House passes 2026 farm bill

Key Takeaways

Last month, lawmakers took a crucial step toward advancing one of the most important and often overlooked pieces of federal legislation on Congress’s agenda: the farm bill. The farm bill is a sweeping legislative package that shapes federal policy on agriculture, nutrition assistance, rural development, conservation and more. Beyond its role in supporting the farm safety net, it authorizes a range of programs that counties rely on to promote food security, advance community development, strengthen local infrastructure and support land stewardship. 

The farm bill has been a cornerstone of federal policymaking since the New Deal era, when laws such as the Agricultural Adjustment Acts of 1933 and 1938 helped establish the modern farm safety net. Since then, Congress has typically renewed the bill every five to six years, updating key programs to reflect changing economic conditions in agriculture and rural America. 

Beginning in the 1970s, lawmakers folded the federal Food Stamp program, now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), into the farm bill, bringing together farm, nutrition and rural development priorities under one legislative umbrella and solidifying a diverse coalition of stakeholders has long been central to the bill’s passage. 

The most recent farm bill, the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, expired in 2023 and has since been extended multiple times amid stalled reauthorization efforts. Most recently, Congress extended the 2018 law through Sept. 30, 2026, as part of a continuing resolution passed in November 2025. 

Debate on the farm bill in the 119th Congress has taken a notably different shape than in past years. In 2025, Congress enacted H.R. 1 (P.L. 119-21), a reconciliation package that addressed some of the farm bill’s most contentious and costly issues ahead of full reauthorization. That law updated and expanded commodity support programs for agricultural producers while also enacting major changes to SNAP, including stricter work requirements and significant cost shifts to state and local governments. As a result, lawmakers are now under renewed pressure to move the remaining pieces of the 2018 farm bill through a new reauthorization package this year. 

On Feb. 13, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “G.T.” Thompson (R-Pa.) introduced the House’s 2026 farm bill, the “Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026.” After a markup process lasting more than 20 cumulative hours, the House Agriculture Committee advanced the more than 800-page bill on March 5 by a bipartisan vote of 34 to 17, with support from all Republican members and seven Democrats. 

For counties, the House bill contains several provisions with meaningful implications for county governments. Among the most notable provisions, the bill would prioritize funding for rural childcare through existing rural development programs, modernize key broadband initiatives, enhance agricultural conservation efforts, improve rural workforce development programs and expand public lands management tools and authorities that counties often rely on to address wildfire risk and treat landscapes.  

At the same time, the bill raises several concerns from a county perspective. While it expands eligibility and program access in some areas, it does not provide corresponding new funding for rural development programs, which could worsen existing oversubscription and make it more difficult for counties to compete for limited federal resources. The bill also includes language preempting state and county authority over pesticides, raising concerns about local flexibility and the ability of county governments to respond to community-specific land use, public health and environmental considerations.  

On April 30, the House passed the 2026 farm bill, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 with a 224-200 vote. During negotiations, the House voted to remove the controversial pesticide preemption language that counties were concerned about with bipartisan support for the amendment.  

With House passage secured, eyes move towards the Senate as they work on their version of the 2026 farm bill. The timeline for Senate Agriculture Committee action on its own version of the 2026 farm bill remains unclear, but House passage adds pressure to expedite the process 

Lawmakers still face a long road before a final farm bill can become law. Major obstacles remain, including competing legislative priorities for the remainder of the year, ongoing disagreement over provisions already addressed in H.R.1, political pressures tied to the 2026 midterm cycle and the approaching Sept. 30 expiration of the 2018 farm bill extension.  

As Congress works toward full farm bill reauthorization, county leaders will be watching closely to see whether the final package delivers the tools, flexibility and federal partnership needed to meet the realities facing communities on the ground. NACo will continue engaging with lawmakers and the administration to ensure county priorities remain part of the conversation as the 2026 farm bill takes shape.