The National Association of Wheat Growers is pressing Congress to complete a new farm bill once the midterm elections are behind it, with CEO Chandler Kieffer publicly urging lawmakers to finish the legislation rather than extend current law again.

Kieffer's call, reported by the American Ag Network, puts the wheat sector's chief lobbying organization directly in the farm-bill endgame. Wheat growers have watched the current authorization lapse without a replacement, leaving programs operating on continuing resolutions and short-term extensions that lock in reference prices and support levels written for an earlier input-cost environment.

Why does timing hinge on the midterms?

Kieffer frames the period after the November midterms as the practical window for action. A lame-duck session concentrates outgoing and returning members who can still move major legislation, while a new Congress in January would reset committee work and leadership assignments.

For growers, each month of delay carries a cost. Fertilizer, fuel, seed and financing decisions for the next planting cycle are being made now, and without an updated bill, producers plan against statutory support levels that do not reflect current production margins.

What does NAWG want in the final text?

As the umbrella group for state wheat grower organizations, NAWG has consistently argued the sector needs:

• Stronger safety-net tools that respond to today's input costs
• A completed bill rather than another extension of expiring law
• Certainty for crop insurance and commodity programs before the next planting season

Kieffer's post-midterm push signals the group reads the political calendar as the last realistic chance to get a full five-year bill done before a new Congress reopens the debate.

Who has to move?

The farm bill requires agreement between the House and Senate Agriculture committees and congressional leadership on overall spending. NAWG's role is to keep wheat-state members focused on finishing the job, and Kieffer's public urging is designed to do exactly that — applying grower pressure at the moment when lawmakers are most able to act.

Wheat producers, their cooperatives and their lenders will be watching the post-election session closely: a finished bill restores a multi-year planning framework, while another extension leaves the sector budgeting one crop at a time.

Kieffer's message to Congress is unambiguous — after the midterms, finish the farm bill.