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What the “Big Beautiful Bill” and FY2026 Appropriations Mean for the Farm Bill

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In 2025, Congress did not pass a traditional five-year farm bill. Instead, major pieces of farm and food policy moved through two different tracks: a large budget reconciliation bill, commonly referred to as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and the FY2026 appropriations process.

Together, these actions reshaped the farm bill landscape, but they did not replace a full farm bill reauthorization.

What the One Big Beautiful Bill Did

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed through budget reconciliation in mid-2025, included several provisions that are typically handled in a farm bill. Because reconciliation can only include policies that directly affect federal spending or revenue, the bill focused on mandatory programs, including:

  • Changes to commodity programs and the farm safety net
  • Adjustments to crop insurance and disaster assistance
  • Major changes to nutrition programs, including SNAP

While these provisions addressed some of the largest budget items normally included in a farm bill, they left out many smaller, discretionary, or policy-based programs that do not fit reconciliation rules. In effect, reconciliation handled part of the farm bill, but definitely not the whole thing.

In a nutshell, the OBBBA circumvented a bi-partisan farm bill process, because the majority party could pass budget reconciliation along party lines, whereas a farm bill would have needed bipartisan support. That has put us where we are now, with a grim outlook for passing a farm bill.

What the FY2026 Appropriations Package Did

Separately, Congress used the FY2026 appropriations process to keep USDA and related programs operating. That package included a temporary extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, preventing many programs from expiring outright.

This extension allowed a wide range of farm bill programs—including conservation, rural development, research, local food systems, and market development programs—to continue operating while Congress debates what comes next.

However: This Is a Temporary Extension

Importantly, this funding and authorization only extend through September 30, 2026 for many farm bill programs.

That means:

  • Many programs are operating under short-term extensions, not long-term certainty.
  • Programs not fully addressed in the reconciliation bill still require congressional action to continue beyond FY2026.
  • Without a new farm bill or another extension, many programs could face funding cliffs or policy uncertainty again next year.

In short, the combination of reconciliation and appropriations kept key programs running—but it did not deliver the stability that a comprehensive farm bill normally provides.

Why This Matters for Farmers and Communities

This piecemeal approach creates uneven certainty across agriculture. Large, mandatory programs received multi-year changes through reconciliation, while many programs that smaller and mid-scale farms rely on, such as local and regional food systems, rural development, research, and technical assistance, remain in a holding pattern.

As discussions continue around a potential “skinny” follow-on farm bill or future extensions, farmers and rural communities are once again navigating uncertainty about how long critical programs will last.

Here is some further reading on the status of the farm bill, many of which were references for this blog: