After Eight Years of Delays, Congress Finally Passes a Farm Bill

After nearly a decade of temporary fixes and missed deadlines, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a new farm bill Thursday, giving farmers the long-term policy foundation they have been waiting for since 2018. The final vote was 224–200.

The last full farm bill became law in December 2018, authorizing hundreds of billions of dollars in agriculture and nutrition programs meant to carry the country through 2023. When that deadline came and went without a replacement, Congress kept the old bill alive through three separate one-year extensions rather than tackle the politically complicated work of writing a new one.

Farmers were left planning their operations around temporary patches with no clear end in sight.

When those extensions finally expired in 2025, Congress used the One Big Beautiful Bill to buy more time. Farmers gained the ability to write off the full cost of new equipment in the year they bought it, rather than spreading the deduction over several years.

Estate tax exemptions jumped to $15 million per individual, helping protect family farms from being broken up to pay inheritance taxes.

Additionally, commodity support programs were extended, crop insurance was expanded, and roughly $66 billion in new agriculture spending was committed over the following decade.

It kept farms running, but it was never designed to replace a full farm bill.

The 2026 Farm Bill

Thursday's legislation, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, now does that. The five-year bill runs through 2031 and rewrites policy across 12 agricultural areas.

The Conservation Reserve Program remains capped at 27 million acres. SNAP food assistance is extended through September 2031. Farmers who borrow from the USDA will be eligible for higher loan limits. Rural communities gain new access to funding for mental health and substance abuse services.

Additionally, budget analysts at the Congressional Budget Office say the bill is essentially cost-neutral over 11 years, though it adds about $162 million in spending during the first 6 years.

The vote was almost entirely partisan. Republicans provided 209 of the 224 yes votes, while 197 Democrats voted no.

Only 14 Democrats crossed over to support the bill. Three Republicans voted against it.

Democratic opposition focused heavily on changes to SNAP, with critics arguing the bill's new eligibility provisions would cut food assistance for vulnerable families. However, supporters argue the bill modernizes programs that have been on autopilot for years and gives farmers the certainty needed to plan ahead.

Arizona's Delegation Split

Voted YES:

• Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R)
• Rep. Eli Crane (R)
• Rep. Paul Gosar (R)
• Rep. Abe Hamadeh (R)
• Rep. David Schweikert (R)

Voted NO:

• Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D)
• Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D)
• Rep. Greg Stanton (D)

Rep. Andy Biggs (R) did not vote.

The bill now heads to the Senate, where the Agriculture Committee has not yet drafted its own version.

Until both chambers agree on identical language and the president signs it, the new farm bill remains unfinished, a familiar situation for a law that has spent the better part of a decade in legislative limbo.