Sponsors (3)
The bill directs new federal funds and mandated reporting to expand legal/accounting help and improve data-driven USDA policy for rural land succession, but it creates a recurring taxpayer cost, raises administrative burdens and privacy concerns, and leaves longer-term funding and enforcement discretion subject to agency judgment.
Farmers, rural communities, state governments, and researchers get more frequent and detailed USDA reporting and public reporting, improving transparency and enabling better policy targeting, program design, and oversight.
Low-income and underserved heirs receive free legal and accounting assistance to resolve multi-owner land succession, improving their ability to retain or farm land and access USDA programs.
Provides up to $60 million per year (FY2027–2031) to fund legal/accounting services and rural land retention efforts, increasing resources for farm continuity and support for small landowners.
Taxpayers fund a new recurring federal cost (up to $60 million per year through FY2031), which increases federal outlays and could affect deficits or require offsets.
More frequent reporting and broader data collection create additional administrative workload and recurring compliance costs for USDA, which may require more staff or budget reallocation and could divert resources from program delivery.
Continued funding beyond the initial multi-year awards is discretionary, creating uncertainty for heirs and service providers who may rely on sustained assistance.
Based on analysis of 10 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes USDA to fund nonprofits to provide free legal/accounting help to underserved heirs of multi-owner farmland, changes farmland reporting, and funds the program $60M/year for FY2027–2031.
Introduced March 3, 2026 by Sanford Dixon Bishop · Last progress March 3, 2026
Creates a USDA-authorized program to pay eligible nonprofits to provide free legal and accounting services to underserved heirs who own undivided shares of multi-owner farmland or forest land, to resolve succession and ownership disputes and keep land in agricultural production. It adds annual reporting and data requirements, changes related farmland ownership reporting duties, requires public criteria for selecting partners, and authorizes $60 million per year for FY2027–2031 (with an admin cap of 3%). The bill also amends other related reporting provisions and makes unspecified edits to an existing intermediary relending statute.