Sponsors (3)
The bill standardizes and updates soil‑health training and funds research and outreach to improve producers' soil management and resilience, while imposing modest federal costs and creating operational trade‑offs for NRCS staff and potential limits on region-specific flexibility.
Farmers, NRCS staff, and third‑party technical assistance providers receive standardized soil‑health training with biennial curriculum updates, improving the quality and consistency of technical assistance and raising adoption of best practices.
Producers and rural communities gain access to materials and workshops on regenerative practices, helping improve soil productivity, resilience, and on-farm outcomes.
Land‑grant universities, nonprofits, and producers benefit from cooperative agreements that fund applied research and extension delivery, strengthening local research capacity and outreach.
NRCS staff and some field services may be diverted toward delivering and coordinating training, reducing time available for direct field assistance that producers rely on.
Farmers and rural communities could face reduced flexibility if mandated curriculum topics (e.g., organic production, traditional ecological knowledge) are not adequately adapted for region-specific practices.
Taxpayers incur ongoing federal costs from the bill's $10 million authorization for FY2027–2032, creating a modest but recurring budget commitment.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires NRCS to establish a nationwide soil health training program for staff and third‑party providers and authorizes $10M for FY2027–FY2032.
Official title: To require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish and maintain a training program for Natural Resources Conservation Service personnel and third-party providers on the rapidly evolving methodologies, science, and practices of soil health management systems on agricultural land, and for other purposes.
Introduced February 10, 2026 by Andrea Salinas · Last progress February 10, 2026
Creates a new soil health management training program at the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to train Service staff and third‑party providers on soil biology and soil health practices. The program must be established within one year, provide nationwide online and in‑person training (with in‑region workshops at least once every two years), offer continuing education and producer materials, update curriculum every two years, and encourage third‑party provider completion through schedules and agreements. Authorizes $10 million total for fiscal years 2027–2032 to carry out the program and adds definitions for key terms (Service, soil biology, soil health management, training program).