By Chris Clayton, DTN Ag Policy Editor, and Jerry Hagstrom, DTN Political Correspondent

OMAHA (DTN) -- They say the third time is a charm, so perhaps that will be the case with the latest effort to pass a farm bill.

House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson, R-Pa., on Friday released the text of the committee's latest version of farm bill, the "Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026."

It has been dubbed by some as the "skinny" farm bill because the One Big Beautiful Bill Act already includes increased funding for Title I commodity subsidies and crop insurance and some other programs. Still, the committee draft of the bill is 802 pages.

Thompson said in a news release, "A new farm bill is long overdue, and the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 is an important step forward in providing certainty to our farmers, ranchers, and rural communities.

"We made historic agricultural investments last summer in the Working Families Tax Cuts (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act), but there are many key policy components that remain to be addressed. With that in mind, the House Committee on Agriculture will begin marking up a new farm bill Feb. 23.

"This bill provides modern policies for modern challenges and is shaped by years of listening to the needs of farmers, ranchers, and rural Americans. The farm bill affects our entire country, regardless of whether you live on a farm, and I look forward to seeing my colleagues in Congress work together to get this critical legislation across the finish line," Thompson said.

Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., the ranking member on the House Agriculture Committee, said on Friday, "Our review of the legislative text is ongoing. Based on what I know, the Republican farm bill fails to meet the moment facing farmers and working people."

Craig added, "Farmers need Congress to act swiftly to end inflationary tariffs, stabilize trade relationships, expand domestic market opportunities like year-round E15 and help lower input costs. The Republican majority instead chose to ignore Democratic priorities and focus on pushing a shell of a farm bill with poison pills that complicates -- if not derails --chances of getting anything done," Craig said.

"I strongly urge my Republican colleagues to drop the political charade and work with House Democrats on a truly bipartisan bill to address the very real problems farm country is experiencing right now -- before it's too late."

Thompson has said the bill contains several provisions written by Democrats, but a Democratic analysis of the bill showed that of the 274 provisions that Democrats submitted to the Republican majority, 28 were accepted, for a 90% rejection rate.

Among provisions released by the House Agriculture Committee GOP staff, the bill expands disaster programs such as the Tree Assistance program involving orchards and includes plant pests under the definition of "natural disaster." The bill also creates a framework for USDA to provide disaster aid to specialty crops that will be consistent across administrations. The bill also would create standing authority to provide ad-hoc disaster aid through block grants to states.

Addressing problems from last fall's government shutdown, the bill includes a provision that would ensure farmers are able to access Marketing Assistance Loans (MALs) even if there is a lapse in funding.

To deal with on-farm storage, the bill would expand low-cost financing options for producers such as adding propane for drying and handling equipment to be included in those storage facility loans.

The bill also tweaks dairy risk management assistance by adjusting dairy production expenses.

In the credit title, the bill would increase loan limits for guaranteed operating loans to $3 million and guaranteed ownership loans to $3.5 million. Direct ownership loans would be increased to $850,000, while direct operating loans would be increased to $750,000. The bill also includes provisions meant to speed up approval times, especially for certified and preferred guaranteed lenders.

Among many other provisions, the bill:

-- Reauthorizes the Conservation Reserve Program and keeps the cap on acres at 27 million.

-- Transfers the Food for Peace international food aid program from the U.S. Agency for International Development to the Agriculture Department and reserves 50% of the resources in the program for the purchase and shipping of U.S. food.

-- Increases access to the Real Energy for America Program.

-- Increases requirements for reporting farmland ownership by foreigners.

-- Increases funding for farm export promotion programs.

-- Ties the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to the administration's Make America Healthy Again agenda.

-- Integrates the ReConnect program that furnishes loans and grants for rural broadband internet construction into the farm bill broadband program.

-- Allocates research funding for specialty crops, innovation and crop insurance.

-- Addresses state laws requiring standard living conditions for animals providing meat and eggs, such as California's Proposition 12, by stating that states and localities cannot require living conditions outside their jurisdiction.

-- Allows auction owners to invest in packing facilities.

-- Adds the Agriculture secretary to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

-- Addresses tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration in hemp.

-- Requires uniform pesticide labeling by stating EPA has the sole authority for making safety findings for pesticides, blocking states from implementing tougher standards, such as California did.

An overview of the bill, along with full text, can be found on the House Agriculture Committee website: https://agriculture.house.gov/….

Jerry Hagstrom can be reached at jhagstrom@nationaljournal.com

Follow him on social platform X @hagstromreport

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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