Hoeven: Senate Ag Committee Releases 2026 Farm Bill, Builds on Farm Safety Net Enhancements Passed Last Year

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven issued the following statement after Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-Ark.) released a discussion draft of the Senate’s 2026 Farm Bill. As Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Hoeven has been working with Boozman and his fellow committee members to draft the new Farm Bill and ensure it focuses on supporting the family farms and ranches that feed America. The legislation: Builds on and further strengthens the farm safety net improvements passed as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill, also known as the Working Families Tax Cut Act. This includes a measure Hoeven advanced to study the potential inclusion of dry edible beans as a Title I commodity. Invests in agriculture research. Expands support for specialty crops. Enhances programs for developing infrastructure and improving quality of life in rural communities. Supports the development of greater market opportunities for agriculture producers. Includes legislation Hoeven is sponsoring to: Improve producers’ access to credit by modernizing loan limits at the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Provide low-interest financing for agriculture producers looking to purchase, construct or upgrade fertilizer facilities and equipment on their farms. Support state-led conservation programs like Governor Armstrong’s Legacy Soil Health and Habitat Program. Protects crop insurance coverage and provides long-term certainty for producers affected by the Red River Valley permanent flood protection project. Reauthorize the Joint Chiefs Landscape Restoration Partnership program to fund partnerships with private landowners to help improve and restore grasslands in North Dakota. Authorize funding for collaborative agricultural and scientific research between the United States and Israel. Help producers compete by launching a pre-approval or pre-qualification pilot program for FSA Direct Farm Ownership loans. “We appreciate Chairman Boozman for working with us to write a Farm Bill that is all about supporting the farmers and ranchers who ensure Americans continue to have access to the highest-quality, lowest-cost food supply in the world,” said Senator Hoeven. “This legislation builds on our long-term priorities of strengthening the farm safety net, advancing ag research and securing market access for our producers. At the same time, the Farm Bill includes legislation I introduced to address key issues in farm country, including the need for greater fertilizer storage and handling capacity and increased access to capital. I look forward to moving this legislation forward and passing a strong Farm Bill that maintains our nation’s network of family farms and ranches.” The discussion draft includes several of Senator Hoeven’s legislative priorities: Improving Access to Credit Hoeven worked with Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) to introduce and secure the Producer and Agricultural Credit Enhancement (PACE) Act as part of the Farm Bill to increase loan limitations for the FSA’s Direct and Guaranteed Loan Programs for Farm Operating Loans and Farm Ownership Loans. Direct Operating: Increase from $400,000 to $750,000 Guaranteed Operating: Increase from $1.75 million to $3 million Direct Ownership: Increase from $600,000 to $850,000 Guaranteed Ownership: Increase from $1.75 million to $3.5 million Expanding Fertilizer Storage Hoeven’s Building Infrastructure for Nutrient Storage (BINS) Act, which he is sponsoring with Senator Klobuchar, would expand the Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) Program to cover on-farm fertilizer storage and handling infrastructure and equipment. The FSFL Program utilizes funding from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to provide loans of up to $500,000 to producers for infrastructure such as bins, barns and tanks, as well as drying and hauling equipment, covering a wide range of commodities. The loans are available under terms ranging from 3 to 12 years, requiring a 15 percent down payment and currently offering interest rates below 5 percent. Supporting Voluntary, Farmer-Friendly Conservation Hoeven’s legislation, the Supporting Conservation through Advancing Local Efforts (SCALE) Act, would provide matching federal grants to support state-led soil health and wildlife habitat initiatives. This legislation supports North Dakota’s LEGACY program which is a voluntary, producer-focused initiative designed to improve soil health, strengthen water retention and create wildlife habitat by helping farmers establish perennial grass on marginal cropland. -###-