The Senate Agriculture Committee is slated to markup The Agricultural Act of 2026 today (August 6, 2026), bringing Congress one step closer to long-anticipated passage of a new farm bill. During the markup, committee members propose, debate, and vote on amendments to legislation before sending it to the full Senate for consideration. The House passed its version of the farm bill, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, on April 30th. Once the Senate passes its version, the two chambers can establish a conference committee to resolve the differences between the two bills. Then, the conferenced bill will go back to the House and Senate for votes, and, if passed, will go to the President to be signed into law.
Although there are several steps to go before a new farm bill is enacted, the Senate Agriculture Committee markup is an important step in the right direction. While some farm bill programs are permanently authorized and would continue without new legislation, authorization of other programs expires and must be reauthorized to continue either in a new farm bill or an extension of the existing farm bill. The most recent farm bill, passed in 2018, has already been extended three times – this is the closest Congress has been to getting a new farm bill across the finish line since the expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill on September 30, 2023.
Table 1 highlights some of the farm bill changes proposed by the House and Senate Agriculture Committees and major policy differences between the two chambers’ farm bill text. Significant updates to farm safety net provisions were included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last summer; therefore, most changes in current legislation focus on other farm bill titles.
Table 1. Comparison of House-Passed and Senate-Proposed Farm Bill Provisions
| Title | Provision | Current Law | House-Passed Bill | Senate-Proposed Bill |
| I – Commodities | Farm storage facility loans | USDA has authority to provide loans to producers of certain storable commodities to construct or upgrade storage and handling facilities. | Adds authority for USDA to provide loans for producers to construct or upgrade storage facilities for propane that is primarily used for agricultural production. | Adds the authority for USDA to provide loans for producers to construct or upgrade storage facilities for both propane and fertilizer that are primarily used for agricultural production. |
| I – Commodities | Livestock eligibility for USDA’s natural disaster assistance programs | Defines livestock eligible for USDA’s natural disaster assistance programs. | No comparable provision. | Expands the definition of livestock to include unweaned livestock for agricultural disaster assistance. |
| II – Conservation | Feral Swine Eradication and Control Program | The 2018 Farm Bill established the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot Program. | Codifies the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot as a program and increases funding for FY2025-FY2031 to $150 million. Requires NRCS and APHIS to contract with one or more land grant universities to assist with the program. | Codifies the Feral Swine Eradication and Control Pilot as a program with the same funding increase as the House bill. Does not include the requirement to contract with land-grant universities. |
| III – Trade | Trade promotion program funding | Includes funding for trade promotion programs such as the Market Facilitation Program (MAP) and the Foreign Market Development Program (FMD). | Increases mandatory funding from $255 million to $500 million (FY2027), then $533 million annually (FY2028-FY2031). | Increases mandatory funding to $515 million (FY2027), then $533 million annually (FY2028-FY2031). |
| IV – Nutrition | Timing of state cost share for SNAP | Beginning FY2028, states must pay a share of SNAP benefit costs if their payment error rates are 6% or higher. | No change from current law. | Delays state cost share start to FY2029. Increases cost share rate for states whose error rate is still 10% or higher beginning FY2031. |
| V – Energy | Year-round sale of E15 | Sale of E15 (a fuel blend of 15% ethanol and 85% gasoline) generally not permitted during summer months (June 1 to September 15). | No comparable provision. (In May, the House passed H.R. 1346 which would allow for the sale of E15 year-round) | Makes nationwide summer E15 sales permanently legal by amending the Reid vapor pressure requirements in the Clean Air Act. |
| XII – Miscellaneous | Standards for movement of livestock-derived products in interstate commerce (such as California’s Proposition 12) | No comparable provision. | Prohibits states from enacting or enforcing a production standard as a condition for sale or consumption on livestock-derived products not produced in that state. | No comparable provision. |
It will be interesting to see whether the Senate Agriculture Committee votes to report the bill to the full Senate today. Will the recent additions to the Senate text (inclusion of year-round E15 and delays to state cost sharing for SNAP) gain enough Democrat support to pass the bill out of committee? Or will we see another extension of the 2018 Farm Bill as its expiration approaches at the end of September?
References:
Congressional Research Services. (2026, July 29). The 2026 Farm Bill: Comparison of the House and Senate Bills with Current Law. (CRS Report No. R48918) https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R48918
Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, H.R. 7567, 119th Congress (2026) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7567
The Agricultural Act of 2026, S. ___, 119th Congress. (2026) https://www.agriculture.senate.gov/agricultural-act-of-2026-farm-bill-20
To amend the Clean Air Act with respect to the ethanol waiver for Reid Vapor Pressure under that Act, and for other purposes, H.R. 1346, 119th Congress. (2026) https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1346
Recommended citation format: Stewart, Natalie. “Comparison of House and Senate Farm Bill Provisions Ahead of Today’s Senate Farm Bill Markup.” Southern Ag Today 6(32.4). August 6, 2026. Permalink
