SALEM, Ohio — Following years of political wrangling and stalled negotiations, the long-awaited Farm Bill is gaining momentum.
The Senate has not yet scheduled a hearing for on the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026, which was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives with a 224 to 220 vote on April 30, and senators have made few public statements regarding its fate. But the Senate Agriculture Committee is expected to release a framework this month,
It remains to be seen how closely the Senate version will resemble the House’s iteration, but interest groups and lobbyists are already pushing for changes.
Cattle ranchers, for example, want senators to include labeling requirements for imported beef and add provisions to prevent further consolidation of the meat packing industry.
“The lack of meaningful measures to address the cattle and sheep industry’s long-term contraction relegated domestic beef and lamb production incapable of keeping pace with the growth in domestic consumption,” the trade association R-CALF wrote in a May letter to the Senate agriculture committee.
The Native Farm Bill Coalition, which represents Native American tribes, asked senators last week to restore a program that lets tribes buy local and traditional food for federal food distribution programs.
Meanwhile, animal rights groups want a provision limiting states rights to regulate meat production stripped from the bill.
If the Senate approves the legislation, it would be the first Farm Bill passed into law since 2018. The current farm bill expired in 2023, and has been extended three times.
The House version cuts entitlement programs while increasing funds for conservation and research, and includes a controversial provision that could change how meat products are shipped across state lines.
However, a section of the bill that drew the ire of environmentalists and the Make America Healthy Again movement is gone.
The House vote was largely along party lines, although 14 Democrats supported it and three Republicans voted against it.
Save our bacon
Conservative lawmakers representing agricultural districts included a provision dubbed “Save Our Bacon,” which — among other things — bars states from passing laws regulating the sale of any agricultural products coming from other states.
The provision, which was once a stand-alone bill, is designed to counter California’s Proposition 12 and Massachusetts’ Question 3, ballot measures approved in 2018 and 2024 respectively that ban the in-state sale of certain meats derived from animals raised in extreme confinement.
Supporters argue that Save Our Bacon simplifies a patchwork of state laws that confuse farmers and food companies, while opponents argue that it would nullify rules designed to prevent disease and protect animal welfare.
“If enacted, this sweeping preemption could jeopardize years of hard-won state-level protections for farmed animals,” the Animal Legal Defense Fund wrote in an online editorial.
Rep. Ashley Hinson, an Iowa Republican, argued it would prevent states from interfering in agricultural practices outside their borders.
“California and Massachusetts have proposed arbitrary mandates on production practices for farmers in other states,” she wrote in a news release.
One of the most contentious parts of the bill was removed before House lawmakers voted on it. A previous iteration of the Farm Bill created a legal shield for pesticide makers and barred states from passing laws with pesticide regulations stricter than federal standards.
Environmentalists worried that it would shelter Bayer, which manufactures the weed killer Roundup, from lawsuits. Roundup contains the known carcinogen glyphosate.
The provision was a “handout to big agriculture, to big chemical,” Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Maine Democrat, said in a speech on the House floor, according to MSNBC.
Trump-aligned Republicans such as Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida and Lauren Boebert of Colorado also supported removing the pesticide provision.
Also tucked into the Farm Bill is a ban on greyhound dog racing, which is supported by animal rights advocates. Greyhound racing is rare in the United States. Only two race tracks are left, both in West Virginia.
The money
The Farm Bill’s total cost is around $1.4 trillion over 10 years.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill is budget-neutral. But money is shifted around between several programs contained within it.
In some ways, the shifts make the bill a study in contradictions. Money is cut from some progressive priorities, but increased for others.
The law would cut $187 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over the next 10 years by imposing work requirements and requiring bigger contributions from states.
Meanwhile, spending on conservation programs will rise by about $174 million during that window.
Farm subsidies, on the other hand, would increase by around $60 billion in that time period.
The money appropriated for research and extension activities is set to increase by about $8.3 billion. The funding is “aimed at sustainability, specialty crops, and technology,” read a May 1 summary from the University of Kentucky.
“The bill aims to stabilize farm income while supporting voluntary, incentive-based conservation,” UK’s summary said.
