Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026

Summary

Makes broad, cross-cutting changes to U.S. agricultural law that reauthorize and revise many USDA programs. It updates conservation and rural development programs, tightens and expands rules for conservation easements and third‑party provider certification, changes farm loan and crop insurance eligibility, shifts implementation of the Food for Peace food‑aid program to USDA, adjusts SNAP policy and contractor authority, creates new reporting and transparency rules for research and dietary guidance, and adds forest‑management and wildfire response authorities including a new NEPA categorical exclusion for certain fuel‑reduction activities. The bill sets new deadlines and program standards (many tied to fiscal years 2027–2031), creates or modifies offices and advisory committees (including an Ombudsman for civil‑rights matters and a Specialty Crop Advisory Committee), and requires a number of new reports, certification processes, and procurement/accountability measures affecting producers, State agencies, tribal governments, rural communities, and federal agencies.

• Transfers implementation of the Food for Peace international food‑aid program from USAID to USDA and updates eligible‑organization rules.
• Adds precision‑agriculture definitions and requirements and authorizes precision‑ag funding and standards development for interoperability.
• Reforms conservation easement rules, exempts certain easement payments from AGI limits, and tightens third‑party provider certification with new approval timelines.
• Narrows TAP eligibility and requires replacement/rehabilitation of lost trees within a two‑year (or survival‑based) timeframe.
• Allows limited SNAP functions to be contracted to private parties in emergencies with safeguards and adds dietary‑health policy language and stricter Dietary Guidelines evidence and disclosure rules.
• Creates a NEPA categorical exclusion and monitoring rules for certain fuel‑reduction forest activities and directs faster wildfire suppression priorities on National Forest System lands.
• Updates farm ownership loan eligibility, shortens some experience lookbacks, and authorizes refinancing into direct ownership loans with required FSA regulations.
• Creates a USDA Ombudsman office for civil‑rights assistance, a Specialty Crop Advisory Committee on the FCIC Board, and multiple new reporting and audit requirements.
• Reauthorizes and extends multiple USDA lab, vaccine, animal health, rural development, and grant programs through FY2027–FY2031 with updated priorities and eligibility.