Dear friends & colleagues,

It's been a busy month at Land Core and in the agriculture policy world. We submitted comments to BLM on their proposed grazing rule changes, and while we support certain elements, including increased flexibility for producers, we also advocate that any rule changes be tied to an outcomes-based, regenerative management framework. We also published our analysis of the Senate Farm Bill and its potential impact on soil health, and sent our quarterly Bill Tracker Alert, which breaks down newly introduced and reintroduced bills, movement on tracked legislation, and other highlights from this quarter, that could affect soil health.

On June 23, Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) released a discussion draft* of the Agriculture Act of 2026, following the passage of the House farm bill (the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026) in April. Chairman Boozman has said a markup of the bill will occur before the Senate breaks for its August recess, but it has yet to be scheduled in the midst of the ongoing budget debate and the continued absence of Senator Mitch McConnell, a key vote on the Senate Agriculture Committee.

American agriculture is under real financial strain. Farm bankruptcies are up 46% since 2024. The country lost 15,000 farms in 2025. And average annual crop insurance indemnities more than doubled between 2015 and 2024, climbing from $6.7 billion to $14 billion.

These numbers point to an agricultural system under growing pressure, one where producers are absorbing more risk each year, and taxpayers are picking up more of the tab through federal crop insurance

However, a growing body of research indicates that soil health practices, such as cover cropping, diversified crop rotations, reduced tillage, and rotational grazing, measurably reduce risk. Land Core's new fact sheet, “The Economic Value of Soil Health: Less Risk, More Resilience," distills the evidence into a single 1-page resource for policymakers, producers, financial stakeholders, soil health advocates, and partners nationwide.

Land Core is supportive of well-managed grazing on public lands as complementary to, rather than opposed to, maintaining healthy grassland landscapes. Across the West and the nation, leading ranchers are using regenerative grazing of livestock as a way to increase the profitability of their operations and provide quality livelihoods, as well as to heal degraded soil, restore wildlife habitat, and replenish dried-up rivers. Regenerative grazing and soil health practices can help foster healthy, resilient landscapes and economic prosperity for the communities that depend on our public lands. These land management practices also support BLM’s mission to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations, and are consistent with BLM’s multiple-use mandate.

Dear friends and colleagues, 

This quarter brought major movement on federal farm legislation with direct implications for soil health. 

As most of you know, on April 30, the House passed its version of the 2026 Farm Bill, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (H.R. 7567). The Senate followed on June 23 with the release of a discussion draft of its Farm Bill, the Agricultural Act of 2026, ahead of an expected committee markup later this month. The Senate draft includes several provisions of note for soil health. Most notably in the Conservation Title, it reauthorizes the Conservation Reserve Program through 2031 with a higher acreage cap and increased payment limitation, raises Agricultural Conservation Easement Program cost-share rates, and establishes a new State Conservation Assistance Program, alongside updates to EQIP and the Conservation Stewardship Program.

Dear friends & colleagues,

Summer is here, and so is a packed policy calendar. Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman (R-AR) has signaled that Farm Bill markup is expected between July 13 and August 7, meaning the next few weeks are critical for shaping what ends up in the bill. We're keeping a close eye on soil health provisions and working to ensure the momentum from the House side carries through. We're also continuing to push for inclusion of report language mirroring the SOIL HEALTH Practices Act in the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Bill, following its recent and exciting inclusion in the House Ag-Approps Committee Report for FY27.

Dear friends & colleagues,

This month brought a significant milestone for soil health and our top policy priority, and we're excited to share it with you!

Report language was included in the committee report (see pg. 55) accompanying the House Appropriations Committee's FY2027 Agriculture-FDA spending bill. It directs RMA to study the risk-reducing benefits of soil health practices, propose policy changes that acknowledge any risk reduction and develop appropriate incentives across commodity crop insurance policies. This language substantively mirrors the objectives of the SOIL HEALTH Practices Act (our farm bill priority), and its inclusion is a meaningful step toward federal recognition of what farmers implementing these practices already know: healthy soils reduce risk. Land Core is now actively working to get this language included in the Senate's version of the Appropriations language.

Dear friends & colleagues,

Spring is a season of urgency, both on farms and in Washington. As soil temperatures climb and farmers finalize planting decisions, the pace of federal agriculture policy is quickening alongside them.

The Farm Bill does appear to be inching forward. House Republicans are preparing for a floor vote the week of April 27, and Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman signaled this week that Senate markup is now a matter of "weeks rather than months" away. While the road ahead is far from certain, the window for long-awaited updates to farm and soil health policy may finally be opening.

The House Farm Bill, called The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, included 65 marker bills that Land Core tracked across its twelve titles. Titles II (Conservation) and VII (Research) had the largest share, with 18 marker bills each. In Title II, all but one marker bill had bipartisan support. Of the marker bills in Title II that Land Core tracks, 10 were core bills and 8 were secondary. Title VII had a broader mix of sponsorship, with 13 of 18 bipartisan marker bills. Of the bills in Title VII, 12 marker bills were core for soil health, while 6 were secondary. To see the full list of Land Core-tracked marker bills in the House Farm Bill, please see here. 

Dear friends and colleagues,

Congress continued to introduce soil health-related legislation through the first quarter of the year, while also advancing several existing bills through committee and floor action. Notably, the House Agriculture Committee’s Farm Bill legislative text, released on February 13, included 65 bills that Land Core tracked as marker bills across the bill’s twelve titles. Bipartisan support for soil health legislation remains consistent, with conservation and research continuing to attract significant legislative activity.