A Closer Look at the 2026 Farm Bill

By Jennifer Hunt (Content Writer) and Myra Jones (Regional Cost Share Specialist)

First enacted in 1933 as part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, the Farm Bill has evolved into one of the federal government’s most significant pieces of legislation shaping American agriculture, conservation, and rural development. Reauthorized periodically, the Farm Bill influences everything from farm safety-net programs and crop insurance to forest management, natural resource conservation, agricultural research, and rural infrastructure. Its provisions have far-reaching implications not only for farmers and ranchers, but also for forest landowners, rural communities, families needing nutrition and supplemental benefits like SNAP, and the industries that depend on healthy, productive working lands.

On September 16, 2026, the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee passed its version of the Farm Bill along party lines, advancing the latest effort to shape the future of U.S. agricultural and forestry policy. The committee’s bill addresses 12 major titles, covering commodities, conservation, trade, nutrition, credit, rural development, research, forestry, energy, horticulture, crop insurance, and miscellaneous provisions. Here, we break down the key provisions, focusing on the titles most relevant to forestry, agriculture, and working lands.

• Commodities: This section tackles several elements of the farm safety net, namely in times of economic uncertainty and natural disasters. For instance, it ensures farmers can access marketing assistance loans, sugar processing loans, and loan deficiency payments. It also expands the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) eligibility to include producers facing losses and low yields from natural disasters. To aid this, it authorizes the USDA to administer natural disaster relief funding via block grants to states to provide more regionally suited assistance.
• Conservation: The goal of this title is to streamline existing programs and adapt programs to allow additional or unique resource concerns to be addressed. It prioritizes the stewardship of easements, both in agricultural land and wetlands. Additionally, it creates the Forest Conservation Easement Program (FCEP) and the State Conservation Assistance Program to address conservation goals. The FCEP’s goal is to keep forests from being converted into other land uses, including housing and development. It provides mandatory funding for conservation easements for willing landowners and other entities. The Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) and Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) are both listed under this title and are widely used programs for landowners. However, their funding is proposed to be cut to allow funding for the previously mentioned easement programs.
• Trade: This title attempts to help America’s producers directly engage in export markets, creating opportunities for growth and competitiveness in the global marketplace.
• Credit: Equipment costs and operating expenses for farmers have effectively priced out a new generation of agricultural producers. As such, this section aims to break down barriers for young and beginning farmers to access financing and other USDA programs, as well as increasing Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan limits to better reflect the cost of doing business in today’s economy.
• Rural Development: This portion of the bill aims to strengthen rural communities by supporting broadband deployment and enhancing access to childcare and healthcare, including mental health care. This has become especially important as of late, as suicide rates for farmers are estimated to be 2-3.5 times higher than the general population due to economic uncertainty in the marketplace. It also establishes a program that will expand connectivity on farmland, which supports precision agriculture, a data-driven approach to farming. This enables farmers to tailor outputs (fertilizer, seeds, water, etc.) based on specific crop irregularities or needs.
• Research: Several opportunities are presented in this section, including mandatory funding for new specialty crop mechanization and maintaining funding for the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative, which provides grants for research, education, and extension projects that help organic producers grow food. The research title of the Farm Bill also prioritizes research on pests and diseases impacting wheat production and expands opportunities for training programs in junior and community colleges to invest in the agricultural workforce. Funding for land-grant universities and extension services is also housed in this section.
• Forestry: One of the most notable changes in this title is “fixing” the Cottonwood decision that has limited active management across the Western U.S. The Cottonwood decision established a legal precedent that the US Forest Service must reinstitute consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service whenever a new species is listed as Endangered (in this instance, the Canadian Lynx). The result: creating a backlog of forest plans impacting tens of millions of acres. Some assert that the litigation has impacted wildfire prevention projects like thinning, timber harvesting, and fuels reduction. The Farm Bill addresses this by creating the Forest Information Reform Act (FIR), which restricts triggers for endangered species consultation and reduces delays and litigation from environmental groups. It seeks to streamline environmental reviews by authorizing new and expanded Categorical Exclusions (CEs) that expedite forest health management projects. This portion is dedicated to removing or consolidating steps, which can have trade-offs; i.e., reducing wildfire risk but potentially harming wildlife species. However, these effects are often short-term, as they contribute to long-term habitat improvement. It also improves the Wood Innovation Grant Program by lowering the non-federal dollar-for-dollar matching requirement from the traditional level down to 50 percent, making it easier for applicants to participate. Lastly, it focuses federal efforts on the white oak, a species that faces a critical shortage of younger trees. The bill would seek to reestablish and restore white oak forests, provide funding for research, and build a genetically diverse seed bank to guarantee a sustainable supply of white oak seedlings.
• Energy: Details of note for forestry and land management include providing technical assistance to agricultural producers and rural small businesses applying for financial assistance and establishing a new technical review agreement between the USDA and applicants to streamline the application process. Additionally, it clarifies that sustainable aviation fuel is eligible for Biorefinery Assistance funding, giving explicit opportunities for companies producing jet fuel from renewable agricultural crops to be eligible for federal funding. Finally, there are solar funding restrictions that propose making cropland largely ineligible in an attempt to keep more farmland in production.
• Horticulture: Some elements are targeted at organic food production, like increasing authorized funding for the National Organic Program and providing technical assistance to organic farmers, as well as carrying out residue testing of imported organic feedstuffs. Lastly, this section also directs the USDA to study the role of biostimulants (a substance or microorganism applied to soil to enhance natural plant processes) in soil health.

The Senate Agriculture Committee’s 2026 Farm Bill presents a wide-ranging set of proposals that could shape the future of American agriculture, forestry, and rural communities. From expanding financial and disaster assistance for producers to investing in conservation easements, agricultural research, rural connectivity, and forest restoration, the bill addresses many of the economic and environmental challenges facing working lands today. Importantly, the committee’s passage of the bill is a step in the legislative process, not the end of it. As the legislation advances through the Senate, its provisions may be debated, revised, or removed, and the final outcome will determine which proposals become law. For agricultural producers, forest landowners, conservation organizations, and rural businesses, continued engagement in the legislative process will be essential to understanding the potential opportunities and challenges ahead.