The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, introduced by Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, advanced out of committee with a 34–17 bipartisan vote and now moves to the full House for consideration.

Agricultural organizations across the industry — including commodity groups, farm credit institutions, livestock organizations, and conservation leaders — have largely welcomed the progress. Many emphasized the urgency of updating farm policy as producers face rising input costs, market volatility, supply chain disruptions, and tightening margins.

The proposed legislation includes updates aimed at strengthening the farm safety net, improving credit availability, supporting conservation programs, expanding market opportunities, and reinforcing the economic stability of rural America.

While broad support exists for moving the bill forward, several organizations noted that additional improvements may be needed as the legislation continues through the legislative process.

For the agriculture industry, the advancement of a bipartisan farm bill is a meaningful step toward providing the certainty and long-term policy stability producers, manufacturers, and rural communities depend on.

FEMA will continue monitoring developments as the bill moves through the House and Senate in the coming months.

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Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski says the reconciliation package secured an update to the commodities title, but it also created some issues.

“The Republicans broke apart the Farm Bill Coalition with the One Big Bill.”  She says, “So how do we, after that, come back to the table so we can make sure that safety net is there for our farmers, like supporting agricultural research. There’s a lot of work that we have to do.”

Congressman Eric Sorensen tells Brownfield that time is running out.

“I really do worry that we’re not going to have those in Congress that want to get that done,” he says.

President of the National Corn Growers Association, Kenneth Hartman, Jr., says farmers need the certainty of a new farm bill.

“We have to get it done because there’s some provisions that have to be done by the end of the year.”  He says, “There’s some things in there with research, conservation, and some of these areas.”

The current farm bill extension expires at the end of September.

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House Agriculture Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA) has expressed support for a one-year extension, which would allow a new five-year Farm Bill to be passed in the next Congress, assuming Republican control of the House, Senate, and White House. Meanwhile, Senate Agriculture Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) recently released her long-awaited Farm Bill proposal, which has met with skepticism from some Republicans. Senate Ag Committee Ranking Member John Boozman (R-AR) criticized the timing of the release, noting the lengthy delay in addressing the expired bill.

While some experts remain doubtful that a comprehensive Farm Bill will pass during the lame duck session, Mary Kay Thatcher of Syngenta suggested that the upcoming shift in Congressional control might prompt Republicans to push for a more favorable bill next year. However, there is widespread agreement that disaster aid, particularly for farmers and ranchers, is a key priority. A proposed $100 billion disaster aid package, which includes $21 billion for agriculture, may be wrapped into the year-end extension of the Farm Bill.

Lawmakers like Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) have urged that any extension not just serve as a stopgap measure but also address urgent agricultural needs, particularly in the wake of recent natural disasters.

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Congress will have to scramble in the lame-duck session set to begin Nov. 12 to come up with some agreement on the farm bill before benefits run out at the end of the year — which if allowed to happen eventually would have major consequences.

“Family farmers and ranchers can’t wait — they need the certainty of a new farm bill this year,” National Farmers Union President Rob Larew said in a statement after the meetings. “With net farm income projected at historic lows, growing concentration in the agriculture sector, high input costs and interest rates, and more frequent and devastating natural disasters, Congress can’t miss this opportunity to pass a five-year farm bill.”

The law began 90 years ago with various payments to support farmers, but now has an impact far beyond the farm, with programs to create wildlife habitat, address climate change, and provide the nation’s largest federal nutrition program.

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House Agriculture Committee chair Glenn Thompson stated that debate on the bill wouldn’t begin until September. Senate Agriculture Committee’s senior Republican, John Boozman, suggested that extending the current law into 2025 might be preferable if meaningful changes aren’t made to reference prices that trigger subsidy payments.

The House Agriculture Committee’s farm bill, passed in May, proposes increasing crop subsidy and insurance outlays by a third but only partially offsets the cost. It also includes proposed SNAP cuts, which have failed in previous farm laws. Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow criticized Republicans for claiming that SNAP costs take resources away from farms, calling the argument misleading.

Farm groups have long sought higher reference prices and expanded crop insurance. Boozman proposed a 15% increase in reference prices, while Stabenow promised a 5% increase with $5 billion allocated for it. However, progress remains slow, and an extension of the 2018 farm bill seems more likely than a new agreement.

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The poll — which surveyed 1,019 farmers, ranchers and producers across Pennsylvania, Arkansas, Georgia, Minnesota, Iowa, Colorado, South Dakota, Michigan, Montana, and Wisconsin — also revealed that, by a double-digit margin, farmers and ranchers want Congress to protect $20 billion in conservation funding originally authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and ensure those funds remain dedicated to climate-smart practices in the upcoming Farm Bill.

Commissioned by  and conducted by Farm Journal’s , the survey shows that:

• A supermajority of farmers believe conservation funding has an important role to play in building farms’ resilience to extreme weather and addressing the impacts of climate change. 85% of respondents said that conservation funding plays an important role in helping farmers and ranchers adapt in the face of increasingly extreme weather. Similarly, two-thirds (67%) said that conservation funding plays an important role in protecting our planet from the effects of our changing climate.

Farmers and ranchers across the country are facing serious challenges, from plummeting profits to skyrocketing costs to increasingly extreme weather. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, major disasters and extreme weather events — such as drought, floods, and wildfires — caused over $21 billion in crop losses for American farmers and ranchers in 2023 alone.

This new survey shows that farmers and ranchers want to address these issues in the Farm Bill — and they see climate-smart conservation as a key tool for doing so.

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The timing of the Farm Bill’s introduction to the House floor remains uncertain due to various substantive and logistical factors. The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry is expected to unveil its draft text, which will highlight the challenges for the bill’s final passage.
This markup follows the release of the discussion draft text by House Agriculture Committee leadership on May 17, 2024. Democrats aimed to present a unified front by opposing the draft text and supporting the Senate Agriculture leadership’s approach. Meanwhile, Republicans sought to divide the Democratic stance by including provisions favored by several Democratic committee members.

During the markup, over 50 amendments were introduced and considered. Notable amendments that were included in the final bill text passed by the committee are:

• A prohibition on using U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding for solar projects involving input from countries of concern, such as China, Iran, North Korea, and Russia.

• A prohibition on school authorities purchasing seafood or poultry products from China or Russia for school lunch programs.

• Establishment of a USDA strategy on sustainable aviation fuels.

• An updated definition of agricultural hemp to include only nonintoxicating derivatives.

• Commissioning a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the prevalence of and factors contributing to the use of child labor in meat processing facilities in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

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The bill, chaired by GOP Rep. Glenn “GT” Thompson, aims to set agricultural, nutrition, commodity, and conservation policies for the next five years. It includes numerous bipartisan policies shaped by extensive stakeholder feedback and is structured across 12 titles​.

Key components of the bill include promoting rural farming, expanding global markets for American agricultural products, implementing new reporting requirements for foreign land purchases, increasing funding for specialty crops, and broadening disaster assistance eligibility​.

Thompson emphasized that the bill addresses the needs of the agricultural community and cautioned against potential Senate objections that might disrupt the House’s legislative process​.

However, the bill has faced significant criticism from Democrats. Rep. David Scott, the committee’s top Democrat, condemned the draft for allegedly reducing food aid for hungry children, limiting climate-smart conservation funding, and restricting USDA crisis assistance for farmers. Scott warned that the bill, in its current form, would struggle to pass the House and called for a bipartisan approach necessary for Senate approval, given the Democratic majority there​.

On the Senate side, Democratic leaders, including Sen. Debbie Stabenow, have proposed their own farm bill, which emphasizes increasing eligibility for nutrition programs like SNAP. Stabenow and Scott urged for a bipartisan bill that maintains support for food assistance and addresses climate impacts on farming.

Contentious points in the House bill include the removal of climate-smart policies from $13 billion in conservation projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act and potential cuts to SNAP benefits through changes to the Thrifty Food Plan formula. These changes could reduce SNAP funding by approximately $30 billion over the next decade, impacting over 41 million SNAP beneficiaries​. Additionally, environmental groups have raised concerns about the bill’s provisions on animal welfare and climate-smart agriculture, urging Congress to prioritize consumers, farmers, and environmental sustainability over political and corporate interests.

The farm bill must navigate these political challenges to replace the current extension, which expires on September 30​.

On Thursday, the House Committee on Agriculture will consider amendments to the 942-page proposed Farm Bill. It is expected to cost $1.5 trillion over 10 years. The two committees must reconcile their bills before sending the legislation to the full chambers for a vote. If passed, President Joe Biden would need to sign it into law.

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As farmers know firsthand, the farm bill is essential in keeping our food supply secure. It ensures funding for risk management tools that help family farms hold on through severe weather and volatile markets. This critical legislation also provides access to nutrition for low-income families, funds conservation programs, and invests in agricultural research. The farm bill is a major investment for our nation.

Even though Congress passed an extension of the 2018 farm bill, getting a new farm bill done is still a priority for us. Farmers and ranchers need a modernized farm bill that reflects the changes our industry has gone through in the last five years. It’s time for our lawmakers to step up to pass a farm bill soon.

The farm bill is too important to be kicked down the road. This legislation has been a shining example of bipartisanship in the past. Traditionally, the farm bill has given an opportunity for both sides to put aside their differences to work for the common good of the nation. And they can do it again. Every family in America is counting on them.

The best thing you can do is continue to reach out to your elected officials and tell them how important the farm bill is to your farm. You can share your story about how the farm bill has helped you, and what you would like to see written in the new farm bill. And if you’re not already a Farm Bureau member, we encourage you to join us by going to your local, county Farm Bureau and getting involved. Let’s urge Congress to follow the example of the dedicated farmers and ranchers across this country.

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National Farmers Union President Rob Larew expressed optimism about the bipartisan support, urging Congress to use this momentum to expedite a new farm bill. Larew emphasized the need for clarity for family farmers and ranchers as they plan for the upcoming growing season.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall commended the farm bill extension but urged a focus on crafting a new, updated bill. Duvall highlighted the changing landscape since the 2018 bill, citing the pandemic, inflation, and global unrest as factors necessitating a modernized approach.

The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) celebrated the extension, emphasizing its importance in sustaining key programs that aid farmers in accessing organic markets and agricultural education. NSAC Policy Director Mike Lavender acknowledged the stability provided by the extension but urged Congress to pass a comprehensive, bipartisan farm bill in early 2024.

House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders noted that the farm bill extension is not a substitute for a five-year farm bill. Lawmakers will continue working towards a more long-term solution. The continuing resolution not only ensures continued 2018 Farm Bill provisions, but also continues funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and allocates resources for other key departments through Jan. 19, 2024.

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