The Farm Bill is the most significant legislation impacting agriculture, forestry, and food policy in the United States. The bill sets the direction for food production, agricultural support, environmental conservation, and more.
The Senate has finally released its Agricultural Act of 2026. Farmers, ranchers, and forest stewards have waited 8 years for a full Farm Bill. And while we welcome the forward momentum, this bill leaves important work still on the table if the Farm Bill is to truly support a transition to more resilient and sustainable agriculture and forestry.
Encouragingly, agroforestry and other perennial production systems were named as priorities for updated conservation practice standards. The bill also expands the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative to include biochar, authorizing research and extension grants to assess its soil carbon sequestration potential. A new $50M/year program would direct resources to States and Tribes to improve soil health and conservation outcomes on agricultural lands.
On the forest side, we see more expansive support for Tribes to protect and restore forestlands and rangelands, expanding program eligibility and authorizing appropriations of $15M annually for FY 2027-2031. The Forest Conservation Easement Program was included, strengthening incentives for sustainable forest management and limiting forest conversion. In addition, the Forest Inventory Analysis program would get an overhaul to improve data collection, including for forest carbon.
But the bill has serious gaps. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program and Conservation Stewardship Program — two of the most proven and popular conservation programs — are now stretched even thinner by adding new programs without additional funding. Adding precision agriculture as a priority in both programs risks pulling dollars away from practices with stronger, more direct conservation outcomes. On research, the bill leaves a big void, with no mention of support for an agricultural soil health research program or long-term soil health monitoring network. And the National Agroforestry Center and regional hubs were excluded entirely, despite their inclusion in the House bill.
Forest provisions also fall short, with weakened public forest protections tied to expanded acreage caps for categorical exclusion and expansion of Good Neighbor Authority, and less comprehensive reforestation support than the House bill offered.
The Senate draft rejected several Democratic demands, making the path to a 60-vote passage still unclear. We encourage the Senate to hold a truly bipartisan mark-up, redressing serious oversights, and delivering producers a long awaited Farm Bill actually fit for the future.