The phrase “Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made” is a well-known often misattributed aphorism that describes the chaotic, messy, and compromise-driven nature of the legislative process. This phrase suggests that while the final law product may be necessary and beneficial, the process of creating them is unappetizing, involving intense political maneuvering, lobbying, and backroom deals. This is not considered a pleasant job when the guts of the drafts are on the table, and it has been going on for centuries, in some cases creating divisions throughout history. 

Actual sausage making is a natural outcome of efficient butchery which has been practiced for centuries. This also is not a pleasant process that requires strength but was necessary to have humanity survive. There are thousands of types of sausages worldwide, Germany alone boasts having over 1,200 types. With countless variations in spices, meat types, and curing methods, the total number of sausages is almost immeasurable. 

Like sausage, there are thousands of laws that have been enacted over time. These enumerable laws have sustained humanity similarly to the ingesting sausage. Some sausages taste better than others. Call out your own favorite sausage or favorite law and good luck getting a room full of people to agree on either choice. 

What is long underway is the creation of a Farm Bill to replace the expired and outdated 2018 Farm Bill. While many laws impacting agriculture were addressed in the One Big Beautiful Bill, more updates are necessary in what is being referred to as Farm Bill 2.0. Sausage making is currently underway in both chambers of Congress.   

While all 12 titles of the Farm Bill are being addressed by Congress, there are aspects of Title 5, Credit, which are particularly relevant to the Farm Credit System impacting GreenStone. 

• Farm Credit’s top priority: Pass a strong Farm Bill. 

• Producer & Agricultural Credit Enhancement Act: Increase loan limits on FSA direct and guaranteed loan programs to better reflect the increasing costs of purchasing land and operating farms. 

• Farm Credit Administration Independent Authority Act: Ensure the Farm Credit Administration is the primary regulator of Farm Credit System institutions. 

• Investing in Rural America Act: Clarifying Farm Credit institutions’ authority to finance rural community facilities projects and encouraging partnerships on these projects with community banks. 

• FARM Home Loans Act: Modest proposal in line with the spirit of the Farm Credit Act by allowing Farm Credit institutions to serve rural communities with a population of 10,000 or less. 

• USDA Loan Modernization Act: To expand eligibility for direct loans to individuals or entity members that hold at least a 50% interest and that are or will become bona fide operators of the farm real estate acquired, improved, or supported with farm ownership, operating, or emergency loans. 

The expression that laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion to how they are made, was popularized in modern context by the industrial, sometimes controversial imagery in Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle”. Laws have been upgraded as has been called for overtime. The Farm Bill 2.0 is one that needs upgrading.  

The comparison to sausage making highlights the fundamental reality of democratic governance to achieve results. Politicians must trade votes, accommodate special interests, and revise initial proposals, sometimes to a point where what comes out is unrecognizable, much like grinding various meat scraps into a single sausage link. As one nation under law, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all, sausage making to make the laws remains fundamental, and our voices matter in making them.

 

To view the article in the online 2026 Spring Partners Magazine, click here.