Soil Health Federal Bill Tracker Alert - October 2026
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Dear friends and colleagues,
This quarter’s update is a short one. Congress spent most of the period away from Washington, first for the August recess and then for the pre-election break. The Senate has worked in just four of the last 12 weeks, and the House only two after Speaker Johnson canceled the last two weeks of the September session and sent members home until after the midterms.
As many of our readers will know, on September 16th, the Senate Agriculture Committee advanced its Farm Bill on a 12-11 party-line vote. The bill was formally reported to the full Senate (S. 5526), but has not been scheduled for a floor vote. With Congress out until after the November 3rd election, the floor action is now expected in the lame duck session. The bill will need 60 votes to move forward, and passage will likely hinge on whether Republicans and Democrats can resolve the SNAP cost-share disagreement, with Republicans offering a one-year delay and Democrats holding out for two.
Also in September, Congress passed a stopgap spending bill that keeps the government funded into early December, which means final Fiscal Year 2027 appropriations, including agriculture, are still to come. The 2018 Farm Bill extension expired on September 30th, and the question of an additional farm aid package has been pushed to the lame duck as well.
Disaster and specialty crop relief was the focus of several of the standalone bills introduced this quarter, including the CHILE Act (H.R.9884), which would create a permanent emergency assistance framework for specialty crops, and the RAISE Act (H.R.10749), which would open block grants for high-value crops. Another set of bills propose changes to conservation programs, including the BUFFER Act, which would broaden CRP eligibility, the RANCH Act (S.5277), which would convert cropland to perennial grazing cover, and the COWS Act (S.5309), which would add composting to EQIP. Several introduced bills, including the FLOOD Act (H.R. 9927/S. 5115), were also included in the Senate Farm Bill.
Also note the Military Readiness Through Resilient Lands Act (H.R.10069), below, which takes another step toward wider-spread recognition of the role that soil health plays in risk assessment and mitigation, including for national security.
Below, you'll find our usual breakdown of newly introduced and reintroduced bills, movement on tracked legislation, and other highlights from this quarter.
Without further ado, here’s your update on soil health legislation in the U.S. Congress from the Land Core Bill Tracker.
Warmly,
The Land Core Team
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Bill Tracker by the Numbers: 119th Congress
This alert tracks bills added from August to October 2026. A total of 16 bills were introduced that relate to or could impact soil health during that period.
Importance to Soil Health: Core or Secondary
Core Bills: 5
Secondary Bills: 11
Party Support
Bipartisan: 9
Democrat Only: 5
Republican Only: 2
Chamber
House Only: 2
Senate Only: 4
Bicameral: 10
Core Soil Health Bills
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Bipartisan Bills - NEWLY INTRODUCED
Below are 3 newly introduced CORE bipartisan bills that would directly impact soil health.
H.R.10069 - Military Readiness Through Resilient Lands Act
Sponsor: Rep. George Whitesides (D-CA-27), Cosponsors: 2
If enacted, this bill would give military installations standardized tools to assess natural resources and ecosystem services, and detect environmental degradation that could affect training and operations, potentially improving long-term readiness and reducing disaster-related disruptions. Soil health is included as one tracked metric. The emphasis of the bill is on identifying and deploying metrics, technology, and methodologies as appropriate for maintaining or improving the condition of natural resources and ecosystem services. More broadly, this bill takes another step toward widespread recognition of the role that soil health plays in risk assessment and mitigation, including for national security.
H.R.9968/S.4951 - Opening Programs to Organic Farms Act
Sponsors: Rep. Andrew Ogles (R-TN-5), Sen. Adam B. Schiff (D-CA), Cosponsors: 1 Senate, 1 House
This bill could reveal significant challenges organic producers face while engaging with USDA programs, many of which were designed with conventional practices in mind. While the focus of the bill is on information gathering, the report would surface participant data, specific barriers, the need for staff training and technical assistance, and potential available administrative actions for a range of farm programs, going beyond just the National Organic Program which oversees organic certification. These findings could inform future administrative or legislative action, and could lead to increased program access for organic producers who are more likely to implement land management practices that promote soil health and long-term ecological resilience.
Single Party Support
Below are 2 additional core bills with single-party support that would directly impact soil health.
Democrat
S.5309 - Converting Our Waste Sustainably (COWS) Act of 2026
Sponsor: Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA), Cosponsors: 2
This bill would establish a national framework for alternative manure management by adding composting and methane-reducing practices to existing conservation programs such as EQIP. It would authorize up to full cost-share and advance payments for approved projects, prioritize applications that reduce greenhouse gases and improve water quality, and direct USDA to support small and mid-sized livestock operations. The bill would also require updated conservation practice standards, expanded technical assistance, and allow cluster applications for shared composting facilities.
Republican
S.5526 - Agricultural Act of 2026 (Senate Farm Bill)
Sponsor: Sen. John Boozman (R-AR)
This bill would reauthorize and reform USDA agricultural and nutrition programs through fiscal year 2031. As is typical of a farm bill, this comprehensive bill is organized into twelve titles: Commodities, Conservation, Trade, Nutrition, Credit, Rural Development, Research and Extension, Forestry, Energy, Horticulture, Crop Insurance, and Miscellaneous Provisions. Soil health implications fall mainly, although not exclusively, under the Conservation and Crop Insurance titles, which together determine the program funding and risk-management incentives shaping conservation practice adoption on working farms.
Secondary Bills
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Below are 8 new bills and 3 reintroduced bills that would indirectly impact soil health.
New:
S. 5240 - Rural Economic-development Assistance and Consultation to Help Our Tribes Act (REACH Our Tribes Act) - Bipartisan
H.R. 9927/S. 5115 - Farmers Lifeline Options for Overcoming Disasters (FLOOD) Act - Bipartisan
S. 5277 - Rebuilding America's National Cow Herd (RANCH) Act - Bipartisan
H.R. 10749 - Restore Agricultural Investment, Stability and Expansion (RAISE) Act of 2026 - Bipartisan
H.R. 9686 - Fostering Agricultural Research and Modernization through Artificial Intelligence (FARM AI) Act of 2026 - Bipartisan
S. 5459 - Agricultural Data Privacy Act of 2026 - Republican
H.R. 9884/S. 4860 (Senate version previously included) - Cultivating Horticultural Innovation in Local Economies (CHILE) Act of 2026 - Democrat
S. 4996 - Fairness for Small-Scale Farmers and Ranchers Act of 2026 - Democrat
Reintroduced:
Most Active Legislators
Congressional members across the aisle introduced legislation that could impact soil health from August through October 2026. Four legislators each sponsored or cosponsored two bills: Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT), Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA). Both Sen. Welch and Sen. Schiff are amongst the bill tracker’s most active legislators for the 119th Congress.
Bill Progression
Three major bills tracked in Land Core’s bill tracker moved forward in Congress this year, including one that became law in July. The House Farm Bill (H.R. 7567 - Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026) passed the House on April 30 by a vote of 224-200. The FY27 Ag-Appropriations spending bill (H.R.8646 - the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agency Appropriations Act, 2027) passed the House on June 4th by a vote of 213-210 (although the Senate’s Ag-Appropriations bill has yet to be unveiled). The Emergency Conservation Program Improvement Act of 2025, a bill that improves access to funds for producers affected by disasters (S.629), passed the Senate on March 24th and the House on June 23rd, becoming Public Law 119-102 on July 12th.
Bill tracker alerts summarize updates to our soil health federal bill tracker. View this update (including links to each individual bill) on our website.
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Land Core is a 501(c)3 organization that works closely with the USDA, legislators, producers, scientists, NGOs and financial institutions across the country to develop policy recommendations that build healthy soils, resilient farmers and national food security. This includes guiding the successful passage of language in both the House and Senate supporting soil health outcomes at the USDA and helping to secure over $50M in federal investment in Soil Health in the 2018 Farm Bill.
Resources: The Land Core Soil Health Bill Tracker is a comprehensive tool designed to monitor and analyze legislation related to soil health and resilience. It can be used to support bills that align with the priorities of strengthening American agriculture, promoting energy independence, and revitalizing rural communities.
Contact: Aria McLauchlan, Co-Founder & Executive Director, aria@landcore.org