The federal Farm Bill has expired without a replacement on the books, and Agricultural Retailers Association CEO Daren Coppock used the latest CropLife Retail Week podcast to walk through what the lapse means for ag retail through the rest of the congressional session.

Coppock, the ARA's top executive, joined CropLife Editor Eric Sfiligoj for an episode centered on three pressure points: the SNAP funding fight, the shrinking calendar for year-end legislative action, and the unresolved push for year-round E15 sales.

What changes for ag retail now that the Farm Bill has expired?

Farm bills traditionally bundle farm program support, conservation, crop insurance and nutrition under a single reauthorization vehicle. With that package run out, several policy titles lose fresh statutory authority at the same time. Coppock told Sfiligoj that ag retailers need to know which titles revert to permanent law versus which carry over under continuing appropriations, since each title carries different implications for grower-customer planning, input purchasing and basis.

Dealers setting 2026 ordering and credit terms have to price in the possibility that the statutory references used to structure conservation cost-share, crop insurance rebates and farm program payments shift during a short-term extension or a year-end continuing resolution.

Why is SNAP holding up the bill?

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is the single largest funding share in the Farm Bill and has become the central political fight over the package. Coppock framed that fight as the obstacle keeping both chambers from clearing a clean reauthorization and sending it to the president.

For ag retail, the implication is procedural. A nutrition-only extension or a farm-only split would force Congress to reopen the agriculture side of the bill early in the next session, extending the policy uncertainty retailers have already worked around in recent operating cycles.

Where does year-round E15 stand?

Coppock flagged continuing retail interest in resolving the patchwork that limits where E15 can be sold during the summer driving season. The push for permanent year-round sales draws bipartisan support across corn states but still requires either a legislative fix or an EPA waiver.

Retailers continue to hear from grower-customers that the current rules cap blender margins and constrain corn demand, a concern ARA has carried to lawmakers and could see attached to the Farm Bill if leadership decides to open the package for amendments.

What should retailers watch through year-end?

The most immediate items, as Coppock laid them out: a year-end appropriations package or continuing resolution that touches farm program authority, the odds of a farm-only bill moving on its own track, and whether E15 language gets folded into any must-pass vehicle. Farm groups and the broader ag retail channel have pressed for a clean reauthorization rather than another extension.

The policy picture will keep shifting through the end of the congressional session. The legislative calendar over the next two months will determine whether dealers head into 2026 with a fresh Farm Bill, a short-term patch, or a lapse that forces another round of negotiations on Capitol Hill.