Overview
- Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman released a 983‑page Agricultural Act of 2026 on July 31 and scheduled a full committee markup for August 6 to advance a five‑year farm bill.
- The revised text renews core farm programs such as crop insurance, price supports, disaster assistance, loans, and research while adding nationwide year‑round E15 gasoline sales authorization and lengthening the timeline for states to fix SNAP administration.
- Major farm groups including the American Farm Bureau Federation and the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance praised the release and urged the committee to move the bill quickly toward Senate passage.
- Young farmer and local‑food advocates, led by the National Young Farmers Coalition, say the text omits key land‑access programs and does not restore prior SNAP funding cuts that totaled about $187 billion.
- Lawmakers must still reconcile the Senate and House versions after committee action, and passage matters to rural communities because Census and industry data show large farm losses and rising bankruptcies that tighten markets and threaten small producers.