Proposed Farm Bill scheduled for markup next week

Jockeying by advocacy groups both critical and in support of the first draft of legislation to support federal agriculture has begun, with nutrition programs at the center of controversy because the new bill does not address last year’s food aid cuts.

The first draft of the 2026 Farm Bill was released Friday and is scheduled to be debated in the U.S. House next week. It’s been three years since Congress was due to pass a new farm bill, typically passed every five years. Instead, legislators have been extending prior funding levels or adding provisions into other legislation.

“A new farm bill is long overdue, and the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 is an important step forward in providing certainty to our farmers, ranchers, and rural communities,” House Committee on Agriculture Chair Glenn GT Thompson, R-Penn., said in a statement.

American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said the legislation includes important updates to credit, conservation, research and rural development programs.

International Dairy Foods Association President Michael Dykes also praised the bill.

“By expanding (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) dairy incentives to include additional nutritious dairy products and providing certainty to core federal dairy programs, this legislation ensures low-income families have greater access to affordable, wholesome dairy foods while giving farmers and processors the certainty they need to continue delivering for America,” Dykes said in a statement.

Meanwhile, leadership from a think tank focused on the federal budget was highly critical of the new farm bill because of changes it didn’t make to SNAP.

“Last year, 47.9 million people lived in households that struggled with food insecurity, and millions will see their food assistance cut substantially or terminated altogether as the full brunt of the Republican megabill’s SNAP cuts take effect,” Ty Jones Cox, vice president for food assistance at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, said in a statement. “The House Agriculture Committee’s farm bill proposal ignores the urgent need to address this harm.”

The draft bill also includes a provision from the Agricultural Labeling Uniformity Act that would make clear the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is the ultimate authority on pesticide labels, preventing states from requiring additional or different labels on pesticides. A coalition of more than 300 agricultural groups sent a letter in support of the Agricultural Labeling Uniformity Act in 2025.

“In recent years we have seen actions from states that directly and unjustifiably contradict EPA’s scientific findings on pesticide safety,” the letter read. “These actions risk creating an unworkable, inconsistent patchwork of state pesticide labels that can quickly disrupt commerce and access to these much-needed tools.”

If passed, the bill language might make it harder to sue pesticide companies.

“House Republicans can’t credibly claim to back an agenda that supports public health or protects kids while advancing a bill that weakens protections from pesticides and hands more power and profits to foreign pesticide manufacturers,” Geoff Horsfield, legislative director for the Environmental Working Group, said in a statement.