June 23, 2026
As we discussed last time, the House has passed their version of the Farm Bill (CFA’s May 1 Article). Today, the Senate moved that process forward, releasing a draft that sets up a committee vote this summer. For CFA members, farmers market operators, food access partners, and anyone who cares about where Kentucky’s food comes from, this legislation has direct implications. Here is a look at the timeline and what is at stake for the programs closest to our farmers and communities. If you want a primer on what the Farm Bill is and how it works, we have a Farm Bill Basics video that covers the basics. This update picks up from there.
Local Food and Farm to Community Programs
One of the more significant developments in the House Farm Bill is the creation of a new program called Local Farmers Feeding Our Communities. The program would direct USDA to partner with state agencies and tribal governments to fund the purchase and distribution of locally grown food to schools, food banks, and other community organizations. It is designed as a permanent, ongoing program with up to $200 million in annual funding.
This matters for Kentucky because it would create a stable, long term funding stream for connecting small and mid size farms to institutional buyers. In recent years, programs that served this function were ended before farmers who had planned around them could fully adjust. A permanent replacement, if it makes it through the Senate and into the final bill, would give farms and state agencies a more reliable foundation to build on.
The House bill also maintains the Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP), which funds grants supporting farmers markets, food hubs, and value added agriculture. CFA and many of our partner organizations have used LAMP funding, and its continuation is important for food systems work across the state.
Food as Medicine and Produce Prescriptions
The Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program, known as GusNIP, is the federal program that makes produce prescriptions and farmers market SNAP match programs possible. It funds competitive grants for projects that help people who receive SNAP have access to more fruits and vegetables and also provides produce prescriptions for people that have a diet related disease access fruits and vegetables. This is often through partnerships with healthcare providers, farmers markets, and community organizations. Programs like CFA’s Kentucky Double Dollars and Fresh Rx for MOMs are built on this foundation.
GusNIP is reauthorized in the House Farm Bill with several updates that matter for Kentucky. The bill would reduce or eliminate the federal matching fund requirement for grantees in counties with persistently high poverty, which affects many counties in Eastern and Western Kentucky where match is often the hardest barrier to meet. The bill also expands produce prescription programs to include all forms of fruits, vegetables, and legumes, not just fresh produce, which can make a real difference for rural areas with limited fresh food access year round.
GusNIP has bipartisan support, and advocates in both chambers have pushed for increased funding. The House bill reauthorizes the program but does not increase its overall funding level, which is a point of continued advocacy as the Senate moves forward.
Farm to School
Schools are explicitly named as eligible recipients under the new Local Farmers Feeding Our Communities program described above, which makes this a significant potential win for farm to school efforts. State agencies could use program funding to connect local and regional farms directly to school cafeterias, building the kind of relationships between farmers and institutions that CFA and our partners have been working to support.
Farm Safety Net Programs
Federal safety net programs for farmers, including commodity price supports and crop insurance, are among the longest standing parts of the Farm Bill. Both the House and Senate proposals aim to update these programs significantly. The 2018 Farm Bill used commodity price reference points based on data from 2012, and input costs, land values, and market conditions have changed dramatically since then. Updating those reference prices is a priority for farm organizations across the political spectrum and is expected to be included in whatever final bill Congress passes.
For small and diversified farms, the safety net discussion also connects to conservation programs. Both the House and Senate versions propose shifts in how conservation funding is structured, with funding implications for like the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) that many Kentucky farmers use to invest in high tunnels, cover crops, and other practices.
The Federal Budget Process: A Separate but Parallel Track
The Farm Bill and the federal appropriations process are two separate things, and both are moving at the same time. The Farm Bill sets the policies and program structures. The annual appropriations process sets the actual funding levels. Both matter, and right now both are in motion.
The House passed its FY2027 Agriculture and FDA appropriations bill (H.R. 8646) on June 3 by a narrow 213 to 210 vote. At $26 billion in total discretionary spending, it is $380 million below the FY2026 level. The Senate has not yet acted. Markups that were scheduled for June 25 were postponed, in part because Kentucky’s Sen. McConnell’s presence is needed for Republicans to move bills out of the Senate Appropriations Committee. That means the Senate version is still being shaped, and it is the version that matters most for what ultimately gets funded.
For programs that CFA members and partners work with directly, here is what the House appropriations bill proposes and what is still at stake in the Senate.
WIC: Nutrition Support for Women, Infants, and Children
WIC provides targeted nutrition support to pregnant women, new mothers, and children under five, and is a direct point of connection between local farms and low income families. The House FY2027 bill cuts WIC by $200 million below the FY2026 level of $8.2 billion, and reduces the cash value benefit that families use to purchase fruits and vegetables by 10 percent. That cash value benefit is the piece most directly linked to farmers market and produce prescription programs. Advocates warn that cuts at this level could result in states having to turn away eligible families for the first time in decades. Kentucky WIC serves over 100,000 participants annually, many of them in rural communities where WIC is the primary nutrition support available.
A related issue is virtual WIC certification. Phone and video appointment options, which allow rural participants to enroll without traveling long distances to a clinic, are currently set to expire September 30, 2026. Bipartisan legislation to make these options permanent has support in both chambers but was not included in the House appropriations bill. This authority could also be addressed in the Farm Bill nutrition title.
GusNIP: Produce Prescriptions and Farmers Market Incentives
GusNIP is funded through both mandatory Farm Bill dollars and annual appropriations, and demand from states has consistently outpaced available funding. There is currently a $32 million gap between what the program is funded at and what states are requesting. Programs like CFA’s Kentucky Double Dollars depend on competitive GusNIP grants (and state level funding) to operate. The House Farm Bill reauthorizes the program with some positive updates for high poverty counties, but does not increase the overall funding level. Senate appropriators will have an opportunity to address that gap in the FY2027 bill.
Conservation, Rural Development, and Research
The House bill also cuts conservation funding for farmers by nearly 8 percent, reduces Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) funding by 17 percent, cuts the Farm Service Agency budget that provides loans and support to farmers in financial hardship, and reduces rural broadband investment by 20 percent. The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), which supplies food banks, is also cut from FY2026 levels. These are programs that Kentucky communities rely on, and the Senate appropriations process is where they can be protected or restored.
The Sticking Point: Food Assistance Cost Sharing
The biggest unresolved issue in Farm Bill negotiations is a provision passed in 2025 that will gradually require some states to cover a portion of their food assistance program costs. States with higher payment error rates will bear a larger share of those costs. Democrats in the Senate have said they will not support a Farm Bill that does not delay or revise this provision. Republicans, including Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Boozman, have indicated there are limits to what they can agree to given budget constraints, and the Senate draft released today does not include the delay Democrats are seeking.
This means the Farm Bill will need 60 votes to pass the Senate, which requires some bipartisan support. Whether that support materializes before the September 30 deadline, or whether Congress opts for another short term extension, remains the central open question.
What Comes Next
The next few months are as active as federal agriculture policy gets. The Senate committee is expected to vote on its Farm Bill draft in late July or early August. If and when it passes, the House and Senate will need to go to conference to negotiate a final version. At the same time, the Senate appropriations process for FY2027 is still ahead. These two tracks are moving together, and both will shape what is funded and what is not for the next several years.
CFA will continue tracking the legislation most relevant to our members and partners. The section below outlines specific actions you can take right now to make your voice heard.
How to Take Action
The Senate appropriations process is the best near term opportunity to protect the programs described above. Kentucky’s senators sit on committees that directly shape these decisions, and constituent contact from farmers, market operators, and food access organizations carries real weight. Here are the most pressing asks:
- Fully fund WIC at or above the FY2026 level of $8.2 billion, and protect the fruit and vegetable cash value benefit. The House bill cuts WIC by $200 million and reduces the produce benefit by 10 percent. Kentucky WIC serves over 100,000 participants annually, many of them in rural communities where WIC is the primary nutrition support available. Urge your senators to restore full funding in the Senate appropriations bill.
- Make virtual WIC certification permanent, or extend the current authority past its September 30, 2026 expiration. Phone and video certification options are the difference between enrollment and dropout for many rural Kentucky participants who face long drives to reach a WIC clinic. Bipartisan legislation to make these options permanent could be included in the Senate appropriations bill or the Farm Bill nutrition title.
- Protect and increase funding for GusNIP. Demand already exceeds available funding by $32 million. GusNIP is the federal foundation for produce prescription programs and farmers market incentives across Kentucky, and it keeps dollars with local farmers while improving health outcomes for low income Kentuckians. Senators can address the funding gap in the appropriations bill.
- Support a delay in the implementation of new state food assistance cost sharing requirements. The 2025 provision shifting some food assistance costs to states is moving forward faster than many states can absorb. A delay would give Kentucky and other states time to adjust without disrupting services to families already enrolled.
To reach Kentucky’s congressional delegation, visit senate.gov and house.gov to find contact information. Calls and letters from farmers, farmers market operators, and community organizations are among the most effective forms of constituent outreach. If you have a story about how any of these programs affect your farm or community, sharing it directly with your senators’ offices is one of the most valuable things you can do right now. If you want help with how to reach out and share your story, or would like us to assist with sharing your story to the most appropriate legislator, please contact info@cfaky.org.
Sources: Torrey Advisory Group federal policy update (June 23, 2026); Brownfield Ag News; Politico/E&E News; National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Farm Bill analysis; Congressional Research Service comparison of H.R. 7567; Agri-Pulse; National Association of Counties.
