The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 on April 30.
Fourteen Democrats joined with Republicans in the 224 to 200 vote, with three Republicans voting against the measure that passed the House Agriculture Committee in March.
Key provisions included in the bill would reauthorize the Conservation Reserve Program, a cornerstone of the Farm Bill Conservation Programs, and maintain the requirement that 10% of funding through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program go to wildlife practices. The legislation would also create a new Forest Conservation Easement Program and would replace the feral swine (Sus scrofa) pilot program with a new permanent program that allocates $150 million in mandatory funding over the next five years.
Because some programs have been extended and received major funding boosts, first through the Inflation Reduction Act and then made permanent in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, over the past few years, this Farm Bill was not as extensive as others have been and contained fewer policy updates.
The Farm Bill debate now heads to the Senate, where the Agriculture Committee is already at work on its own proposal. Over the last two years, TWS has joined in coalition efforts to highlight conservation priorities, make recommendations for strengthening conservation programs and call on Congress to move the bill forward to passage.
