Senate Agriculture Committee Faces Push to Reshape Farm Bill Subsidies

Lawmakers are marking up the farm bill as critics argue current subsidies favor large agribusinesses over family farms.

As the Senate Agriculture Committee prepares to revise the farm bill, advocates warn that the subsidy framework disproportionately enriches large-scale farms and accelerates the decline of family-owned operations. According to the Environmental Working Group, about 69% of farms receive no federal aid, while the top 10% secure the majority of payments. The 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill Act expanded eligible base acres by 30 million and increased individual payment caps, measures that favor multi-owner corporations.

USDA figures show a drop of nearly 159,000 family farms between 2017 and 2022, even as federal support grew. The concentration of subsidies also raises food-security concerns, with the United States importing roughly half of its fruit and a third of its vegetables. Critics argue that the bill’s focus on commodity crops like corn, wheat, and soy does not reflect modern consumer demand for nutritious produce. Without reform, the next five-year farm bill may cement the current trend of consolidation rather than bolstering the nation’s food system.