Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026

This bill sets the yearly budget for farm, food, and rural programs for the year ending September 30, 2026. It funds the USDA, the FDA, and related agencies that handle farm support, rural housing and utilities, food safety, and nutrition programs like SNAP, WIC, and school meals .

It also includes policy directions that affect families, farmers, schools, and businesses.

• Cracks down on illegal e-cigarettes and flavored disposable vapes by setting aside at least $200 million for FDA enforcement and public lists of products that are allowed or denied.
• Pauses FDA’s new food traceability rule until at least August 1, 2028, and until real-world tests and an expert review are finished, to make sure the system is workable and low-cost across the supply chain.
• School meals: blocks buying poultry or seafood from China for school nutrition programs; lets schools substitute vegetables for fruits at breakfast for school years 2025–26 and 2026–27; and requires paid-lunch price increases only for districts with a negative school food service balance in 2026–27 .
• WIC: protects current milk benefits from being cut and rescinds $100 million in unobligated WIC funds from past years .
• Updates the federal definition of “hemp,” limiting certain lab-made cannabinoids so they are not treated as legal hemp products.
• Aims more rural funds to high-need areas by directing at least 10% of certain rural loans and grants to “persistent poverty” counties, when feasible.
• Increases oversight of foreign purchases of U.S. farmland by involving USDA in national security reviews and urging alerts to the federal review committee about risky land deals, especially those tied to foreign governments of concern .

Who is affected: families using WIC and school meals; farmers and ranchers; rural communities; vape sellers and makers; food companies; and hemp/cannabinoid businesses. What changes: funding for core programs plus the targeted rules above. When: most items apply during FY2026; some run through school years 2025–26 and 2026–27; the food traceability pause lasts until at least August 1, 2028 .