What’s in the House’s farm bill, and where do we go from here?

After three successive one-year extensions, Congress took a major step towards passing a five-year bipartisan farm bill last week. Following a 22-hour markup spanning two days, the House Agriculture Committee voted to send the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 to the House floor. The legislation, which was introduced by Chairman Glenn “G.T.” Thompson (R-PA) last month, was advanced on a vote of 34-17, garnering support from seven Democrats and all Republicans on the committee. 

The farm bill is the single most important piece of legislation for conservation on private lands, and the top legislative priority for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. We have worked closely with Chairman Thompson, Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-MN), and the members and staff of the House Agriculture Committee throughout the process to ensure the concerns of upland hunters and conservationists are represented in the legislation. 

The Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 offers the clearest look yet at how Congress may update conservation programs and improve their delivery for farmers, ranchers, and wildlife, so let’s take a closer look at how we got here, and what’s in the bill. 

Setting the Stage

Although it has been over seven years since Congress last passed a full farm bill, lawmakers did address several agricultural and conservation priorities through last year’s budget reconciliation package, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA). As part of that legislation, Congress reinvested all remaining conservation dollars from the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022—another reconciliation bill—into the conservation title of the farm bill, ensuring that programs like the Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) and others have long-term funding to better meet the needs of working lands and rural America. Crucially, OBBBA also provided $70 million for the Voluntary Public Access and Habitat Incentive Program (VPA-HIP), the most significant investment in public access to private lands for hunting since the 2018 Farm Bill. 

For PF & QF, these achievements addressed two of our top farm bill priorities: long-term conservation funding and new investments in voluntary public access programs. But the work is far from finished. Because of the limitations of the budget reconciliation process, many important farm bill provisions—particularly policy updates to conservation programs and reauthorization of the Conservation Reserve Program—could not be included. Those issues now fall to the traditional farm bill process. That’s where the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 comes in. Read on to learn more about how this bill would shape conservation on private lands.

CRP Reauthorization

While the reconciliation bills passed in 2022 and 2025 provided the other major conservation programs with long-term authorization, CRP has been operating on short-term extensions since the end of 2023, leaving producers and landowners without the certainty they need to make decisions for their operations. The House farm bill addresses that need by reauthorizing CRP through 2031.  

In 2024, when the committee marked up similar legislation, the bill made significant changes to the program. Many of these changes would have had a positive impact on enrollment and conservation benefits, including increased rental rates for marginal lands, restored cost-share for management activities, and updated payment limits to account for changes in land values, inflation, and other factors. Unfortunately, due to House budgetary rules, these changes were not included in this year’s bill. 

However, in a show of strong support for CRP, Reps. Jim Costa (D-CA), Randy Feenstra (R-IA), Dusty Johnson (R-SD), and Sharice Davids (D-KS) offered an amendment to incorporate the provisions of the bipartisan, bicameral CRP Improvement and Flexibility Act. Rep. Brad Finstad (R-MN) similarly offered an amendment to incorporate the CRP provisions from the 2024 bill. While these amendments were withdrawn due to budget limitations, Chairman Thompson reiterated his commitment to working with these members on incorporating much-needed improvements to CRP as part of the farm bill process. These provisions also have strong support on the Senate Agriculture Committee, which is also planning to draft and mark up its own version of the farm bill later this year. 

Precision Agriculture and Technical Assistance

The bill encourages greater adoption of precision agriculture by expanding the role of these technologies and practices within USDA programs to help producers make more informed management decisions on their operations. These practices and tools, like those offered through PF & QF’s precision ag program, can assist producers in identifying areas where management changes and conservation programs can improve the profitability of low-yielding areas.

Lawmakers also included provisions to strengthen the use of Technical Service Providers—certified third-party experts who help producers design and implement conservation practices. These improvements will expand the network of professionals available to assist producers with conservation planning and program implementation and increase capacity to deliver conservation programs. 

Improving Program Delivery

The committee’s bill also streamlines the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) to simplify project agreements and improve coordination with other USDA programs, helping conservation partners like PF & QF move projects from approval to implementation more quickly. The bill also includes wildlife habitat connectivity and wildlife migration corridors as RCPP priorities, expanding the scope and impact of the program. 

Committee members offered and debated countless amendments during the marathon markup, but only a few were accepted and incorporated into the bill. One such amendment, offered by Rep. Dusty Johnson, recognizes emerging tools like virtual fencing that help producers manage grazing more precisely, improving rangeland health while reducing infrastructure costs. Another, sponsored by Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-NM), would increase coordination between EQIP and Grassland CRP, allowing these programs to work together to implement more effective grazing systems that improve grassland health and wildlife habitat. 

Voluntary Conservation Easements

Finally, the bill strengthens voluntary conservation easement programs, which conserve important working lands and wildlife habitat while keeping these lands in private ownership. The legislation provides authorization and funding for a new Forest Conservation Easement Program  to increase the conservation and management of working forests. This ensures forests remain productive, resilient, and beneficial for wildlife and rural communities alike. 

The bill also makes improvements to wetland and floodplain easement programs, placing greater emphasis on long-term stewardship and management. These changes recognize that voluntary easements are most successful when restoration is paired with ongoing management and stewardship to ensure that lands continue delivering benefits for wildlife, water quality, and flood resilience. 

What’s Next?

The House Agriculture Committee markup represents an important milestone in the farm bill process, but there is still a long way to go before we reach the finish line. The bill still must advance through the full House of Representatives, and the Senate will also need to produce and pass its own version before leaders negotiate a final bipartisan agreement that can pass both chambers. 

For conservation advocates and agricultural producers, the coming months will be critical. A successful bipartisan farm bill must continue to support voluntary, incentive-based conservation programs that work for farmers and ranchers while delivering meaningful benefits for soil health, water quality, and wildlife habitat. 

One thing is clear: to get a farm bill done this year—or any year—it will require significant bipartisan cooperation and stakeholder engagement. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever will continue to work closely with members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees, our agriculture and conservation partners, and other key stakeholders to ensure the final farm bill supports farmers, ranchers, hunters, wildlife, and rural communities.