The House Agriculture Committee this week voted 34-17 to advance the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, otherwise known as the Farm Bill.
After nearly 20 hours of deliberation, the committee voted early Thursday to advance the legislation.
Ultimately, seven Democrats joined all committee Republicans in voting for the bill, including Reps. Jim Costa (D-CA), Adam Gray (D-CA), Don Davis (D-NC), Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI), Josh Riley (D-NY), Gabe Vasquez (D-NM), and Sharice Davids (D-KS).
“I want to thank Chairman Thompson, Chicken Caucus Co-Chair Costa, and the Agriculture Committee members on both sides of the aisle who voted to advance the ‘Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026,’ which is vital to American agriculture,” NCC President Harrison Kircher said. “Chicken producers are especially grateful for the provisions that seek to increase funding for export promotion programs and those that pertain to negotiating animal disease regionalization agreements with our trading partners, which is critical in the wake of the ongoing avian influenza outbreak in the U.S.”
The bill included double the current authorized funding for USDA’s Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) programs, up from currently authorized levels of $200 million for MAP and $34.5 million for FMD.
That change is in addition to the newly created, permanently authorized $285 million trade promotion program that was included in last summer’s reconciliation bill. That provision effectively doubled USDA’s trade promotion funding.
The bill also includes language reiterating USDA’s authority to proactively negotiate regionalization agreements regarding animal disease outbreaks.
The bill now heads to the House floor, where Chairman GT Thompson (R-PA) has said he has a commitment from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to hold a vote in the coming months.
The Senate has not yet released the text of its version of the Farm Bill.
Current Farm Bill policy is set to expire at the end of the fiscal year, September 30, 2026.
