HR1, commonly called “The One Big Beautiful Bill Act” raises reference prices for major row crops, benchmarks that trigger federal payments when market prices fall, and increases crop insurance subsidies. Economists say the measures could deliver hundreds of millions of dollars in additional support to growers who have been battered by rising costs and declining prices.
“Overall, we’re looking at total support to row crop producers in the state going from about 146 million to closer to 400 million,” said Dr. Will Maples, an agricultural economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. “So, it is definitely going to be an influx of money that's really needed currently given the row crop economy.”
This is the first increase to crop reference prices farmers have seen since 2014, and the bill also sets up annual increases starting in 2031. Soybeans, Mississippi’s largest row crop, will see the reference price rise from $8.40 to $10 a bushel. Maples says reference prices staying stagnant for so long meant the Price Loss Coverage Program wasn’t really protecting farmers from fluctuations in crop prices or revenue shortfalls.
“Before, at that $8.40 reference price, Mississippi soybean producers really had no support through the PLC program,” Maples said. “It was well below break-even for most.”