How the ‘Blue Wave’ Could Shake Up Food and Ag Policy 

“The current state of federal food and farm policy is not working,” Lavender said. “One of the things we can take away from the election is that voters agree with that. The message is so resounding, that it feels foolish to not make a significant change in policy for everyone.”

As both Republicans and Democrats who focus on farm issues regroup, he said, they’ll be feeling pressure to make big changes, especially as it relates to issues that voters’ signaled they care about, like the high price of diesel and the affordability of groceries.

Tariffs touch both of those issues, and The Wall Street Journal reported last week that Democrats are already working on a plan to overturn Trump’s tariffs on Canada, although it’s unclear they’d have the votes to succeed.

Last month, Senator Adam Schiff (D-California), a junior member of the Agriculture Committee, visited Canada to highlight how tariffs were hurting farmers in California and beyond. “We’ll certainly use whatever leverage we have to end these tariffs,” he said in a press call recapping the trip.

In terms of more farm-specific programs and Congress’ Agriculture committees, it’s still unclear which Democrats will hold the gavels in 2027. But Lavender said NSAC will be focused on using the new dynamics to improve the current farm bill before it heads to the floor.

In the new year, he said, NSAC will also be zeroing in on anti-consolidation and pro-competition policies more than in the past.

“Whether it’s livestock processing or input consolidation, our members have really asked us to lean into that,” he said.

During the election, candidates in farm states won big with anti-monopolist messaging, including Democrat Josh Turek, who won Iowa’s Senate seat; Democrat Clayton Tucker, who won his race to be Texas’ Ag commissioner; and progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who won Michigan’s newest Senate seat while touting a “farmers over billionaires” agenda.

“We need fair markets and stronger competition in the farm bill, and that’s exactly what El-Sayed is fighting for,” Michigan Farmers Union president Bob Thompson wrote in an endorsement. “He has called for putting family farms ahead of corporate agriculture and taking on the consolidated seed, fertilizer and chemical companies that price-gouge farmers for the inputs we depend on.”

Outside of the Agriculture committees, another issue Democrats are now vowing to tackle is the affordability of healthcare, an issue that is critical in farm country. They could, for example, attempt to roll back Medicaid cuts and reinstate Affordable Care Act subsidies, challenging Trump to veto them.

Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) is expected to take the top seat on one of the committees that handles healthcare policy. On Monday, he said he’d support Medicare for All legislation, although he stopped short of promising a vote.

Policies That Impact Immigrant Food Workers

Matt Teagarden, CEO of the Kansas Livestock Association, described how the recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in southwestern Kansas disrupted the entire supply chain in the state, with feedyards and dairies housing workers overnight to avoid stakeouts on farm roads.

“These raids were the latest example of how fragile the entire American food system is. Without immigrant workers, it can fold like a house of cards,” he said. “Our lawmakers often seem not to appreciate the contributions of these workers to our ag workforce; I think this week’s results suggest that many Americans do, and any lawmakers who didn’t fully get the importance of protections for our existing workforce sure should now.”

Kansas Democratic Senate candidate Adam Hamilton speaks to reporters during a canvassing event on Oct. 31, in Kansas City, Kansas. (Photo credit: Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

In Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton ousted Roger Marshall (R-Kansas), a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

So far, with the appointment of Miller as his chief of staff, Trump has signaled he is not backing down on immigration enforcement, and supporters of even harsher tactics are celebrating.

“Worksite amnesty is over. We will be at the farms,” Mike Howell a co-founder of the Mass Deportation Coalition, told Politico.

Miller has supported more aggressive immigration enforcement efforts in the past and taken a hardline approach. This could pose a serious challenge to congressional efforts to reform the agricultural guestworker program for farmers, as would a bill Thompson introduced this summer.

But Democrats are already working to wield their power to change the broader trajectory on immigration. During the same press call, Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) said he and his colleagues in the Senate are planning to push for the passage of the DREAM Act before the end of the year during the lame duck session.

“I believe there are votes to pass it, and I hope I’m right,” he said.

In addition to creating a pathway to legal status for people who came to the U.S. as children, the latest version of the act (and related proposals) also create pathways to legal status for individuals with Temporary Protected Status (TPS). Many TPS holders work in food processing, and the Trump administration has ended TPS for immigrants from 13 countries over the past two years.

Another related bill that would benefit Dreamers and other immigrants, The Dignity Act, also picked up more than a dozen new sponsors right after the election. That bill would allow some farm- and foodworkers to apply for work permits. It does not create a path to green cards or citizenship, bit it does include enforcement provisions, such as requiring all employers to use E-Verify, which many worker groups oppose.

In the House, Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) also said last week that there will be a strong focus on moving comprehensive immigration reform forward next year.

“This week, voters cast their votes for a better future, where immigrants’ lives and rights are respected,” she said during a press conference. “We not only elected pro-immigration champions to the House, the Senate, and governors’ offices, we also elected a diverse slate of candidates that will help to make our government more reflective of the communities they represent.”

Climate and Environment Policy

Those decisions have profound implications for farmers, who are on the frontlines of the climate crisis and who have been dealing with crop-destroying weather patterns, floods, extreme heat, and wildfires.

Democrats have had little recourse, and have been confined to sending letters voicing their disapproval.

Now, they’ll have more leverage to push the administration on issues like restoring the Rural Energy for America program (REAP), which is popular among farmers but has been gutted by the administration. And the many wins for Democrats in governors’ races mean that they will have allies pushing for clean energy development in statehouses across the country.

In the new year, Pingree will be chair of the Interior and Environment Subcommittee on Appropriations. “I’ll be looking for opportunities there to reinstate some of the things that they’ve cut,” she said.

As a member of the Agricultural Appropriations Subcommittee, she’ll also be advocating for restoring funding to things like climate-smart agriculture and conservation programs and REAP, which she said helps farmers lower costs on their farms.

“I’m just going to look for every opportunity I can to re-engage the debate that was there prior to the Trump administration about supporting farmers on soil-related matters, sequestering carbon in the soil,” she said, “but also reducing their energy costs and bringing back renewable energy programs in any place we can.”