said. “It’s been a rural versus urban thing. And politics, partisan politics, are now playing into this in a very big way. For some reason, farmers keep getting caught in the crosshairs of political wars happening in Washington, D.C., International trade wars and everything. Farmers are the first ones to suffer here. And here we see it again.”

Pfeiffer worries what not having a farm bill in place will do in the long term.

“Short term, the farm bill expiring doesn’t do a ton, but long term, if we don’t get this thing across the finish line, that’s when we have big problems, including going back in law to the 1930’s and 1940’s on some of these things,” he said. “That would be very bad news. Congress has a little bit of time to act before that happens.”

As costs continue to rise, Pfeiffer encourages farmers to reach out so their voice is heard.

“Speak up,” he said. “Tell your representatives that this has to get taken care of. The future of our farms depends on it. We continue to see bankruptcies for farms all across the country, Give ’em a little certainty.”