$27.1 billion advanced for ag spending by Senate committee
After months of spending cuts and cancellations within the United States government, the Senate Appropriations Committee is redirecting some of those dollars through the Fiscal Year 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
This bipartisan plan provides $27.1 billion in discretionary funding for everything from agricultural research to biosecurity to food safety and rural development. The bill was advanced out of the committee by a unanimous vote of 27-0.
“This important bill supports our farmers and rural communities, the safety of our food supply, critical federal nutrition programs, and medical research and advancements,” said Sen. Susan Collins, (R-Maine), chair of the appropriations committee. “This bill also provides much needed investments in rural housing programs to help address severe affordable housing shortage felt in Maine and states across the country. As the chair of the Appropriations Committee, I will continue to champion this funding as the appropriations process moves forward.”
Where will the funds go?
Breaking down the $27.1 billion in funding, $3.6 billion will be directed to agricultural research, including $1.9 billion for the Agricultural Research Service and $1.7 billion for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. In addition, full funding will also be provided to the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility to protect against animal disease, biodefense, and biosecurity threats.
Another $1.2 billion will be set aside for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to fight continued animal disease threats, including avian flu, New World screwworm and chronic wasting disease. These funds will also ease the burden on producers who must meet electronic animal identification requirements.
The Agricultural Marketing Services will be allotted $223 million to market U.S. agricultural products, both domestically and internationally, support domestic purchase programs and provide data to producers to make informed marketing decisions. The bill also closes the hemp loophole that has resulted in the explosion of unregulated hemp products being marketed across the U.S.
A sum of $1.2 billion will be allocated to the Food Safety and Inspection Service to promote food security and productivity for the U.S. meat and poultry industry. The Farm Service Agency will receive $1.6 billion, including funding for $10.5 billion in farm loans for producers. The bill also prohibits the closure of FSA county offices.
An additional $895 million will be directed to the Natural Resources Conservation Service for technical and financial assistance to farmers and ranchers and $52 million for Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations. At the same time, the bill decreases funding for the Office of Urban Agriculture.
As far as rural development goes, $3.7 billion will be set aside for rural infrastructure and development programs—including affordable housing assistance and home and business loans for rural communities. The Senate bill also removes funding for the Biden-era Rural Partners Network initiative and maintains “Buy American” provisions.
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children is expected to receive the largest increase in funding levels compared to other programs. Under the Senate bill, WIC will be allocated $8.2 billion, a $500 million boost. The legislation also maintains the full cash value benefit for fruits and vegetables. Additionally, $425 million of WIC funding will go to the Commodity Supplemental Food Program to assist low-income seniors.
The Food and Drug Administration will receive $3.6 billion in funding. The bill also provides targeted increases for Food Safety and Inspections, Cosmetics, Diabetes, and the Neurology Drug Program, and a new pilot grant program to help schools transition to safer and healthier foods.
“We made it a priority to support our nation’s producers with tools like better access to capital, marketing assistance and funding to prevent pests and diseases and at the same time, we invest in agriculture research, food safety and other programs to strengthen rural America,” said Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Hoeven (R-North Dakota).
Lacey Vilhauer can be reached at 620-227-1871 or [email protected].
