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A comprehensive farm bill requires more than agreement on farm programs: Congress must first resolve major budget disputes and then find compromises across agriculture, nutrition assistance, conservation, and other policy areas. Congress did not reach that deal in 2024. The 2018 farm bill has instead been extended through fiscal year 2026 and crop year 2026, while a new bill introduced in 2026 remains a proposal in the legislative record documented here.
What is the status of the farm bill now?
As of October 7, 2026, the available legislative record shows that Congress has not enacted a comprehensive replacement for the 2018 Agricultural Improvement Act. It extended that law for fiscal year 2025 and crop year 2025, then extended it again in November 2025 for fiscal year 2026 and crop year 2026. The Congressional Research Service (CRS) explains that the July 2025 budget reconciliation law changed selected provisions but did not reauthorize every expired or expiring farm-bill program. See CRS, The Farm Bill After FY2025 Budget Reconciliation: Frequently Asked Questions (December 18, 2025).
H.R. 7567, titled the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, was introduced on February 13, 2026, and referred to the House Agriculture Committee, according to its introduced text. Those are the actions established by that text; they do not establish what happened to the bill afterward.
Why does a farm bill require high-level deal-making?
A farm bill is a broad, multiyear package. Negotiations therefore link decisions about commodity programs, nutrition assistance, conservation, and other policy areas. A compromise on one issue may be part of the bargain for agreement on another, but committee negotiators cannot settle the package if the central budget questions remain unresolved.
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In Chuck Abbott’s November 1, 2024 report, University of Missouri Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute head Pat Westhoff cautioned, “There are so many permutations that it’s hard to say anything with confidence,” and made the outcome depend on whether the principal players wanted a deal enough to compromise.
Jonathan Coppess, a University of Illinois farm-policy expert, put the procedural hurdle plainly: “A leadership-level agreement is necessary.” He added, “Without that top-line agreement on the budget blockers, there is no way for the committees to work out the farm bill details.” In other words, a committee bill or a set of policy outlines alone would not resolve the underlying dispute over the overall package.
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What were the sticking points in the 2024 negotiations?
Abbott’s 2024 account identified three central fault lines. The figures below describe positions and a budget characterization reported at that time, not current proposals or enacted policy.
Crop support and reference prices
Abbott reported that House and Senate Republicans sought a 15% increase in reference prices, while Senate Agriculture Committee chair Debbie Stabenow had suggested at least a 5% increase. Reference prices are used in farm-support programs; changes to them are part of the debate over the level and structure of crop assistance.
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SNAP funding
The 2024 report attributed a proposed $29 billion reduction in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) spending to Republicans and said Democrats opposed SNAP cuts. The proposal was part of the reported negotiations, not a description of the later extensions or a current enacted reduction.
Climate-related conservation rules
Negotiators also disputed whether climate-related conservation funding should be limited to practices that sequester carbon or reduce greenhouse-gas emissions, or could support a broader set of conservation practices. Abbott reported that Democrats sought to preserve climate guardrails, while the opposing position would loosen them.
Abbott also characterized the House Agriculture Committee bill approved in May 2024 as $33 billion over budget. That is the article’s dated description of the bill’s budget position, not a new score of H.R. 7567 or a current estimate.
Why was a deal uncertain in the 2024 lame-duck session?
The 2024 forecast was conditional, not a prediction that passage was assured. Leaders first needed to decide that compromise was worthwhile and address the budget impasse; only then could the committees work through the policy details. The House Agriculture Committee had approved a Republican-written bill in May 2024, while Senate Agriculture Committee leaders had produced outlines but not legislative text, Abbott reported.
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Other urgent business could consume time and attention. The report identified a government-funding deadline, hurricane relief, and possible challenges to election results as potential distractions. Congress did not enact a comprehensive new farm bill in that session. The Congressional Research Service’s Farm Bills: Major Legislative Actions, 1965-2024 (December 26, 2024) documents the legislative history.
A veteran farm lobbyist quoted anonymously by Abbott described one possible trade: Republicans dropping a demand for SNAP reductions, Democrats accepting higher reference prices, and both sides accommodating one another on climate rules so each could claim a win. That was a suggested path to compromise, not a reported agreement.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How does an extension differ from a comprehensive farm bill?
An extension and a new farm bill are different legislative outcomes. CRS’s December 2025 account distinguishes continued authorities under the extension from comprehensive reauthorization and notes that the reconciliation law addressed only selected provisions.
| Question | Extension of existing law | Comprehensive reauthorization |
|---|---|---|
| What happens to existing authorities? | The 2018 law was extended for fiscal year 2026 and crop year 2026, according to CRS. | A new omnibus law would reauthorize farm-bill programs through new legislation; H.R. 7567 is an introduced proposal, not an enacted replacement. |
| What happens to expired or expiring authorizations? | The extension and July 2025 reconciliation law did not reauthorize every expired or expiring program, CRS reports. | The scope would depend on the enacted bill’s provisions; the introduced text alone does not establish an outcome. |
| Does Congress change policy? | The extension continued existing authorities, while the 2025 reconciliation law changed selected provisions. | A comprehensive bill could make broader policy changes, but the details depend on what Congress passes. |
What should readers take from the stalled negotiations?
The 2024 episode shows why the phrase “farm bill deal” refers to more than a vote on farm subsidies. The legislation connects several major policy areas, and a broad agreement depends on leaders first resolving top-line budget conflicts. The later extensions kept the 2018 law in place for specified periods, but they did not amount to comprehensive replacement. H.R. 7567 signals a 2026 legislative proposal; its introduction and referral alone do not show whether Congress will enact it or what final policy would contain.
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