Work on the farm bill was delayed after contentious battles in the House over proposed cuts to the food stamp program, and the bill was stalled further by the government shutdown.
Anti-poverty groups want to make changes in the international food aid program that would allow the Agency for International Development to increase the amount of food it is allowed to purchase closer to where it is needed, rather than buying from American farmers and shipping it overseas.
A coalition of budget watchdog groups and a seafood trade group are lobbying to repeal a $20 million catfish inspection program at the Agriculture Department, which was put into the 2008 farm bill at the request of catfish farmers to limit imports. Opponents say it is duplicative because there is already a catfish inspection program at the Food and Drug Administration.
Food banks and other advocates are hoping to stop huge cuts to the food stamp program that they say will cause millions of people to go hungry.
And farm groups are asking lawmakers to maintain certain farm subsidy programs and resist making changes to others, like the sugar program, which limits domestic production and imports. Farm groups have also asked lawmakers to resist changes to the crop insurance program, which environmental groups say provides incentives for farmers to plant crops on land that is not suitable for farming.
Lawmakers from the two chambers plan to meet next Wednesday to begin negotiations on the bill.
They face a number of obstacles to a final five-year farm bill. Although the two bills make similar reforms to farm programs — like eliminating $5 billion in so-called direct payments that go to farmers and farm landowners whether they grow crops or not — the bills contain significant differences.
The biggest are the proposed cuts to the food stamp program. The Republican-led House proposed a $40 billion cut to the nutrition program, while the Senate bill cuts $4.5 billion.
Representative Jim McGovern, Democrat of Massachusetts and one of the lawmakers selected by the House Democratic leadership to work on farm bill negotiations, called the cuts, particularly those in the House, unacceptable. “The farm bill should not be making people hungry,” he said.
Mr. McGovern said he has heard from a number of groups urging members of Congress to resist cuts to the food stamp program. “It’s going to be a fight,” he said, adding that if the program’s opponents insist on such huge cuts, “they’re going to ensure that there will be no farm bill.”
In an Oct. 15 letter to lawmakers working on the farm bill, the American Farm Bureau Federation said one of its biggest concerns was a provision in the House bill that would eliminate the so-called permanent law provision, which causes farm programs to revert to 1949 law if a new farm bill is not passed. That would result in significant increases in government spending on farm support programs.
The Farm Bureau said it was opposed to eliminating the provision because it had “served as strong motivation for Congress to enact new farm bills,” said Bob Stallman, the Farm Bureau’s president.
Members of Congress have also increased their lobbying efforts. A bipartisan group from the House sent a letter to Frank D. Lucas, Republican of Oklahoma and the chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, and Collin C. Peterson, Democrat of Minnesota and the ranking member of the committee, urging them to insist that the House-approved language repealing the duplicative catfish inspection program be included in the final version. The Senate version of the bill does not include the repeal.
About 50 members of the House sent letters to leaders of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, urging them to keep changes to the international food aid program contained in the Senate version of the farm bill, a move backed by a coalition of groups that include Oxfam America and the World Food Program U.S.A.
“Reforming our food aid system could enable millions more people to be reached with lifesaving aid without costing taxpayers one extra penny,” the coalition said in an Oct. 22 letter.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s seafood exports reached US$1.14 billion in August 2026, up 6.4% year on year, bringing the total for the first eight months to more than US$8.0 billion, an increase of 11.9%. Monthly export value remained above US$1 billion, but August growth was only around half the rate recorded cumulatively through the first eight months. This indicates that the eight-month result was supported significantly by stronger performance in earlier months, while market conditions are entering a less predictable period.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) Pangasius is attracting growing interest from Japanese seafood companies as prices of many traditional whitefish species remain high and supply becomes increasingly volatile. Notably, seafood group Kyokuyo has recently continued to feature pangasius among its priority products, highlighting its competitive pricing and stable supply.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) As Vietnam’s tilapia industry searches for new growth opportunities, venturing into brackish-water aquaculture could unlock a formidable competitive moat. Bypassing the volume-and-price bloodbath against established global heavyweights, Vietnam could differentiate itself through high-quality tilapia products tailored to specific farming conditions and value-added market segments.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) 2026 is rapidly shaping up to be a formidable stress test for Vietnamese pangasius exports to the United States. While exports to alternative markets maintain a resilient growth trajectory, the U.S market has declined significantly. In the first eight months of the year, pangasius exports to the U.S fell by nearly 14% year-on-year, with August alone recording a decline of more than 50%. The trend shows that difficulties in the U.S. market are not driven solely by weak consumer demand, but also by multiple layers of trade barriers that are intensifying simultaneously, particularly additional import tariffs, anti-dumping duties and growing protectionism for the domestic catfish industry.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnam’s pangasius exports to Japan are showing positive signals in 2026, indicating that the market is opening up greater opportunities for pangasius products, particularly processed and value-added products. In the first seven months of 2026, Vietnam’s pangasius exports to Japan reached US$31 million, up 20% year-on-year. In July alone, export value reached approximately US$5 million, up 30%.
On July 22, 2026, the Government issued Decree No. 292/2026/ND-CP detailing certain articles and providing measures for the organization and implementation of the Law on Foreign Trade Management. The Decree takes effect on September 5, 2026, replacing Decree No. 69/2018/ND-CP.
(vasep.com.vn) Vietnamese pangasius producer Vinh Hoan has won the top prize at the 2026 Seafood Excellence Asia Awards for its Cured Panga Croquette, highlighting the growing potential of value-added pangasius products in international markets.
(vasep.com.vn) The Global Shrimp Forum (GSF) 2026 is taking place from September 1–3 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, bringing together around 585 delegates from 40 countries, representing approximately 300 companies and organizations across the shrimp supply chain. Representatives from VASEP are attending the event as part of the Vietnamese delegation, strengthening connections with partners across the global shrimp industry.
(vasep.com.vn) At the international B2B seminar (Hosted Buyer Program) held as part of Vietfish 2026, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Pham, Sales Director of Tai Kim Anh Seafood Processing Joint Stock Company, delivered a presentation entitled “Vietnam’s Shrimp Industry: Changing for Sustainability.” From the perspective of a seafood processor, the presentation highlighted that Vietnam’s shrimp industry continues to play a leading role in seafood exports, but is entering a new phase of competition in which change is no longer an option, but a prerequisite for growth.
(seafood.vasep.com.vn) VIETFISH 2026 may have concluded after three dynamic days in Ho Chi Minh City, but conversations around the exhibition continue to resonate across international trade media, industry organizations, and the social media channels of participating companies.
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