Research for Healthy Soils Act

This bill makes research on microplastics in farm-applied sewage byproducts a top priority for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It lets USDA give grants to study how tiny plastic bits (smaller than 5 mm) show up in these materials, how they affect soil and crops, and how wastewater treatment can remove or break them down. It also calls for tracking where these plastics go and how long they stay in farm soils .

It also renews funding for several USDA research efforts through 2031. These include programs on pulse crop health, food safety training, and pollinator protection, plus expanded work on honey bee health and a nationwide bee health and population survey .

• Who is affected: Farmers, wastewater utilities, researchers, and communities that rely on healthy soils and pollinators
• What changes: USDA can fund studies on microplastics in farm-applied biosolids and support upgrades to wastewater methods; it also continues major research programs on crops, food safety, and pollinators
• When: Research programs are reauthorized through fiscal year 2031