WASHINGTON, D.C. — The shifting political landscape after last week’s Republican wins could impact farm policy, especially in the U.S. Senate, where Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts is expected to chair the agriculture committee.

While uncertainty about how Congress and the White House will work together colors all issues, agriculture is likely to be impacted as Republicans seek legislation and policy moves on trade, immigration and tax reform. Roberts, who held off a challenge from Kansas businessman Greg Orman to serve a third Senate term, is in line for chairmanship of the Senate Agriculture Committee. Roberts, who served in the U.S. House from Kansas from 1980-96, was a major force behind the 1996 farm bill – the Freedom to Farm Act. He is known for his efforts to reduce farm subsidies while maintaining crop insurance options.

"Most importantly, Senator Roberts has gone to the mat time and time again to protect the risk management and safety net framework that helps to keep American farmers producing from year to year, even in the face of disastrous weather and generational drought," said Bob Henry, vice president of the American Soybean Assoc., which announced Roberts as recipient of its Soy Champion award Nov. 3.

But Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), House Agriculture Committee ranking minority member, expressed concern about Roberts’ leadership in an interview last week with The Associated Press.

"He has made some noise about opening up the farm bill if he gets to be chairman, which is a very bad idea, and puts everything we worked for in jeopardy," said Peterson, who himself withstood an anti-incumbent challenge to re-election.

Some Democrats fear Republicans could reopen debate on funding nutrition programs, as well as farm programs.

Roberts opposes crop programs which set target prices, citing Price Loss Coverage (PLC) as a main reason he voted against this year’s conference farm bill. "I have yet to hear one explanation for why Congress is not only including target prices for corn, wheat, sorghum, soybeans, rice, peanuts and barley, but raising and fixing their prices regardless of movements in the market," he said, during his final comment from the Senate floor before the farm bill vote.

Reopening of this bill appears unlikely. Both Senate and House leadership say they will pass budget measures to avoid a government shutdown and enact legislation, including farm bill programs. More likely may be measures targeting regulations unpopular with some in the agricultural community, such as the EPA’s Waters of the U.S. proposal.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is incoming majority leader. Like Roberts, he opposes "Waters" and other environmental proposals. That makes environmental groups, including some sustainable agriculture interests, uneasy.

"Earlier this year, McConnell promised his party would use budget bills to attack President Obama’s policies – and he specifically called out the president’s environmental agenda and the work of the EPA," said David Goldston, director of government affairs at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

In an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal Nov. 6, McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) called for the Senate to take up energy and employment bills passed by the House.

Some bills that had bipartisan House support were blocked by Democrat Senate leadership, according to the Republicans.

It remains unclear whether bipartisan House and Senate bills will gain approval from the White House.

One area where Congress and the White House could come to an agreement is trade. McConnell has indicated willingness to hear White House requests for trade promotion authority (TPA), or "fast track" negotiating power. Fast track would give the executive branch greater authority to negotiate free trade deals, a proposal opposed by many organized labor interests and blocked by Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and other Senate Democrats.

At a news conference last week, McConnell indicated trade issues were mentioned as an area of agreement when he spoke with President Obama.

Most farm groups support TPA. "With the TPA, or trade promotion authority, that the administration can get, it makes an up or down vote from Congress," said Kevin Kester, a California cattleman and National Cattlemen’s Beef Assoc. (NCBA) Policy Division vice chair. He said "fast track" would keep Congress from attaching amendments when the White House sought approval for certain trade deals, such as the Transpacific Partnership (TPP).

"(TPA) makes it clean, and we need that, in order to get TPP passed," said Kester, in last week’s NCBA "Beltway Beef" broadcast.

Immigration tends to be more emotionally charged than trade. Republicans oppose potential White House efforts to move immigration policy by executive order. There is also division among Republicans on immigration. Some from areas employing high amounts of immigrant labor, like the fresh produce and meatpacking industries, favor different reforms than other legislators on the political right.

The White House maintains its preferences on immigration, more closely aligned with recent Senate efforts than those in the House, will benefit agriculture and rural economies.

Action on tax breaks favorable to small businesses is likely in the new Congress. National Farmers Union (NFU) President Roger Johnson called for extending tax breaks benefiting farmers.

"NFU will strongly pursue the extension of expiring tax provisions for small business expensing, and renewable energy during the upcoming lame-duck session of congress," he said. "Family farmers and ranchers rely on these provisions that are critical to managing their business."