Farm Bill Takes Step Forward, Farmers Need Security

Published by Jayce Brandt

Two years and two extensions later, the 2018 Farm Bill is still not renewed and is set to expire on September 30, 2026.

However, farmers are optimistic as the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 – also known as the 2026 Farm Bill – passed out of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture with a 34-17 vote March 4.

Representatives Sharice Davids and Tracey Mann sit on this committee and voted in favor of this bill.

Congress still needs to pass a five-year Farm Bill to ensure farm programs not addressed through budget reconciliation remain authorized. Without formal reauthorization of farm bill provisions, critical programs that farmers rely on will lose authorization or revert to outdated laws from the 1930s and 1940s.

Last year, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act incorporated many of the American Soybean Association’s key priorities including increased soybean reference price, improvements to Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs, and expanded access to more affordable and responsive crop insurance options.

“While OBBBA provided clarity on some topics, it does not give the secure feeling an official Farm Bill passed would bring,” Brett Neibling, Kansas Soybean Association President, says. “Moisture, prices and equipment repairs are already unexpected hurdles farmers must overcome. The uncertainty of legislation only adds stress to an already high-stress occupation.”

All of ASA’s top outstanding priorities were included in the bill including access to crop protection tools, conservation programs, USDA programs (PACE Act and PRECISE Act), orphan programs like the Biobased Markets Program and Biorefinery Assistance Program and more.

“The passage of the 2026 Farm Bill is vitally important to the success of U.S. soybean farmers,” Neibling says. “As planters start to hit the ground, we need certainty that the tools and programs we use will be there. Farmers need favorable policies that reflect the multitude of programs and technological advancements farmer use and with social issues in mind.”