(WASHINGTON D.C.) — The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 on Thursday morning by a vote of 224-200, delivering the first new five-year farm bill since 2018 and setting up what promises to be a challenging road ahead in the Senate.
The bipartisan vote — the product of a chaotic week on Capitol Hill that included debate over hundreds of amendments — drew widespread praise from farm and agriculture groups across the country, who called it a critical step toward restoring certainty for producers facing rising input costs, low commodity prices, and ongoing market volatility.
“Today’s House vote is the largest step in eight years towards delivering a farm bill for family farmers, ranchers and rural America,” said National Farmers Union President Rob Larew. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., was credited by virtually every major agricultural organization for shepherding the legislation to passage.
A Win for the Farm Safety Net
For commodity groups representing everything from wheat and corn to cotton, rice, sorghum and cattle, the bill’s passage was a long-overdue moment of relief.
The National Association of Wheat Growers praised provisions modernizing farm credit, permanently transferring Food for Peace to USDA, and reauthorizing both the Conservation Reserve Program and the U.S. Grain Standards Act. National Corn Growers Association President Jed Bower, an Ohio farmer, highlighted the bill’s conservation, trade, credit, rural development, research and energy titles as meaningful wins for growers entering their fourth consecutive year of net losses.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association called the vote a victory for “real farmers and ranchers,” with Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Ethan Lane pointing to bipartisan cooperation as key to getting the bill across the finish line. In a statement, Lane said “instead of caving to attacks on the livestock industry from shell activist groups that impersonate real producers, a bipartisan group of lawmakers advanced a bill that will provide certainty and important policy fixes for cattle country. We look forward to engaging with the Senate to advance this Farm Bill to the president’s desk.”
The American Sugar Alliance said the legislation strengthens crop insurance tools for sugarbeet and sugarcane farmers and reaffirms the domestic sugar industry’s role in national food security. USA Rice and National Sorghum Producers echoed similar sentiments, with NSP Chair Amy France calling it an important step forward for producers navigating a difficult economic environment.
The National Cotton Council applauded passage but expressed disappointment over an amendment led by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna affecting crop protectants, calling access to those agricultural inputs critical for U.S. cotton’s productivity and global competitiveness. NCC also said they look forward to Senate action on the bill and urged Congress to also advance the Buying American Cotton Act (BACA), led by Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), which would strengthen demand for U.S.-grown cotton and support the domestic manufacturing jobs that depend on it.
The E15 Question: Promise Made, Fight Not Over
Perhaps the most closely watched subplot of the week was the fate of year-round E15 — fuel blended with 15 percent ethanol — which was ultimately stripped from the farm bill before final passage. For corn, sorghum and biofuel advocates, it was a source of real frustration, even as House leaders promised a standalone vote on the measure within the next two weeks.
“We look forward to working with our allies in Congress over the next two weeks to secure passage of the E15 legislation,” said NCGA’s Bower. “Thanks to continued efforts on this issue from our biofuel champions, Speaker Johnson promised a vote on E15, and we refuse to allow a handful of multi-million and multi-billion-dollar energy companies to derail our efforts.”
Bower added in his statement that “allowing the year-round sale of E15 would help our growers by expanding ethanol sales while also saving consumers money at the pump at a time when fuel prices are on the rise.” He applauded the efforts of numerous House lawmakers including Representative Michelle Fischbach (R-MN) and the 40 bipartisan co-sponsors, including House Rural Domestic Energy Council Co-Chairs Representative Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Stephanie Bice (R-Okla.), who proposed this legislation and continue to fight for a floor vote. Bower said “we also want to thank specifically Reps. Angie Craig (D-Minn), Nikki Budzinski (D-Ill), Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.), Sharice Davids (D-Kan.) and Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) for their support. We are confident that when the vote is held, the E15 bill will have strong support from members on both sides of the aisle.”
NSP Chair France called year-round E15 “one of the most immediate actions Congress can take to support farmers and rural communities. We are watching ongoing discussions around standalone legislation and urge Congress to move quickly to get this across the finish line.” France and NSP called on the Senate to build on the House’s progress by advancing the farm bill without delay while also prioritizing standalone action on year-round E15.
Representative Eric Sorensen (D-IL) was among those who voted against the farm bill, citing both the absence of E15 and what he described as inadequate funding levels for farmers and nutrition programs. “Instead of meeting in the middle, the House GOP passed a farm bill that tells farmers to make do with 2018 funding levels,” Sorensen said, pledging to continue pushing for a stronger bill in the Senate.
Eyes Turn to the Senate
With the House having acted, attention now shifts to a Senate that has yet to release its own bill text or schedule a committee markup — and where the legislation is expected to face significant policy differences.
The Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers Association thanked Ohio delegation members who supported the bill and immediately called on the Senate to move quickly. The National Association of Wheat Growers urged the Senate “to act quickly to advance this legislation and deliver a strong, bipartisan farm bill to the President’s desk.” USA Rice noted that 338 agricultural organizations had signed a letter urging swift advancement of the House bill.
National Farmers Union’s Larew, while welcoming the vote, cautioned that the bill does not fully address the scale of the economic crisis facing family farmers, pointing to missed opportunities on nutrition funding, country-of-origin labeling, input costs and market concentration. “Farm bill policy must evolve to meet the realities of today’s economy, and while this bill provides some needed certainty, it does not fully address what is at stake,” Larew said. “We look forward to working with the Senate to strengthen this bill and deliver more effective safety nets for farmers and families.”
For now, though, most of agriculture is choosing to focus on the milestone — and the moment.
“This bill provides five years of certainty and strengthens the programs farmers rely on to manage risk in today’s high-cost, high-pressure farming environment,” said Eric Tipton, President of the Ohio Corn & Wheat Growers Association.
The Senate has not yet announced a timeline for taking up the bill.
