BUTLER TWP — U.S. Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-15th, said he is looking forward to passage of the federal Farm Bill he introduced when it comes to the House floor for a vote in the next few weeks.

Speaking Friday at the annual farmers breakfast held by state Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, at American Legion Post 778 in Lyndora, Thompson said the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026, which contains the Farm Bill, includes $65 billion in new and additional funding for family farms and agriculture.

“The whole purpose of the Farm Bill is to make farming profitable again so the next generation wants to stay on the farm, wants to continue the legacy,” Thompson said.

Thompson, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, said the first 20% of the bill was signed into law last year by President Donald Trump as a part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

About a month ago, the committee passed the remaining 80% of the bill in a bipartisan 34-17 vote, and it will come to the full House for a vote in the next couple weeks, he said.

“Our leadership is excited about the bill. They’re committed to the bill and we’re looking forward to getting that done,” Thompson said.

The bill represents the first significant investment in family farms in generations, he said. Provisions of the bill include authorizing the U.S. Department of Agriculture to add 30 million new base acres, reducing the cost of crop insurance, increasing reference prices, investing in animal health, expanding trade and market access programs and supporting market development, he said.

Base acres are a farm’s registered cropland acreage used for price loss coverage and agricultural risk coverage payments that protect farmers from market fluctuations. Reference prices are government-set price floors for specific crops that trigger payments when market prices fall, providing a safety net for farmers.

“I feel pretty confident about getting everything I want,” Thompson said.

Another bill he said he is working on would reform the H-2A visa program to help farmers and processors recruit foreign workers. One of the biggest problems with the program is that it does not help with year-round farming, he said.

The H-2A program allows U.S. employers to hire foreign nationals for temporary or seasonal agricultural work.

Thompson said a bipartisan Congressional Task Force has made 21 recommendations to update the program and unanimously approved 15 of the recommendations.

“In a few weeks, we’re going to be putting out a bill reforming the H-2A program to meet the needs of our farmers,” he said. If it becomes law, it would be the first major update to agriculture workforce development in over 50 years, but does not lead to citizenship, he added.

Thompson said he is the first representative from Pennsylvania to chair the “all powerful” House Agriculture Committee in over 170 years.

“It is all powerful because there’s no other committee, there’s no other industry that touches the lives of every American, every person, every family in this great country multiple times a day,” Thompson said.

He applauded the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025, which President Donald Trump signed into law in January this year. The law provides schools with the flexibility to offer flavored and unflavored whole and 2% milk options.

“Whole Milk for Healthy Kids is now the law of the land,” Thompson said. “You know it only took 15 years to accomplish that.”

He called milk the “healthiest beverage God ever created.”

A final rule clarifying the law will be published in the Federal Register this month. Thompson said the rule will allow schools to offer milk with all meals they serve.

Responding to questions from the social hall filled with farmers, Thompson said in five years he believes U.S. farmers will be able to completely rely on domestically produced fertilizer — not imports.

Regarding foreign entities buying U.S. farms, he said the remaining part of the Farm Bill includes language requiring a federal committee to review and approve any sale of agriculture production or processing assets to foreign parties.

Thompson also addressed concerns about high quality farmland being used for solar farms and data centers.

The elimination of federal tax credits for solar farms has started to reduce the number of solar farms, and the existing number of solar farms would be smaller if the tax credits had been eliminated years ago, he said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides funding for solar farms, but limits the amount of farm acreage that can be used. It prohibits the property owner from selling the produced power to the electric grid, Thompson said.

He said municipalities could consider ordinances limiting solar farm development.

Abandoned mine sites could be good locations for data centers. He said he does not think data centers should get power from the public grid because the grid can’t handle the demand. Modular nuclear facilities or on-site natural gas power production could be used for data centers, he added.

Mustello said farming accounts for $10 billion of the state’s economy.

Citing U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics, she said 876 million acres in the country is used in farming and 95% of American farms are family operated, accounting for 90% of total agriculture production.