The Future FARMER Act reauthorizes annual funding for agricultural education programs under the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977. It specifically allocates $40 million each year from fiscal years 2025 through 2029 for grants and fellowships supporting students and educators in food and agricultural sciences. This funding directly affects institutions like land-grant universities and their students participating in these programs. The bill makes no new requirements but ensures continued financial support for existing educational initiatives in agriculture.
The Save Our Small Farms Act of 2025 amends crop insurance and disaster assistance programs to better support small and diversified farms. It creates a streamlined application process for small-scale producers, including those using urban production systems, direct-to-consumer models, and diversified farming operations. The bill establishes a revenue-based coverage option using IRS Schedule F tax forms, provides premium discounts (25% for first year, 50% for subsequent years) for farmers transitioning to whole farm insurance plans, and creates a new single index insurance policy to protect against weather-related income losses. The bill specifically targets support for beginning farmers, socially disadvantaged producers, veteran farmers, and those participating in the revenue-based option, with special considerations for farms with less than $350,000 in adjusted gross income.
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Agriculture
HR 3283, the FARMER Act, directly affects farmers who purchase crop insurance under enterprise or whole farm units by increasing federal premium subsidies. It raises the government subsidy rate to 77% for higher coverage levels and 68% for lower coverage levels under specific revenue or yield protection plans. The bill also lowers the required coverage level from 14% to 10% and increases the premium subsidy rate from 65% to 80% for supplemental coverage. Additionally, it mandates a study on expanding supplemental coverage to larger counties, requiring a report to Congress within one year.
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Agriculture
HR 3982 establishes the "Tariff Response and Damages to Exports Fund" (TRADE Fund) in the Treasury, funded by tariff revenues from imported goods in specific tariff categories. The fund provides direct payments to U.S. agricultural producers affected by export declines, foreign trade barriers, or increased production costs due to trade disruptions. Payments are made by the Secretary of Agriculture based on documented impacts, with annual reports to Congress detailing fund usage and economic effects. The program expires on September 30, 2030, with unspent funds permanently rescinded.
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Agriculture
HR 4354 establishes the Agricultural Emergency Relief Act of 2025, creating a new program to provide payments to farmers who suffer crop losses due to specific disasters like droughts, wildfires, floods, or extreme weather. Farmers must apply for payments by documenting "qualified losses" (such as prevented planting, crop quality damage, or wildfire smoke exposure) and agree to purchase Federal Crop Insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance coverage for the next two crop years. Payments are calculated based on either past insurance data or farm revenue, with limits set at $125,000-$900,000 per farmer depending on their average farm income level, and capped at 70-90% of documented losses. The program requires the Secretary of Agriculture to administer both insurance-based and revenue-based payment calculations simultaneously during each crop year. This relief applies to eligible producers (excluding joint ventures or general partnerships) who experienced qualifying disasters during the crop year.
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Agriculture
The RTCP Revitalization Act amends funding provisions for geographically disadvantaged farmers and ranchers under the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. It establishes mandatory annual funding from the Commodity Credit Corporation, starting at $10 million for fiscal year 2026 and increasing to $15 million annually through 2031 and beyond. The bill removes payment limits for eligible farmers when sufficient funds are available, ensuring they receive full payments without arbitrary caps. This directly affects farmers and ranchers in geographically disadvantaged areas who qualify for these payments. The changes provide predictable funding and protect payment access for this specific group.
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Agriculture
This bill increases annual funding for the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program from $10 million to $12 million, effective for fiscal years 2026 through 2030. It directly affects rural communities eligible for loans and grants under this program, which supports local economic development projects. The key mechanism is a specific funding amendment to Section 313B of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936. This change extends and boosts financial resources for rural infrastructure and community initiatives without altering program eligibility or administration.
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Agriculture
Rural Communities
HR 6476, the Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act, creates a federal grant program to assist farmers and agricultural communities affected by unsafe levels of PFAS (chemicals used in industrial products) in soil or water. Eligible governments (states, tribes, territories) can receive grants to fund specific actions, including compensating farmers for contaminated land or products, covering health monitoring for affected residents, investing in remediation equipment, conducting PFAS research, and developing educational programs. Grants prioritize direct financial assistance to producers experiencing losses due to contamination and require annual reports on fund usage. The program is authorized with $500 million for fiscal years 2026-2029, targeting communities with PFAS-contaminated agricultural land or water used for farm production.
This bill establishes a direct payment program to compensate specialty crop growers and wine producers for financial losses caused by increased tariffs on U.S. exports after January 20, 2025. Covered losses include higher handling costs for perishable crops, reduced export revenue, canceled contracts, and lost market access due to foreign tariffs. The USDA may also purchase surplus non-wine specialty crops for nutrition programs like school meals. Payments and surplus crop purchases require annual reporting to Congress until 2030, with funding authorized for fiscal years 2026-2030.
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Agriculture
The RISE Reauthorization Act of 2026 reauthorizes and expands a federal grant program that provides funding to rural communities for economic development projects. It removes specific references to "industry clusters" from previous rules, replacing them with broader language about "opportunities and networks" to increase flexibility for grantees. The bill requires the program to prioritize rural communities with populations under 20,000, and mandates that at least 10% of annual funds support communities with fewer than 10,000 residents. It authorizes $50 million annually for fiscal years 2026-2030 to support these grants.
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Agriculture
Economic Development
Rural Communities
