Senate Majority Leader John Thune says he expects the pending farm bill to pass with a year-round E15 provision included, calling the outlook for the biofuel mandate the best in years.

"I feel better about the prospects for getting this done than I ever have," Thune said during a campaign stop with Republican Senate candidate Michele Tafoya at Pfarr Family Farm in Le Sueur, Minnesota, following an agricultural roundtable hosted by the Minnesota Farm Bureau.

Both the House and Senate versions of the farm bill contain E15 provisions, Thune said, with differences still to be resolved in conference. He predicted the broader bill will ultimately cross the finish line.

"I intend and expect fully to get this done and get it across the finish line," Thune said. "And it will include E15, exact version maybe to be determined."

Lawmakers are "closer now than ever to getting it done," he added.

What would year-round E15 mean for fuel supply?

Thune framed the ethanol blend as a direct lever on energy costs for consumers and a demand anchor for corn growers.

"If you want to see fuel costs go down, create more supply of fuel and we can do that with E15," he said.

Tafoya, running against Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, also backed permanent E15 authorization. It "would make a massive difference not just for our farmers here in Minnesota but for our energy consumption here and really across the world," she said. She added that she would support the farm bill if it remains unresolved when the next Congress convenes.

How does Thune want to tackle fertilizer pricing?

On input costs, Thune pointed to legislation he has introduced aimed at increasing transparency in the fertilizer industry, which he described as increasingly consolidated.

"There's a real concentration of market power within that industry today, but there's not a lot of visibility into pricing and everything else," Thune said.

The bill would require more disclosure about how fertilizer prices are set and where profits accrue along the supply chain.

"All we're simply trying to do is to find out how these prices are set, and who in that sort of supply chain is benefiting," Thune said, adding that major fertilizer companies should be required to operate transparently. He cited dependence on foreign suppliers as part of the cost pressure facing producers.

Will Prop 12 language survive conference?

Thune also addressed California's Proposition 12, the state law setting housing standards for pork production that has drawn opposition from Upper Midwest hog producers. He said he hopes language addressing the law in the House farm bill survives negotiations with the Senate.

The issue matters particularly to pork producers in Minnesota and South Dakota, Thune said, pledging to push for inclusion of the House provision in the final bill.

Can farm policy be written off the farm?

Thune argued that producer input, not Washington drafting, should drive the next farm bill's design.

"The best farm policy comes from producers, from people who are actually out there making a living on the farm," Thune said. "There's no substitute for getting out and hearing first hand from the people who are actually out there producing the food and fiber that feeds and clothes and fuels our world."

He said farmers need certainty and predictability from federal policy, and Congress still has work to complete on the bill.

The visit doubled as campaign strategy. Thune said Minnesota's Senate race is drawing national Republican attention in a state where the party has historically struggled statewide, though he stopped short of pledging specific financial resources. Tafoya cited polling she said shows a toss-up race and declined to name a dollar figure for national investment: "I'm not going to put a dollar number on it. But I think they all know what we need and what we'd like."

With farm bill conference negotiations pending, the E15 provision, fertilizer transparency language and the Prop 12 fix will test whether Thune's stated optimism translates into enacted policy before the current Congress expires.