News

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.

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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.

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Dear friends and colleagues,

As we’ve progressed toward the end of the calendar year, Congress continued to introduce (and reintroduce) a range of agricultural bills with implications for soil health. While the longest government shutdown in U.S. history slowed the regularity of presented legislation in October and November, as evidenced by the number of new marker bills introduced in this area, bipartisan support for soil health-focused legislation remains consistent.

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Dear friends and colleagues,

Throughout the summer, Congress continued to introduce (and reintroduce) a variety of agricultural legislation with both direct and indirect implications for soil health. While tensions between political parties grew following the signing of President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill into law on July 4, 2025, bipartisan efforts to advance soil health-focused legislation remained ongoing.

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