Senate Version vs House Version
(If you would like to dive into CFA’s blog post about the passing of the House version, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, read it HERE.)
The House-passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (H.R. 7567) on April 30, 2026. Then the Senate Agriculture Committee followed up with the Agricultural Act of 2026, or “Farm Bill 2.0,” and was released as a discussion draft on June 23, 2026.
After a markup session lasting several hours and debating over 200 amendments the committee voted 10–11, failing to advance the bill, with 2 senators not present to vote; Senator Mitch McConnell (KY) and Tommy Tuberville (AL). This means the Senate proposal is still a negotiating document rather than a bill that has passed the full Senate. With the August recess coming to an end, legislators are heading back to D.C. where it could be brought to discussion again.
For Community Farm Alliance and Kentucky’s local food and family farm community, there are several areas of meaningful overlap—as well as some important differences.
At A Glance
| ISSUE | HOUSE | SENATE | DIFFERENCE OR ALLIGNMENT |
| Soil Health | Creates and funds state-level soil health assistance | Includes broader conservation investments, but does not appear to include the House’s same state soil health assistance program | Mostly aligned |
| Animal Protein in Nutrition Incentives | Explicitly makes animal protein an eligible incentive food | Includes an identical provision | Aligned |
| GusNIP / Produce Prescriptions | Reauthorizes and makes targeted changes to nutrition incentives | Largely similar GusNIP reauthorization, with an additional Senate requirement to examine potential administrative options for Produce Prescription projects | Mostly Aligned |
| Heirs Property | Provides direct funding for legal services and fees to help resolve heirs property | Does not include an identical provision | Not aligned |
| Local Food Purchasing | Creates Local Farmers Feeding Our Communities as a successor framework to successful local purchasing programs | Does not include the same named program, but contains other local and regional food system investments | Aligned, but different set up. |
| Farmer-to-Farmer Learning | House amendment incorporates the Farmer to Farmer Education Act | Senate draft includes broader conservation and technical assistance priorities, but the standalone Senate bill was still pending before the committee | House is more specific and concrete |
| Access to Nutrition Programs | Amendment streamlines farmer and farmers market participation | Senate proposal contains comparable local-food and nutrition priorities, but not necessarily the exact House amendment language | House is more specific |
| Online Disaster Assistance Enrollment | Requires USDA to provide online enrollment options | No clearly comparable provision identified in the Senate draft | House is more specific |
Senate Amendments We’re Watching
During the recent Senate Farm Bill mark up over 200 amendments were filed. Here are just a few we are keeping our eye on.
- Senator Bennet #14 – This amendment expands investment in farmers’ markets and farmers’ market nutrition programs to strengthen communities and improve access to healthy food.
- Senator Booker #6 – An amendment to provide $1 billion in annual mandatory funding for local food purchasing programs.
- Senator Grassley #4 – To codify three finalized rulemakings under the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921
- Senator Welch #5 – Increase Farm to School mandatory funding from $5 million to $15 million per year and increase maximum grant award to $500,000.
- Senator Warnock #11 – To expand eligibility and address administrative issues related to the Heirs Property Relending Program.
- Senator Slotkin #9 – This amendment would allow additional urban producers to participate in the Conservation Stewardship Program.
- Senator Smith #10 – This amendment would require that all obligated Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grants be reinstated.
- Senator Schiff #1 – This amendment would ensure new producers are eligible for the specialty crop emergency assistance framework.
- Senator Schiff #5 – This amendment would eliminate the lower payment limit for organic farmers through EQIP.
- Senator Luján #9 – This amendment funds the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program at $200 million per year using existing Section 32 funds.
- Senator Luján #8 – Provides $200 million annually in mandatory funding to the Strengthening Local Food Security Program
- Senator Luján #4 – Requirement that USDA use the specialty crop emergency payment framework
What’s Next?
So what happens next? Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) has signaled that he may reconvene the Senate Agriculture Committee in mid-September 2026 to revisit the bill, though it’s evident that only a bipartisan SNAP solution will open a viable pathway for a new farm bill by the end of 2026.
Long story short; in order to achieve a different outcome in September, Chairman Boozman will need either Sen. McConnell to return to Washington, or he will need to strike a bipartisan deal on SNAP with Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN). While both of these pathways remain possible they are far from guaranteed.
To read more about what’s to come next check out NSAC’s breakdown HERE.
