Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026

Purpose & Problem

Is the problem real and worth federal action?

The bill renews and updates more than a dozen Department of Agriculture program areas, including crop support, nutrition, conservation, trade, rural development, research, forestry, energy, and crop insurance, through fiscal year 2031. It also adds new programs and modifies existing ones to address food supply chains and national security.

Scope & Related Provisions

Does it stay focused, or carry unrelated add-ons?

The bill covers a very wide range of agriculture-related topics, which is consistent with the traditional structure of a farm bill. It also includes a provision exempting farm equipment from certain Clean Air Act emission rules and a section transferring food aid authority from a foreign aid agency to the Agriculture Department, which extend slightly beyond core farm program administration.

Who Is Affected

Who benefits, and who bears the cost?

Farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners would receive updated support, loan, and conservation program access. Rural communities, nutrition program participants, food banks, and tribal organizations would also be affected. Insurance companies, lenders, conservation districts, and state agencies that administer federal agriculture programs would take on new duties or reporting requirements.

Cost & Funding

Is it affordable and responsibly funded?

The bill authorizes specific dollar amounts across many programs. Conservation programs authorized through the Commodity Credit Corporation range from roughly $2.5 billion in fiscal year 2027 to $3.3 billion in fiscal year 2031. The Regional Conservation Partnership Program is authorized at $450 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. The State Assistance for Soil Health program is funded at $100 million per year. Trade promotion funding rises to $500 million for fiscal year 2027 and $533 million annually thereafter. Loan limits for farm ownership and operating loans are raised. Individual program authorizations of appropriations range from a few million to tens of millions of dollars per year. These figures represent authorized or mandatory funding levels, not independently verified cost estimates.

Risks & Implementation

What could go wrong in practice?

The bill assigns new rule-writing and reporting duties to the Agriculture Department across dozens of programs, which requires agency capacity to complete on the timelines specified. Several provisions set deadlines of 90 days to two years for new rules, plans, or studies. Programs that depend on appropriations may not be funded at authorized levels. The transfer of international food aid oversight from one agency to another requires coordination and could affect ongoing operations during the transition period.

TITLE I--COMMODITIES

Title I updates rules and programs related to farm commodities, including price supports, disaster assistance for trees and specialty crops, dairy programs, and agricultural loans. It extends several existing programs through 2031, creates new frameworks for emergency assistance, and requires electronic enrollment options for disaster programs. It also restores tobacco as an eligible commodity under the Commodity Credit Corporation and directs studies on fertilizer storage loans.

TITLE II--CONSERVATION

This title updates and extends several federal farm conservation programs through 2031, including the Conservation Reserve Program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, and the Conservation Stewardship Program. It adds new rules for precision agriculture technology, wildlife habitat connectivity, soil health grants to states and tribes, and feral swine eradication. It also sets new funding levels in the billions of dollars for these programs and adds rules for watershed protection, emergency conservation, and technical assistance delivery.

TITLE III--TRADE

This title updates and extends U.S. agricultural trade and food aid programs through 2031. It moves control of the Food for Peace Act from the U.S. Agency for International Development to the Secretary of Agriculture, increases funding for export promotion programs, and creates new tools like a trade enforcement task force and an interagency working group to protect U.S. farmers in foreign markets. It also requires reports on trade agreements with Canada, Mexico, and Argentina and how those deals affect U.S. farm exports and prices.

TITLE IV--NUTRITION

This title updates and extends the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), school meals, and food distribution programs through 2031. It makes SNAP online purchasing permanent, allows states to hire contractors to help process applications, adds hot rotisserie chicken as an eligible food, and strengthens Buy American rules for school meals. It also updates how the Dietary Guidelines for Americans are developed and creates programs to connect local farmers with food assistance networks.

TITLE V--CREDIT

Title V updates federal farm loan programs by raising loan limits for farm ownership and operating loans, reducing experience requirements for new borrowers, and expanding who qualifies for loans. It also allows some distressed guaranteed loans to be converted to direct loans, speeds up loan approval processes, and extends several existing credit programs through 2031. Additional sections provide legal help for heirs with shared land ownership, update agricultural mediation grants, and make technical corrections to outdated references in farm credit law.

TITLE VI--RURAL DEVELOPMENT

This title updates and expands rural development programs covering health care access, broadband internet, energy savings, and precision agriculture. It extends funding for telemedicine and distance learning programs, adds mental and maternal health to covered services, and reauthorizes grants and loans for rural broadband infrastructure through 2031. It also updates the Rural Energy Savings Program to include grants alongside loans and adds rules about precision agriculture technology.

TITLE VII--RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND RELATED MATTERS

This title reauthorizes and updates federal programs for agricultural research, education, and extension services through 2031. It expands support for veterinary services in rural areas, adds new research priorities like soil health, invasive species, and precision agriculture, and increases funding percentages for historically Black land-grant colleges. It also strengthens grants for community colleges, international agricultural partnerships, and biosecurity planning.

TITLE VIII--FORESTRY

This title updates and extends forestry programs through 2031, including wildfire prevention, forest restoration, rural fire prevention, agroforestry centers, and nursery support. It expands the size limits for forest management projects, creates new categorical exclusions to speed up certain activities without full environmental review, and adds new rules for wildfire suppression on high-risk national forest lands. It also authorizes grants for nurseries and seed orchards and directs better forest data collection.

TITLE IX--ENERGY

This title updates and extends several farm energy programs through 2031, including programs that support biofuels, biorefineries, and rural energy upgrades. It adds new rules limiting USDA funding for solar projects on farmland, requires a study on how solar installations affect agricultural land, and creates a grant program to plant trees near homes to reduce energy use. It also directs the USDA to develop a strategy for sustainable aviation fuel and create tools to help farmers improve the efficiency of irrigation pumping systems.

TITLE X--HORTICULTURE, MARKETING, AND REGULATORY REFORM

This title updates and extends several programs related to specialty crops, hemp, organic farming, and local food markets. It changes rules for hemp testing and producer categories, reauthorizes grants for specialty crops and urban agriculture, and sets new standards for organic certification and inspection. It also creates a pilot program letting approved research organizations move certain lab-grown microorganisms between facilities without a separate permit for each transfer.

TITLE XI--CROP INSURANCE

This title makes many changes to the Federal Crop Insurance Act. It creates a new advisory committee for specialty crops, expands coverage to include revenue losses from falling market prices, and sets new rules for reimbursement rates paid to insurance providers. It also directs research into new insurance products for crops like mushrooms, wine grapes, and sugarcane, as well as for livestock such as swine and feeder cattle.

TITLE XII--MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

This title updates rules for animal health programs, livestock disease preparedness, meat and poultry processing, and national security related to agriculture. It sets new requirements for importing dogs, protects interstate sale of livestock products from conflicting state laws, bans commercial greyhound racing, and strengthens disclosure rules for foreign ownership of U.S. farmland. It also reorganizes some USDA offices and shifts the burden of proof in USDA appeals hearings to the agency.