U.S. House Passes Ag-Only Farm Bill

Jul 11, 2013

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

In a close vote, the U.S. House passed an ag-only farm bill Thursday. For the first time, it cut out food aid, which left a standalone farm policy piece of legislation. The vote tally was 216-208.

The new House farm bill comes after the House turned down a five-year bill last month. A group of Republican lawmakers voted against the bill, as they hoped for deeper cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps.

Republican leader’s strategy was to split the farm bill in two, to gain more conservative votes – dealing only with farm policy. Democrats fired back accusing the Republicans of turning the farm legislation into a partisan bill, which fails to protect America’s poor.

The Republican-controlled House defied a White House veto warning that was issued Wednesday. The Senate passed its own version of the farm bill earlier this month. Congress doesn’t have much time to pass a singular bill to garner the support of both houses of Congress. The 2008 farm bill extension ends Sept. 30th.

Video: Seaweed-Based Solutions: Building Natural Performance in Modern Swine Production

In today’s pork industry, producers are under increasing pressure to do more with fewer inputs—while maintaining performance, improving animal health, and meeting sustainability expectations.

we sit down with Sylvain David and Scott Preston from Olmix to explore how seaweed-based solutions are emerging as a foundational tool in modern swine nutrition.

Rather than acting as simple alternatives, these solutions are designed to support gut health, immune resilience, and overall system consistency—especially during key stress periods like weaning, feed transitions, and disease challenges.

The conversation dives into:

• What seaweed-based solutions actually are and how they work

• Why consistency and standardization matter in “natural” products

• How gut health connects to immune function and performance

• Where producers are seeing real-world impact today

• The role of natural solutions in the future of sustainable pork production