US lawmakers debate Farm Bill as Southern Cone exports shift
The US Senate Agriculture Committee has moved forward with its review of the Agricultural Act of 2026, known as the Farm Bill 2026. The legislation has become the subject of debate over the structure of the American food system, including provisions affecting smaller farms, nutrition assistance and agricultural land ownership.
The National Young Farmers Coalition supports the proposed creation of an Office of Small Farms and the formal organisation of the Local Food Purchase Assistance programme. Michelle A.T. Hughes, the coalition’s executive director, said the package would represent progress for small-scale producers but criticised the continuation of a $187bn reduction in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. The reduction has already removed 4.7m people from the benefit.
Senator Raphael Warnock called the effect on food security “inconceivable”, while Senator Ben Ray Luján described the cuts as “shameful”. Lawmakers are also discussing gaps in technical assistance and risks related to land ownership. Those concerns include the expansion of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act, or AFIDA, which has raised fears about sanctions affecting underrepresented farmers.
Senator Chuck Grassley said the legislation should focus on agricultural succession. He warned against subsidies that benefit only large producers at the expense of younger farmers. The debate over the Farm Bill is taking place alongside renewed attention to export data from Argentina, Chile and Uruguay.
According to the latest edition of the SDT South American Dairy Market report, Argentina’s exports in the second half of May 2026 rose by 30.50% to 15,474.26 tonnes. The number of destination markets increased from 25 to 31, while the average export price was $3,783.82 per tonne.
Chile recorded a 25.92% rise in its average export price during the same period, reaching $3,777.75 per tonne. Its export volume fell by 3.85% to 1,473 tonnes, and the number of markets supplied declined from ten to eight. Uruguay reported data for the second half of June: shipments decreased by 28.23% to 7,494.18 tonnes, while the average price increased by 3.19% to $3,667.01 per tonne. Its destination markets fell from 26 to 24.
