House Agriculture Committee advances 2026 Farm Bill

Key Takeaways

UPDATE

On March 5, the House Agriculture Committee voted to advance its version of the 2026 Farm Bill, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (H.R. 7567) with a bipartisan vote of 34 to 17, including all GOP members and seven Democrat members. Committee members successfully advanced the more than 800-page legislative package after a markup hearing lasting more than 20 hours.  

During the markup, the committee considered over 100 amendments. Several amendments that passed added provisions to the package with key implications for county governments and our residents, including NACo-supported amendments that would:

• Expand rural energy opportunities for local economies: Adds agricultural cooperatives with fewer than 2,500 employees as eligible applicants under the Renewable Energy for America Program (REAP), helping rural producers and businesses invest in renewable energy projects that can lower energy costs, support local jobs and strengthen rural economies
• Improve access to affordable broadband: Requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture to consider the affordability of broadband service when determining whether an area is “unserved,” helping ensure rural residents are not excluded from broadband funding simply because service exists but remains unaffordable
• Strengthen rural health access: Prioritizes funding for rural health facilities under the Distance Learning and Telemedicine and Community Facilities programs, helping counties expand telehealth capacity, improve access to medical services and support rural health systems that serve geographically dispersed populations
• Support rural fire protection and emergency response: Modernizes the Volunteer Fire Assistance (VFA) program by expanding eligibility and allowing USDA to waive match requirements for communities with limited resources, helping rural counties support volunteer fire departments that provide critical wildfire protection and emergency response services
• Improve management of federal grazing lands: Streamlines approval for minor range improvements on U.S. Forest Service grazing allotments, helping local ranchers and land managers more quickly complete small infrastructure projects that improve land stewardship, grazing operations and rural economic activity
• Strengthen local food distribution systems: Allows states to redirect up to 20 percent of Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) funds toward the Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, supporting local food banks and community food programs that many counties partner with to address food insecurity
• Support entrepreneurship in distressed rural counties: Reduces the non-federal cost-share requirement for the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP) in persistent poverty counties, helping small businesses and entrepreneurs in economically distressed communities access capital and technical assistance
• Make rural energy programs easier to access: Streamlines REAP applications and expands outreach and technical assistance, helping resource-constrained rural counties, producers and small businesses better navigate federal programs and compete for funding
• Expand childcare options for rural families: Recognizes Head Start providers as eligible entities under the Expanding Childcare in Rural America Initiative, helping rural communities increase childcare availability and support working families
• Rename Secure Rural Schools: Renames the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self Determination Act of 2000 as the “Doug LaMalfa Secure Rural Schools Act” in honor of the late Congressman Doug LaMalfa, who was a champion for public lands and rural communities throughout his career in public service

What’s Next for the Farm Bill?

With the Committee’s passage of the Farm, Food, and National Security Act, House leadership is targeting action on the Farm Bill on the House floor before the Easter recess. The timeline for the Senate Agriculture Committee to introduce and consider their own version of the 2026 Farm Bill remains unclear at this time.

Lawmakers have a long road ahead before the Farm Bill can be passed into law. Several obstacles may continue to impede progress toward agreement on a bipartisan 2026 Farm Bill, including slim margins of control in the House and the Senate, ongoing partisan disagreement over farm bill provisions included in H.R.1, the reconciliation package passed into law in 2025, political pressures related to the 2026 midterm election cycle, which is projected to dampen legislative activity over the summer, and the impending expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill on September 30, 2026.  

On February 13, House Agriculture Committee Chairman G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.-15) introduced the House version of the 2026 Farm Bill, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026. Please see the committee’s summary and full text of the bill for more information on the bill’s provisions.  

The Farm, Food, and National Security Act advances a range of key priorities for counties, including investments in rural childcare, health access, water infrastructure and broadband, paired with technical assistance to help resource-constrained counties access rural development programs. The bill also strengthens county priorities in conservation and watershed resilience and expands tools counties use to manage public lands and reduce wildfire risk through improved partnerships and resource management tools.  

Counties look forward to working with our partners in Congress to pass a bipartisan Farm Bill that will strengthen rural America and support greater opportunities for all.  

Background

The U.S. Farm Bill is a sweeping legislative package that shapes federal policy on agriculture, nutrition assistance, rural development, conservation and more. In addition to its role in establishing the farm safety net, the Farm Bill authorizes a range of programs that serve as cornerstones of county-led initiatives related to community development, land stewardship, infrastructure investment and nutrition access.  

The most recent Farm Bill, the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, initially expired in 2023 and has been extended multiple times following stalled negotiations in Congress. The 2018 Farm Bill is currently extended at existing funding levels through September 30, 2026. In 2025, H.R.1 (P.L.119-21) enacted several provisions traditionally addressed through Farm Bill reauthorization, including updating and expanding commodity support programs for agricultural producers and enacting reforms to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), including stricter work requirements and significant cost shifts to state and local governments.  

Major Provisions for Counties

Farm Safety Net

Farm safety net programs, including commodity subsidies, farm loans, disaster assistance and crop insurance, constitute a critical support network for the U.S agricultural sector and American consumers. Notably, H.R.1 included most provisions typically reauthorized in the Farm Bill’s commodity title. The Farm, Food, and National Security Act:

• Enhances disaster assistance for agricultural producers, including specialty crop producers
• Expands support for beginning farmers and ranchers

Conservation

Protecting our nation's most sensitive ecosystems starts with the voluntary conservation efforts of American farmers, ranchers and foresters. Conservation programs authorized in the Farm Bill provide valuable resources and expertise to support ongoing local conservation initiatives. These programs, coupled with a strong local relationship with USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), give counties the support they need to take the lead in local conservation efforts. The Farm, Food, and National Security Act:

• Reauthorizes and updates the Conservation Reserve Program
• Enhances working lands conservation programs by incorporating precision agriculture into the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program
• Advances the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Program  
• Updates the watershed programs with technical and financial assistance as well as research and data transparency directives
• Reforms the agricultural easement programs by updating federal cost-share and administrative requirements
• Establishes the Forest Conservation Easement Program while repealing the Healthy Forests Reserve Program
• Streamlines administration for conservation technical assistance and resource programs

Nutrition

The Farm Bill’s Nutrition title authorizes the nation’s most important nutrition assistance and food distribution programs targeting low-income county residents, including Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides 42.3 million low-income county residents with monthly grocery benefits and connections to Employment and Training programs. SNAP, which is funded on a mandatory basis, represents the largest share of Farm Bill spending. H.R.1 included numerous reforms to programs authorized in the Nutrition title that directly impact county governments and our residents. For more information, see NACo’s analysis here. The Farm, Food, and National Security Act:

• Requires USDA to include all identified SNAP payment errors, with no margin of error on dollar amount, in a supplemental annual report
• Establishes regulations to increase SNAP Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cybersecurity  
• Requires the Government Accountability Office to investigate state’s SNAP administrative costs
• Reauthorizes the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) with modifications including waiving Federal cost-share match for persistent poverty counties and expanding produce access

Rural Development

Programs authorized in the Farm Bill's Rural Development title represent crucial lifelines for rural counties, providing funding and technical assistance for rural economic and community development, rural water and wastewater infrastructure, and broadband deployment. The Farm, Food, and National Security Act:

• Establishes a new initiative to prioritize funding for rural childcare-related projects across existing USDA Rural Development program
• Codifies the Rural Hospital Technical Assistance Program and expands rural health access through existing USDA Rural Development programs  
• Directs USDA to provide technical assistance and capacity building support to counties and other local partners to enhance access to rural development programs in underserved and distressed areas  
• Enhances rural broadband programs, including the integration of the ReConnect Rural Broadband Program with the Farm Bill Broadband program, and by raising minimum eligibility speeds from 25/3 Mbps to 50/25 Mbps
• Reauthorizes and invests in key rural workforce and development programs
• Codifies the Rural Development Innovation Center under USDA to promote innovation through the administration and facilitation of rural development programs
• Reauthorizes key rural water and wastewater infrastructure programs, including Water, Waste Disposal, and Wastewater Facility Grants Program and the Solid Waste Management Grants Program
• Allows Farm Credit institutions to partner with community banks and other lenders in financing essential community facilities in rural areas

Forestry and Public Lands

The Farm Bill contains a range of provisions that empower counties to take an active role in the management of public lands across the United States. Counties make use of provisions in the Forestry title of the Farm Bill to mitigate wildfire risks, coordinate with federal agencies and local land management partners and restore damaged landscapes. The Farm, Food, and National Security Act:

• Directs the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) to develop and implement strategies to use livestock grazing as wildfire prevention tool
• Permits electrical utilities to cut and remove trees from near transmission lines without conducting a new timber sale process
• Allows special districts to enter into Good Neighbor Authority agreements with USFS
• Creates a categorical exclusion (CE) for the treatment of high-priority hazardous trees with a project area limit of 6,000 acres
• Expands the CE for firebreaks to 10,000 acres
• Creates a CE for forest thinning up to 3,000 acres within a 10,000-acre project area as long as the management activity is developed with input from county leaders
• Reauthorizes Resource Advisory Committees (RACs) through FY 2031 and permits regional foresters to make appointments to RACs for the Secure Rural Schools program Title II funds
• Provides the U.S. Forest Service with direct hire authority for Job Corps graduates

Energy

The Farm Bill includes energy provisions that shape how energy can be deployed in rural communities and how local governments engage on citing and land-use impacts. Counties rely on USDA energy programs to support projects that strengthen rural energy reliability, reduce long-term operating costs for producers and rural facilities and expand access to modern infrastructure that underpins economic development. The Farm, Food, and National Security Act:

• Restricts USDA from funding solar energy development projects that result in the conversion of prime farmland, as defined in the Farmland Protection Policy Act (7 U.S.C. § 4201(c)(1)), with exceptions for small projects under 5 acres, or projects under 50 acres with the majority of the energy produced being for on-farm use and with a county resolution of approval
• Increases access to the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) by increasing the maximum loan guarantee to $50,000,000 and requiring USDA to consider the economic impacts of a project in application scoring
• Authorizes a joint USDA/Department of Energy study on the effects of solar panel installations on U.S. farmland and private forestland, in consultation with counties and other stakeholders
• Reauthorizes the Biomass Crop Assistance Program through 2031

Concerns:

While NACo appreciates lawmakers’ attention to the needs of county governments and residents, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act also includes several provisions that would negatively impact counties and jeopardize the passage of a bipartisan 2026 Farm Bill:

• Prohibits states and counties from imposing or continuing any requirement related to the sale, distribution, labeling, application or use of pesticides regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• Prohibits states and counties from enforcing regulations related to the condition or standard of production of covered livestock (and, as a condition of sale or consumption, on products derived from livestock) for animals/products not physically raised in the jurisdiction