House Committee approves 2026 farm bill, moves to floor debate

After 20 hours of debate, seven House Agriculture Committee Democrats crossed the aisle to join Republicans in supporting the advancement of the new farm bill. 

The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (FFNSA) is now up for approval in the House of Representatives.

A bill three years in the making

The previous farm bill, passed in 2018, was intended to last through 2023. Since the deadline passed, the House Committee has attempted to pass a new bill, but the 2024 draft was never brought to a floor vote, leaving the legislation incomplete.

To address industry concerns, Congress extended the 2018 farm bill last year, maintaining current program authorities through September 2026. For any remaining gaps, Senators and Representatives at the Hill used budget reconciliation via the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA) to address additional agricultural issues.

While industry stakeholders welcomed Congress’s efforts to pass OBBA, many noted that the bill was not enough to fully address farmers’ needs.

This new farm bill, according to House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson (R), who’ll be in charge of pushing the bill through the floor, is a bipartisan legislation designed to benefit farmers, ranchers, and rural Americans nationwide.

“Throughout this markup, it became clearer than ever before that our country needs a new farm bill, and we don’t need it next year, or next Congress—We need it now,” he said in a statement. “I look forward to working in good faith with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle as we move toward a final vote on the House floor.”

The Committee remains divided as opinions clash

The FFNSA 2026 retains many provisions from the 2024 proposal. 

It allocates 40 percent of its nearly $390 billion budget to crop insurance and about 24 percent, or $94 billion, to price loss coverage. The remaining funds over the next decade will support programs such as environmental and conservation initiatives, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS), marketing loans, risk coverage, dairy, and other measures.

Although the bill passed and the Chairman praised its bipartisan nature, leftover Democrats did not spare words to criticize the latest draft. 

According to the Democratic ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, Chellie Pingree, the committee condemned sections of the bill that cut programs and eliminated or reduced the government’s ability to regulate potentially harmful pesticides, such as glyphosate.

The bill also doesn’t restore the cuts implemented to the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in OBBA, which House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (D) said in a statement should have been a priority for the House committee.

She also points out that the bill overlooks other critical needs, such as reviving lost export markets and reducing input costs for producers.

“This bill does not help American children, seniors, and veterans afford their groceries, nor does it help states and counties avoid an unfunded mandate to shift SNAP costs to them,” she added. 

She further criticized the bill, saying it ignores hemp farmers in Minnesota and elsewhere who followed the law and innovated a new marketplace, and now have their entire supply chains and businesses under threat. Craig also emphasized the rolling back of 2024 Farm Bill provisions providing Tribes with more access to USDA programs.

The agricultural industry responds with hope

After years of uncertainty, many industry representatives expressed gratitude to the committee for finally moving the process forward.

American Farm Bureau Federation president Zippy Duvall applauded the legislation and urged Congress to consider everything that has changed since the last Farm Bill in 2018.

“Agriculture has endured a pandemic, runaway inflation, rising interest rates, and historic supply chain and market disruptions. Costs for fuel, fertilizer, equipment, and labor have surged, and margins have narrowed,” Duvall said. “Farmers are counting on the Senate Agriculture Committee to follow suit and schedule a farm bill markup soon. This is an opportunity for both chambers to work on a bipartisan basis to do the right thing—not only for farmers but for every family that depends on them.”

Ken Fisher, CEO of AmericanHort, also cheered the bill’s passage, especially its investments in research, plant health, and grower support, which he considers vital for the industry’s continued growth.

“We look forward to continued collaboration with the House Agriculture Committee to ensure the final bill delivers meaningful, long-term support for specialty crop producers and the broader horticulture sector,” he said.

*All images are referential

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