Congress begins uphill battle to pass farm bill

WASHINGTON — The Sen­ate has begun lay­ing the ground­work for a half-trillion-dollar farm and food bill that would end uncon­di­tional sub­si­dies to farm­ers, but House Repub­li­cans’ resolve to cut its biggest com­po­nent — food stamps — by $13 bil­lion a year dims its prospects of pass­ing Congress.