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Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Staff Director’s work to support farmers

By Ryan McAlpin

Fitz Elder speaks at Center Forward’s Agriculture Summit on Tuesday, July 14, 2026 in Washington, D.C.

Fitz Elder, Staff Director for the Senate Majority, Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee, joined Center Forward at our third annual Agriculture Summit for a fireside chat on the path ahead for the 2026 Farm Bill.

As Staff Director on the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, Fitz provided an update on the majority’s progress on the Farm Bill, where its challenges lie, and where committee members have been working across the aisle in good faith to find common ground, incorporating over 100 bipartisan measures into the legislation. While the committee has continued to make progress and believes it will get this important piece of legislation across the finish line, Fitz spoke to the hurdles that remain. Democrats on the committee have been consistent in their requirements to support the final bill: a delay in the implementation of SNAP benefit reductions for states with error rates above 6%. Fitz addressed how Chairman Boozman (R-AR) and Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) have approached this issue, working to ensure that their members’ priorities and voices are heard so that the best compromise can be found. Democrats and Republicans alike want to make sure that the Americans who rely on these benefits most continue to receive them, even as the committee works through disagreements over implementation.

Fitz also spoke to the dual inflation pressures currently facing farmers, both supply-driven and demand-driven, and the toll both are taking on the future of family farms. Rising costs are forcing families into difficult decisions: sell now, or risk financial loss and uncertainty down the road. Compounding the pressure, some farmers are selling their land to data center developers, a trend that does nothing to ease the underlying supply issue.

Taken together, Fitz’s remarks painted a picture of a Farm Bill process that, despite real and unresolved sticking points, remains grounded in genuine effort from both parties. The more than 100 bipartisan measures already incorporated into the legislation reflect months of good-faith work between both sides of the aisle, and Chairman Boozman and Ranking Member Klobuchar’s continued collaboration signals a shared commitment to getting this bill across the finish line.

The remaining challenges are significant, but Fitz’s message was ultimately one of confidence, not gridlock. Farmers are facing real economic uncertainty, and lawmakers on both sides recognize that the stakes are too high for the coalition behind this legislation to fall apart. As Fitz put it, finding compromise on SNAP is the last major piece standing between the committee and a finished bill, and he remains confident that piece will fall into place. For Center Forward, conversations like this one are a reminder of what’s still possible in Washington: even amid persistent partisan divides, committed lawmakers and staff are still finding ways to work across the aisle and deliver for the American people.