S. 5526 — Agricultural Act of 2026

This section deems the servicing of marketing assistance loans under section 1201 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 and loans under the sugar program in section 156 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 as services for emergencies involving the safety of human life or the protection of property, for purposes of the Antideficiency Act during a lapse in appropriations.

This section authorizes enrolled agents properly licensed under 31 U.S.C. 330(a) to certify the method for allocating average adjusted gross income on joint tax returns and to provide related statements for payment limitation purposes, in addition to certified public accountants and attorneys.

This section modifies reporting requirements for the Commodity Credit Corporation. It transmits the annual report directly to Congress rather than through the President, raises the threshold for quarterly itemized expenditure reports to $25,000 (from $10,000), and requires biannual submission of Commodity Estimate Books containing actual and estimated budgetary data by program and account. It also directs all reports to the House and Senate Agriculture and Appropriations Committees and requires expenditures to be categorized by the corresponding subsection of section 5. These changes apply beginning with the first calendar year after enactment.

This section expands the storage facility loan program to provide loans to producers for constructing or upgrading storage facilities for propane and fertilizer primarily used for agricultural production (as defined in 7 CFR 4279.2). It directs the Secretary to amend part 1436 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, within 180 days to cover, at a minimum, dry bins, dry flat storage, fertilizer blenders, liquid tanks, anhydrous ammonia pressure vessels, and related foundations, electrical systems, conveyors, plumbing, piping, and pumps.

This section requires the President to prioritize the preservation and strengthening of domestic production of agricultural commodities that yield key food ingredients in the domestic supply chain when developing or implementing any federal policy affecting programs under subtitle C of title I of the Agricultural Act of 2014.

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture to contract within 60 days for a study on including dry edible beans as covered commodities and loan commodities under the Agricultural Act of 2014 programs. It requires recommendations on loan rates, reference prices, base acres, payment acres and yields, and other program details, a report to the Senate and House agriculture committees within 120 days, and appropriations for a mitigation program to reduce stocks-to-use ratios to historical levels.

This section removes the prior cap of 30,000,000 additional base acres and instead authorizes allocation of additional base acres up to the lesser of 31,500,000 or the number of base acres eligible for allocation from the date of enactment through September 1, 2026, less any acres that owners elect not to receive. It updates related references to the cap in paragraph (6) to reflect the new maximum.

This section removes the September 30, 2023, deadline for new forward price contracts and the September 30, 2028, limit on contract duration under the dairy forward pricing program, making the program permanent.

This section requires dairy product manufacturers already reporting sales information to also report production cost and product yield data for all products processed in the same facilities. It directs the Secretary of Agriculture to publish a report on that information every 2 years, beginning no later than 2 years after enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026. It exempts actions under the mandatory dairy product information reporting program from review under Executive Order 12866.

This section changes the deadline for the Secretary of Agriculture’s annual report on activities, receipts, and disbursements under the dairy products promotion and research order from July 1 each year to no later than 18 months after the end of each calendar year, beginning with calendar years after enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026.

This section eliminates the administrative fee for participation in dairy margin coverage. It provides premium-free coverage for the first 6,000,000 pounds of a participating dairy operation’s milk marketings without an annual coverage election, while allowing annual election of tier II coverage. It adjusts payment calculations and nonpayment consequences to remove references to administrative fees.

This section expands the noninsured crop disaster assistance program to cover all losses for producers who rely on community ditches from the causes of loss specified in subsection (a)(3). It defines a community ditch as a private, unincorporated or cooperative irrigation ditch system, including an acequia or an unincorporated mutual ditch company.

This section expands the Livestock Indemnity Program to cover unweaned livestock. It adds Mexican gray wolves and panthers to the animals whose attacks qualify for payments and requires the Secretary to establish weight categories for non-adult livestock (less than 400 pounds and other weights above 400 pounds as determined). Documentation showing probable or confirmed predator attacks is treated as sufficient to qualify for payments. It also expands emergency assistance for livestock to cover losses from feed or water shortages (including transportation costs), cattle tick fever inspections, and winter stockpile grazing losses.

This section expands the tree assistance program to cover losses of biennial crops and losses from pests. It requires eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers to complete replacement and rehabilitation activities within 2 years after application approval, or a longer period if needed for tree survival. It permits replanting with an alternative variety, stand density, or location, subject to payment limits equal to the amount that would apply to the original loss. The Secretary must approve or deny applications and notify applicants within 120 days. Eligible producers may receive an initial payment equal to the estimated fair market value of costs before incurring them, with subsequent adjustment or repayment, and this authority terminates on September 30, 2035.

This section establishes a framework to provide direct assistance to specialty crop producers whose production is impacted by an adverse event such as an economic crisis or market disruption. Payments are calculated from a producer’s prior-year sales (or multi-year average) multiplied by a payment factor, subject to the payment limit in section 1001(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 except that producers deriving at least 75 percent of income from farming, ranching, or silviculture may receive up to at least $900,000 per crop year.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to provide assistance for covered losses in the form of block grants to states when additional funds are made available after the date of enactment. Covered losses include revenue, quality, or production losses to crops, trees, bushes, vines, timber, poultry, or livestock from natural disasters for which no other federal assistance is available.

This section exempts the promulgation of regulations and administration of title I of the Agricultural Act of 2026 from the notice and comment provisions of section 553 of title 5 and the Paperwork Reduction Act.

This section extends the authority for streamlining administrative requirements, data sharing, and acreage reporting for covered agricultural programs through 2031 (from 2023). It updates references throughout to the Agricultural Act of 2026 (from the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018), expands the definition of covered provisions of law to include subtitles B and C, section 156 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996, and nine specified supplemental appropriations acts enacted from 2018 through 2023, and aligns related repayment provisions accordingly.

This section extends the Conservation Reserve Program through FY2031 (from FY2023). It caps total enrollment at 27,000,000 acres during FY2027–2031, limits grassland enrollment to 12,000,000 acres, and requires the Secretary to maintain at least 2,000,000 acres under the State acres for wildlife enhancement practice. It updates the cropping history reference for highly erodible cropland eligibility to the Agricultural Act of 2026 and makes land with grazing infrastructure eligible for reenrollment upon contract expiration.

This section modifies the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program under the Food Security Act of 1985. It allows signatories to existing agreements to update terms, without renegotiating other provisions, to incorporate new incentives available after January 1, 2018, such as riparian forest buffer management payments, and exempts those updates from matching funds requirements. It sets annual payment rates for drought and water conservation agreements at irrigated acre rates for permanent water rights retirements and at the difference between irrigated and dryland acre rates for permitted dryland agricultural uses. It also authorizes agreements addressing wetland wildlife habitat loss to enroll additional agricultural land critical to the project, permit seasonally flooded agricultural uses on working cropland with at least one best management practice, and calculate rental payments for regional consistency with other seasonally flooded habitats.

This section expands emergency haying under the Conservation Reserve Program to certain practices on not more than 50 percent of contract acres, outside the primary nesting season or during its final 2 weeks, when a county is designated D2 severe drought or greater, experiences at least 40 percent forage loss, or the Secretary determines the activity responds to a natural disaster without permanent cover damage. It prohibits haying or grazing during the final 2 weeks of the nesting season if the activity causes long-term damage to wildlife cover and exempts these activities from National Environmental Policy Act requirements.

This section expands cost-sharing payments under the Conservation Reserve Program to cover 50 percent of the cost of establishing grazing infrastructure and water infrastructure when grazing is included in the conservation plan. It authorizes cost-sharing payments for management activities under section 1232(a)(5) other than haying or grazing. It requires annual rental rates to be determined from the three predominant soils on each enrolled tract and bars inflation adjustments to any rental or related payments. It raises the annual rental payment limit to $125,000 (from $50,000).

This section expands the definition of “practice” under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to include planning for the adoption of precision agriculture practices and precision agriculture technology. It defines “precision agriculture” as managing, tracking, or reducing crop or livestock production inputs at a heightened level of spatial and temporal granularity to improve efficiencies and reduce waste. It also defines “precision agriculture technology” as any technology that directly contributes to reduced or more efficient use of inputs such as seed, feed, fertilizer, chemicals, water, and time, including Global Positioning System-based mapping, yield monitors, soil mapping, sensors, variable rate technology, and related data tools.

This section modifies the Environmental Quality Incentives Program by permitting producers receiving program payments to also obtain conservation loans or loan guarantees for the same practices on the same land, authorizing cost-share payments for wildlife corridor practices on certain Conservation Reserve Program grassland, and allowing state technical committees to request waivers of irrigation history requirements if no adverse aquifer or stream impacts would result. It extends program funding allocations through FY2031 (from FY2023), caps aggregate payments for water conservation or irrigation efficiency contracts at $2 million during FY2027–2031, and sets a $140,000 payment limit for organic production practices during FY2027–2031 (from prior levels). It also adds eligibility for Working Lands for Wildlife practices and native vegetation establishment on forest land for upland birds, changes the increased payment rate for limited-resource and beginning producers from mandatory to discretionary, and prohibits the Secretary from requiring soil testing as a contract condition unless tied to a practice standard.

This section applies the $450,000 aggregate limit on cost-share and incentive payments under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program separately to contracts entered into during fiscal years 2027 through 2031, in addition to the existing periods of fiscal years 2014 through 2018 and 2019 through 2023.

This section expands competitive grants under the conservation innovation grants program to support the development and evaluation of new technologies and the incorporation of innovation into existing or new conservation practice standards. It also requires the program's database to include data on both management and structural practices, evaluation data for new technologies with recommendations for state and regional applications, and practices for consideration through the established process.

This section authorizes cost-share payments under the conservation stewardship program for planning, design, materials, equipment, installation, labor, management, maintenance, or training to establish wildlife corridors on eligible grassland enrolled in the conservation reserve program under section 1231(d)(2)(A) that is of ecological significance under section 1231(d)(2)(B)(iii). A producer may not receive payments for the same activity on the same land under this title, and emergency grazing and haying access under the conservation reserve program remains unchanged.

This section increases mandatory funding for the environmental quality incentives program to $2,500,000,000 in fiscal year 2027 (from $2,025,000,000), rising to $3,255,000,000 in fiscal year 2031, and for the conservation stewardship program to $1,275,000,000 in fiscal year 2027 (from $1,000,000,000), rising to $1,325,000,000 in fiscal years 2029 through 2031. It provides $100,000,000 annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 for cost-sharing payments under the conservation reserve program for acreage not enrolled under the 15 percent acreage limitation. It also establishes the Forest Conservation Easement Program with funding of $25,000,000 in fiscal year 2027, $50,000,000 annually for fiscal years 2028 through 2030, and $65,000,000 in fiscal year 2031.

This section requires the Secretary to include a schedule for revising existing conservation practice standards and establishing new ones under section 1242(h) as part of the annual funding and program requirements for conservation programs.

This section revises the process for establishing and reviewing conservation practice standards under programs in title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985. It requires the Secretary to review each standard at least once every five years on a rolling basis, solicit and publicly post public comments on proposed changes, and publish revised standards. It also directs the Secretary to create a streamlined, publicly accessible process for proposing, reviewing, and adopting interim and permanent standards that incorporates scientific advancements and innovative technologies such as precision agriculture, nutrient-use efficiency tools, animal feed additives, and perennial production systems; allows state and local flexibility and public submissions; and requires annual public reports on the administrative process and outcomes.

This section expands options for delivering technical assistance under conservation programs by adding a definition of farmer-to-farmer networks and allowing agreements with private sector entities. It updates the purpose of technical assistance to include timely practice design and implementation assistance. It revises third-party provider certification to permit processes run by the Secretary, approved non-Federal certifying entities, or designated State agencies, and requires the Secretary to establish the non-Federal entity process within 180 days of enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026, approve entities within 60 business days, and add certified providers to the registry within 10 business days. It also creates a streamlined certification track for holders of specified specialty credentials such as certified crop advisor.

This section limits enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program and wetland reserve easements under section 1265C to no more than 25 percent of cropland in any county. It broadens exceptions in paragraph (2) by replacing “and” with “or,” updates cross-references in paragraphs (2) and (3), and changes the soil class threshold in paragraph (4)(B) to class III (from class IV).

This section directs the Secretary to administer the conservation reserve program, environmental quality incentives program, conservation stewardship program, and agricultural conservation easement program using regulations in effect the day before enactment, for up to 270 days after enactment. It also authorizes the Secretary to carry out the regional conservation partnership program in fiscal year 2027 using a funding announcement consistent with the amendments, without issuing a new regulation.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to prohibit payments under any conservation program if the Secretary determines that the payments would directly benefit an entity or company headquartered in or owned by nationals or the government of a foreign country of concern (as defined in 42 U.S.C. 19221(a)).

This section revises the definition of a buy-protect-sell transaction to allow one or more eligible entities to participate, prohibit any entity from holding both the agricultural land easement and ownership of the land at the same time, adjust certification and reimbursement rules accordingly, and include transactions in which an eligible entity owns the land but transfers it to a farmer or rancher prior to or upon easement acquisition.

This section increases the maximum federal cost-share for agricultural land easements to 60 percent (from 50 percent) and for grasslands of special environmental significance to 80 percent (from 75 percent). It creates a lower cost-share option allowing a federal share of up to 25 percent when the eligible entity forgoes a federal enforcement right, provides at least 50 percent cash, and uses its own terms and conditions. It also establishes a certification process for experienced eligible entities that have acquired at least 10 easements, enabling long-term agreements with reduced federal oversight, and provides expedited certification for accredited land trusts and certain public agencies that have acquired at least 5 easements.

This section establishes easement stewardship requirements for the wetland reserve easement program. It directs the Secretary of Agriculture to regularly assess and monitor enrolled land, provide technical and financial assistance for repairs, maintenance, and enhancements under wetland reserve easement plans, and implement 5-year stewardship plans, with payments covering up to 100 percent of eligible costs. It also requires the Secretary to submit a report to the House and Senate Agriculture Committees by December 31, 2028, detailing stewardship needs, funding allocations, and planned uses of compatible activities or contracts, and authorizes contracts or agreements with federal, state, local, tribal, or private entities to carry out restoration, monitoring, and related activities.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to approve de minimis adjustments to interests in land under the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program when the changes increase or have a neutral or limited negative effect on conservation values and further program administration. It also permits certified eligible entities to approve specified minor adjustments—including title corrections, typographical fixes, survey errors, limited building envelope boundary changes, and easement access relocations—provided they notify the Secretary within 30 days and meet program consistency requirements.

This section exempts payments and other assistance under the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program from the adjusted gross income limitation in section 1001D(b)(1). It also excludes compensation received by landowners for agricultural land easements or wetland reserve easements from the calculation of adjusted gross income for purposes of that limitation.

This section expands the purposes of the regional conservation partnership program to address natural resource concerns on eligible land at a regional or watershed scale, including the prevention and mitigation of flooding and drought effects and the improvement or expansion of flood resiliency, in addition to the conservation of soil, water, wildlife, and agricultural land.

This section expands the definition of covered programs for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program to include emergency watershed protection measures under section 403 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2203).

This section expands the definition of eligible partners for the Regional Conservation Partnership Program to include agricultural retailers, such as agrichemical businesses and farm retail outlets or suppliers.

This section requires the Secretary to enter into Regional Conservation Partnership Program agreements within 180 days after application selection and limits agreement content to information necessary to fund and implement the project. It allows eligible partner contributions to satisfy matching or cost-share requirements under other federal programs (except other Department of Agriculture programs) or non-federal programs. It makes covered program authorities, including entity certification under section 1265B(b)(5), available to implement partnership agreements. It also adds Tribal areas to the geographic areas eligible for projects.

This section authorizes advance payments under the Regional Conservation Partnership Program to producers for material and contracting costs associated with eligible conservation activities, and to eligible partners for project implementation costs, including under alternative funding arrangements. Funds must be expended within 90 days for producers or 120 days for partners, or returned; the Secretary may withhold further advances or determine a contract violation for noncompliance. It also expands eligible uses of alternative funding arrangements to include agricultural equipment and processing that scales conservation benefits.

This section caps the federal share for any single Regional Conservation Partnership Program project at $15 million. It authorizes payments to eligible partners for indirect administrative costs at a negotiated rate not exceeding 15 percent or a default rate of 10 percent. It prohibits requiring separate agreements for technical assistance, permits eligible partners to provide such assistance for project planning and implementation, limits the Secretary’s technical assistance costs to those specific and necessary for program objectives, requires explicit notification when the Secretary provides technical assistance, and caps the federal share of technical assistance provided by partners at 30 percent of total project costs. It also extends third-party technical assistance to producers participating in the program.

This section defines native big game species as native large mammals including wild deer, elk, pronghorn, wild sheep, and moose. It expands priority resource concerns in critical conservation areas to those located in or substantially affecting such areas, and adds restoration and enhancement of wildlife habitat connectivity and migration corridors with a focus on native big game species to the wildlife habitat restoration category.

This section establishes the Forest Conservation Easement Program to conserve and restore eligible land through acquisition of forest land easements or forest reserve easements. It defines eligible land as private land or acreage owned by an Indian Tribe that is forest land or being restored to forest land; eligible entities as state or local agencies, Indian Tribes, or certain tax-exempt nonprofits; and related terms including forest management plans and socially disadvantaged forest landowners. The program protects working forests, enhances ecosystems and at-risk species habitat, and continues the functions of the healthy forests reserve program.

This section terminates the healthy forests reserve program under title V of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003. Existing contracts, agreements, and easements entered into before the date of enactment remain valid with continued payments and technical assistance; Commodity Credit Corporation funds for fiscal years 2019 through 2026 stay available for those obligations, and the Secretary may use Forest Conservation Easement Program funds to administer them under prior rules. It also updates the list of covered programs under section 1271A(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 to reference the Forest Conservation Easement Program.

This section updates findings under the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to include drought damages, declines in agricultural production, and harms to fish, birds, wildlife, and recreation. It expands eligible local organizations to include irrigation districts, reservoir companies, water users’ associations, and Indian Tribes. It defines conservation and management of water, limits works of improvement to watersheds of 250,000 acres or less, requires at least 20 percent of benefits to be directly related to agriculture, and caps single structures at 12,500 acre-feet of floodwater detention capacity. It also revises cost-sharing agreements with landowners and operators.

This section expands the emergency conservation program to allow repair or replacement of fencing to include updates to new or emerging technologies if costs do not increase, extends eligibility for payments to holders of federal, state, or local permits or leases for agricultural production or grazing on public land (while barring payments to the governments themselves), and authorizes payments for new or replacement permanent and temporary water wells, pipelines, and watering facilities. It waives the 30-day NEPA public comment period and permits the Bureau of Land Management to accept USDA-conducted or approved archeological, environmental, and Endangered Species Act reviews for applications on BLM land during eligible disasters or drought. It also expands the emergency watershed program to authorize floodplain easements for restoring hydrologic functions and wetlands, conserving fish and wildlife habitat and water quality, and providing higher levels of long-term protection against repetitive impairments, while allowing compatible landowner uses consistent with easement purposes.

This section establishes a feral swine eradication and control program to address threats to agriculture, native ecosystems, and human and animal health. It provides $150 million in mandatory funding for fiscal years 2027 through 2031, allocating 40 percent to the Natural Resources Conservation Service and 60 percent to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, with a federal cost share not to exceed 75 percent. It repeals the prior pilot program and sets transitional rules for existing financial assistance.

This section establishes a grant program under which the Secretary provides up to $10 million per year, or 100 percent of program costs, to eligible States and Indian Tribes implementing conservation assistance programs on agricultural land. The grants support soil health, wildlife habitat, and local resource concerns through technical assistance, financial assistance, research, education, monitoring, and related activities for terms of up to five years. The program is funded at $50,000,000 annually from the Commodity Credit Corporation for fiscal years 2027 through 2031, with administrative expenses limited to 3 percent at the Department and 7 percent for recipients.

This section establishes a Natural Resources Conservation Service initiative on white oak to re-establish white oak forests where appropriate, improve management of existing white oak forests to foster natural regeneration, and provide technical assistance to private landowners for re-establishment, improved management, and natural regeneration of white oak.

This section expands nonemergency assistance under the Food for Peace program to include support for access to fertilizer and fertilizer solutions and for food resilience activities to prevent food insecurity. It adds nongovernmental organizations as eligible recipients. It limits to 50 percent the share of funds available for expenses other than procurement of United States-grown agricultural commodities and ocean transportation of those commodities. It extends the program through FY2031 (from FY2023). It directs the Secretary, in coordination with the Secretary of State, to select recipient countries based on the most acute food insecurity needs and authorizes use of local and regional procurement and market-based mechanisms to respond to crises.

This section repeals the minimum levels of assistance under the Food for Peace Act, eliminating the annual requirement to make available at least 2,500,000 metric tons of agricultural commodities for food distribution (of which at least 1,875,000 metric tons must support non-emergency programs through eligible organizations) for fiscal years 2008 through 2023. It also strikes the related subparagraph (D) reference in the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust Act.

This section requires not less than $15 million to be made available each fiscal year from 2027 through 2031, to remain available until expended, for grants under the International Food Relief Partnership program to prepare and stockpile shelf-stable prepackaged foods and to transport and distribute them to needy individuals abroad.

This section authorizes the Commodity Credit Corporation to pay all associated and incidental costs for agricultural commodities made available under titles II and III of the Food for Peace Act, replacing the prior enumerated list of seven specific expense categories.

This section extends through FY2031 (from FY2023) the authority of the Administrator to use certain funds for administrative expenses under the Food for Peace Act. It also requires annual reports to include an assessment of activities targeting women and girls, a statement of funds provided to each eligible organization and their use for transportation or administrative costs, and a description of any waste, spoilage, or destruction of commodities.

This section transfers administration of the Food for Peace Act from the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development to the Secretary of Agriculture. It requires the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to submit a transfer and reorganization plan to the appropriate congressional committees within 180 days of enactment detailing internal reorganization, fund transfers, property disposition, and staffing, with the plan taking effect 15 days after submission; extends the existing interagency agreement until submission; deems references to the Administrator or USAID as references to the Secretary or Department of Agriculture; and requires a report on implementation, costs, and personnel within one year. It also requires the Secretary to coordinate with the Secretary of State on title II authorities supporting the Global Food Security Strategy and on disaster and humanitarian assistance programs.

This section defines the term "common name" for agricultural commodities and food products, with criteria for ordinary usage, labeling, Codex consistency, and enumerated examples including cheddar, parmesan, feta, chardonnay, india pale ale, and stout. It expands the definition of unfair trade practice to include foreign prohibitions on the use of common names for United States products and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to support United States Trade Representative negotiations securing the right of United States producers, processors, and exporters to use such names in foreign markets.

This section establishes a technical assistance program under the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to improve infrastructure in new and developing foreign markets for United States agricultural commodities. It authorizes the Secretary to enter contracts with eligible trade organizations for needs assessments, training, and assistance on cold chain capacity, port improvements, and related infrastructure, with $1 million appropriated annually for FY2027 through FY2031 and up to $1.5 million per year available from other program funds.

This section requires the Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the United States Trade Representative, to submit an annual public report to the appropriate congressional committees detailing the competitiveness of United States exports of specialty crops. The report must identify foreign tariffs, quotas, and nontariff barriers; estimate their impacts on export competitiveness and forgone sales; assess coverage under international agreements; describe executive branch actions taken under section 301 or trade agreements; and account for any unobligated funds under subsection (f)(3)(A)(iv). The Secretary must seek public and Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee comments, release the report in machine-readable format, and brief the Senate and House Agriculture, Finance, and Ways and Means Committees on any classified information within 30 days.

This section defines "specialty crop" for purposes of subsection (e) of the Market Access Program in the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 to have the meaning given in section 3 of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004.

This section extends mandatory funding for the Market Access Program and related agricultural export promotion activities through FY2031 (from FY2023). It sets Commodity Credit Corporation funding at $515 million for FY2027 and $533 million annually thereafter, with minimum allocations of $421 million for the Market Access Program in FY2027 and $437 million annually for FY2028–2031 (from $200 million), plus $73.5 million for technical assistance for specialty crops in FY2027 and $75.5 million annually for FY2028–2031. It also repeals two prior statutory provisions governing the programs.

This section establishes an interagency working group of the Secretary of Agriculture, the United States Trade Representative, the Secretary of Commerce, and other agency heads to monitor ongoing trade data on seasonal and perishable fruits and vegetables. The group must consult with the Agricultural Trade Advisory Committee on Fruits and Vegetables and relevant producers to identify import threats, coordinate trade actions and investigations, and recommend assistance programs to promote domestic competitiveness.

This section reauthorizes the Food for Progress program through FY2031 (from FY2023) and updates related authorization and reporting periods through FY2031 and FY2032. It requires the Secretary of Agriculture to purchase more than one eligible commodity type and designate more than one recipient country in each fiscal year.

This section extends through FY2031 (from FY2023) the authority to use Food for Peace Act funds to replenish the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust, which holds wheat, rice, corn, or sorghum for emergency humanitarian food needs in developing countries. It also extends the trust's acquisition limits and related deadlines through FY2031 (from FY2026).

This section expands eligibility for procurement and assistance under the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program to lower-middle income countries. It updates the House committee receiving program reports from the Committee on International Relations to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. It reauthorizes the program through FY2031 (from FY2023). It changes the share of funds available for certain costs to not less than 8 percent but not more than 15 percent (from not more than 10 percent).

This section reauthorizes the International Agricultural Education Fellowship Program through FY2031 (from FY2023). It requires the Secretary to implement the program in each participating host country for at least 3 consecutive years and to award multiyear contracts to outside organizations, to the maximum extent practicable.

This section establishes the International Agriculture Cultural Immersion and Exchange Program. The program places U.S. residents aged 19 to 30 with demonstrated experience in agricultural sciences, food systems, and nutrition education with host families in eligible countries for 2 to 6 months, and places reciprocal participants from those countries in the United States, administered by the Secretary through a cooperative agreement with a qualified nonprofit that must provide equal non-Federal matching funds, with $10 million authorized annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

This section caps federal contributions to the Global Crop Diversity Trust at 33 percent of total contributions from all sources for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. It extends the period for such contributions and related authorizations through fiscal year 2031 (from fiscal year 2023).

This section requires the Secretary of Agriculture, in coordination with the United States Trade Representative and the United States International Trade Commission, to submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees analyzing the competitiveness of United States agricultural commodities in the domestic market. The report must identify commodities injured by increased imports, analyze foreign subsidies and labor or environmental practices that enhance import competitiveness, estimate resulting injury and lost sales, assess coverage under existing international agreements, detail recent executive branch actions under trade laws or agreements, and recommend further administrative or legislative steps. The report must be released publicly in machine-readable format, and the Secretary must brief the Senate and House Agriculture and Finance/Ways and Means Committees on any classified information within 30 days.

This section directs the Comptroller General to submit a report within 180 days of enactment to the Senate Committees on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and Finance and the House Committees on Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, and Ways and Means that examines policy options to boost domestic shrimp competitiveness in global and domestic markets. The report must analyze the Secretary’s authority over shrimp and seafood, access to financial support programs for domestic producers, interagency coordination on tariffs and nontariff barriers, and trade or legal barriers maintained by trading partners that impede U.S. production or exports.

This section expands the definition of eligible food under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to include hot rotisserie chicken.

This section delays implementation of state cost-sharing requirements under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program until fiscal year 2029 (from fiscal year 2028) and adjusts related fiscal year references. It establishes that, for fiscal year 2031 and each fiscal year thereafter, states with payment error rates of 10 percent or higher shall cover 20 percent of allotment costs, with the federal share at 80 percent.

This section reauthorizes the traditional and locally- and regionally-grown food fund under the food distribution program on Indian reservations through 2031 (from 2023). It requires the Secretary to consult with Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations before evaluating contracts and to address supply chain disruptions by designating an emergency warehouse contractor within 45 days and providing payments or reimbursements capped at the amount otherwise expended for that Tribe or organization. It mandates annual consultations with Indian Tribes and Tribal organizations for the commodity supplemental food program and applies parallel supply chain emergency procedures to that program.

This section requires the Secretary to ensure that electronic benefit transfer equipment and systems provided by a State agency or its partner to exempt entities under the supplemental nutrition assistance program, including farmers markets and other direct-to-consumer markets, are appropriate for the entity and include wireless or mobile processing equipment and technology systems.

This section establishes permanent nationwide authority for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) online purchasing initiative. It requires the Secretary of Agriculture to begin transitioning the program from pilot or demonstration status within 120 days of enactment, issue regulations on program integrity, consumer protections, and rural access within 2 years, consult with state agencies, retailers, processors, and advocates on operations from 2014 through 2025, and submit a report with recommendations to the House and Senate agriculture committees within 120 days.

This section expands the definition of EBT card under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to include any successor electronic benefit transfer product. It requires the Secretary of Agriculture to issue cybersecurity regulations within 2 years (and update them every 5 years) mandating chip-enabled EBT cards, mobile-friendly web portals and apps, 99 percent uptime, multilingual access, opt-in transaction alerts, 12 months of searchable transaction history, and fraud reporting tools for all state agencies.

This section revises the definition of retail food store under the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 to require ownership of food inventory. It limits participation by house-to-house trade routes and online-only entities in the supplemental nutrition assistance program to those operational for at least one year that provide documentation of inventory ownership and consistent sales. It bars entities without inventory from participating and prohibits approved stores from offering third-party inventory for benefits.

This section establishes a streamlined application process for direct marketing farmers and ranchers to apply as vendors under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Senior Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, and the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program. It requires either a single application or an information-sharing system that deems approval under one program as prequalification for the others. It also directs the Secretary to establish a streamlined benefits processing system using standardized technology and submit a progress report to Congress within one year.

This section authorizes state agencies to hire contractors for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) certification and other functions when applications increase or timely processing is impossible due to a pandemic, seasonal workforce cycle, temporary staffing shortage, or natural disaster. Contractors may not determine eligibility, conduct quality control or hearings, or hold financial interests in retail stores or employment programs; states must follow merit principles without supplanting existing staff, notify the Secretary within 10 days of each hire for public posting, and receive an annual report on state measures and recommendations.

This section requires the Secretary of Agriculture to report all identified payment errors (including small errors) and all unknown and improper payments under the Payment Integrity Information Act of 2019 in a supplemental section of the annual payment error rate measurement report for the supplemental nutrition assistance program, regardless of dollar amount. It provides that the reports do not alter the calculation of the tolerance level for excluding small errors.

This section extends the authorization of appropriations for emergency food program infrastructure grants to $15,000,000 annually through FY2031 (from FY2023). It also extends the availability of commodities under the Emergency Food Assistance Program through FY2031 (from FY2023), sets the amount at $525,000,000 for FY2026, and for FY2027 and each subsequent fiscal year adjusts that amount by the percentage change in the thrifty food plan between June 30, 2026, and June 30 of the prior fiscal year.

This section expands the dairy nutrition incentive program (formerly the healthy fluid milk incentive projects) to provide point-of-purchase incentives for SNAP households to buy covered dairy products in addition to fluid milk. Covered dairy products include certain cheeses that are a good source of protein and sold in block, chunk, shred, slice, stick, string, or snack-size form, as well as yogurt and other cultured dairy products that are a good source of protein with limited added sugars. It increases program funding to $80,000,000 (from $20,000,000).

This section establishes a Commodity Supplemental Food Program home delivery pilot program that awards competitive grants to State agencies, capped at the lesser of $4 million or $60 per program participant, to deliver food packages to low-income seniors age 60 and older. It prioritizes rural areas, requires annual reports on deliveries and costs, and authorizes $10 million per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

This section reauthorizes the Commodity Supplemental Food Program through FY2031 (from FY2023). The program provides monthly food packages to low-income elderly individuals.

This section extends funding for the seniors farmers' market nutrition program through FY2031 (from FY2023) at $20,600,000 per year. It expands eligible products provided to low-income seniors to include tree nuts (including shelled tree nuts).

This section reauthorizes the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program through FY2031 (from FY2023). It caps the federal share of nutrition incentive grant costs at 50 percent, with a waiver available for activities in persistent poverty counties. It expands both nutrition incentive grants and produce prescription projects to cover legumes and all forms of fruits and vegetables. It requires the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, to recommend methods for transitioning the produce prescription program to HHS within 2 years, and directs the Comptroller General to submit a related report to Congress within 18 months.

This section requires school food authorities to purchase at least 95 percent domestic commodities and products in each food purchase category designated by the Agricultural Marketing Service. It excludes items on a list of domestically unavailable commodities, which the Secretary must update and publish every two years. The requirement applies beginning with the first school year after the date of enactment.

This section revises the Dietary Guidelines for Americans report process to begin with the 2030 report and occur at least every 10 years thereafter (from at least every five years). It requires the guidelines to be based on significant scientific agreement determined by evidence-based review, to address high-priority health outcomes, to promote nutritional adequacy from food sources, and to include recommendations that are affordable, available, and accessible; it also requires 90-day advance notification to specified congressional committees before updates, establishes an Independent Advisory Board of 4 to 8 members to generate scientific questions, excludes topics such as taxation, social welfare policies, and food labeling, and applies rulemaking requirements under 5 U.S.C. 553.

This section requires the Food Loss and Waste Reduction Liaison to submit an annual report on its activities, including a general description of each project implemented, a summary of cooperative agreements entered into, a detailed account of how the Secretary avoided or managed market disruption, and a summary of coordinated activities with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration.

This section permits a state agency to use up to 20 percent of the cost of commodities allocated under the Emergency Food Assistance Program to order fresh fruits and vegetables through the Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, upon request to the Secretary.

This section revises definitions in the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. It defines a commodity only school as one that does not participate in the school lunch program but receives USDA commodities for a nonprofit lunch program. It also standardizes the definition of school, adds paragraph headings, corrects a citation format, and adjusts capitalization for terms including school year.

This section expands eligibility for credit and financial services from Farm Credit Banks and Production Credit Associations to persons furnishing services directly related to the aquatic operating needs of producers or harvesters of aquatic products. It also authorizes extensions of credit for those purposes.

This section revises the limit on export financing by a bank for cooperatives. Loans and commitments for the export of agricultural commodities, agricultural supplies, or aquatic products may not exceed 15 percent of the total assets of the bank (from 50 percent of the bank’s capital).

This section authorizes banks for cooperatives to make loans, commitments, and provide technical and financial assistance to cooperatives and other public or private entities (except the federal government) for installing, maintaining, expanding, improving, or operating facilities in rural areas for the processing or disposal of waste from any source or for producing electricity from any source for use or sale by the borrower. It defines rural area for these purposes, applying the definition in section 343(a)(13)(A) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991(a)(13)(A)) to guaranteed loans.

This section authorizes Farm Credit System institutions chartered under titles I, II, or III to provide financing and technical assistance for essential community facilities in rural or Tribal areas. Eligible facilities include community centers, libraries, firehouses, healthcare facilities, senior living facilities, childcare facilities, education facilities, and transportation facilities. Financing is limited to 15 percent of the institution’s total assets, requires a prior written offer to at least one domestic nongovernmental lender with priority for rural community banks, and must be reported to the Farm Credit Administration. The Administration must submit an annual report to Congress on these activities.

This section expands the definition of qualified loan for Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation guarantees to include obligations made under the biorefinery assistance program (7 U.S.C. 8107(c)(1)).

This section replaces the $2,500,000 inflation-adjusted cap on the principal amount of any single qualified agricultural mortgage loan with a requirement that the cumulative principal amount of all loans to any single borrower or related group not exceed 10 percent of the Corporation’s tier 1 capital. It authorizes the Farm Credit Administration to set a lower limit by regulation if necessary for the safe and sound operation of the Corporation.

This section directs the Chairman of the Farm Credit Administration Board, in consultation with the Secretary, to submit a report within 180 days of enactment to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the House Committee on Agriculture. The report must describe gaps in rural home mortgage private credit and compare the cost of rural home mortgage credit to urban and suburban credit.

This section increases the maximum farm ownership loan amounts under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to $850,000 for direct loans (from $600,000) and to $3,500,000 for guaranteed loans (from $1,750,000), with inflation adjustments beginning in FY2027 (from FY2019). It also increases the maximum operating loan amounts to $750,000 for direct loans (from $400,000) and to $3,000,000 for guaranteed loans (from $1,750,000), with inflation adjustments beginning in FY2027 (from FY2019).

This section modifies the inflation percentage used to adjust the $1,750,000 limit on loans guaranteed by the Secretary under sections 1922, 1923, 1924, 1934, and 1935 of title 7. It bases the percentage on the equally weighted average of per acre United States farm real estate, cropland, and pasture values published in the Agricultural Land Values report for the preceding year, rather than the Prices Paid By Farmers Index.

This section expands the qualified conservation loan program to include definitions of precision agriculture and precision agriculture technology. It adds priority for loans to producers adopting precision agriculture practices or acquiring precision agriculture technologies, including to participate in the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. It extends the program through 2031 (from 2023).

This section removes the $667,000 cap on principal amounts for down payment loans under the farm ownership loan program, allowing loans up to 45 percent of the lesser of the purchase price or appraised value of the farm or ranch (subject to section 305(a)).

This section lowers the ownership interest threshold for entity eligibility for farm ownership, operating, and emergency loans to at least 50 percent (from a majority). It deems qualified operators to meet operator requirements, allows certain operating-only entities to qualify if owners hold at least 50 percent interest, and permits embedded entities if at least 75 percent of ownership interests are held by qualified operators.

This section expands eligibility for refinancing temporary bridge loans with direct farm ownership loans by allowing the unavailability of funds to be determined at the time the temporary bridge loan was closed, in addition to when the application was approved.

This section reauthorizes the Heirs Property Intermediary Relending Program through FY2031 (from FY2023), increases annual funding to $50 million (from $10 million), and expands eligible entities to include veteran farmers and ranchers and organizations pursuing lender certification. It extends eligible purposes to forest land, provides separate funding for administrative costs and technical assistance up to 30 percent of loan amounts, allows loan disbursement before succession plan completion, and deems approved borrowers eligible for Farm Service Agency direct ownership or operating loans without a new application.

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate regulations within one year allowing certain Farm Service Agency guaranteed loans to be refinanced into direct loans. Refinancing is permitted only for non-performing loans where the borrower has unsuccessfully attempted to work with the lender, default and foreclosure proceedings are pending, a reasonable chance of operational success exists after identified problems are corrected, and other criteria protecting taxpayer funds are satisfied; the new direct loan may be issued under a different FSA program and remains subject to existing maximum loan limits.

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct pilot projects that use financial benchmarking and streamlined loan assessment requirements to provide farmers and ranchers with a preapproval or prequalification mechanism for direct farm ownership loans.

This section revises the definition of qualified beginning farmer or rancher in the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act by removing one of the prior eligibility criteria.

This section increases the maximum annual federal grant for a state agricultural mediation program to $700,000 (from $500,000). It also permits a state to carry over up to 25 percent of unexpended grant funds into the next fiscal year without any reduction in subsequent assistance. It authorizes $10 million per year for the programs for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

This section establishes simplified application forms and expedited approval timelines for guaranteed loans under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. For real estate and operating guaranteed loans of not more than $1,000,000, it requires a short form and directs the Secretary to notify Preferred Certified Lenders or Certified Lenders of approval or disapproval within 5 business days, with maximum guarantee percentages of 90 percent for loans of not more than $125,000, 75 percent for loans of more than $125,000 and not more than $500,000, and 50 percent for loans of more than $500,000 and not more than $1,000,000. It also creates an accelerated process for business and industry guaranteed loans of not more than $400,000 (or not more than $600,000 under certain conditions) to assist rural entities. It modifies Preferred Certified Lender certification criteria and eliminates the prior subsection (h).

This section expands eligibility for direct and guaranteed farm operating loans to individuals and entities engaged in commercial fishing, treating them as farmers and their vessels as farms, but restricts loan use to costs of acquiring, operating, or maintaining a commercial fishing vessel. It adds definitions of commercial fishing, commercial fishing vessel, and fish to 7 U.S.C. 1991(a), and requires the Secretary to integrate the commercial fishing industry into relevant Department programs within one year through outreach, technical assistance, training, and coordination with NOAA and other agencies.

This section extends through FY2031 (from FY2023) the requirement that the Secretary reserve at least 50 percent of direct operating loan funds under the Agricultural Credit Insurance Fund for qualified beginning farmers and ranchers. It also requires the Secretary to meet the April 1 and September 1 reservation deadlines for beginning farmer set-asides only to the extent practicable.

This section prohibits the Secretary from making or guaranteeing a loan under this title to a borrower for a period of 7 years after the borrower has received debt forgiveness on a loan made or guaranteed under this title (from permanent prohibitions based on the date and number of debt forgiveness events). It also corrects a reference to bankruptcy reorganization plans under chapter 11, 12, or 13 of title 11.

This section eliminates references to county committees in determinations of borrower eligibility and loan application status. It revises loan assessment requirements to require periodic reviews of both direct and guaranteed loans (from annual reviews of direct loans and periodic reviews of guaranteed loans). It updates references throughout the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act from the Farmers Home Administration and Rural Development Administration to the Farm Service Agency and Rural Development. It extends the period for sales of real property to 60 days (from 15 days) and 180 days (from 135 days) and limits such sales to property suitable for farming or ranching.

This section increases the maximum grant amount for water, waste disposal, and wastewater facility projects to $500,000 (from $200,000). It authorizes $30 million annually for such grants for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031 (from $15 million for fiscal years 2019 through 2023). It raises the overall authorization level to $100 million (from $30 million). It also permits grants to cover up to 100 percent of application development costs when the Secretary determines demonstrated need exists.

This section permits the non-Federal share of costs for water, waste disposal, and wastewater facility grants under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to be met with in-kind contributions when the Secretary determines there is demonstrated need.

This section establishes priorities for direct loans and grants for community waste disposal and water facilities under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. It requires the Secretary to give highest priority to projects carried out by eligible associations in low-income rural communities with populations of less than 10,000. It also updates references from the Soil Conservation Service to the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

This section increases, to 10 percent (from 5 percent), the maximum share of rural water and waste disposal grant funds that may be used for technical assistance and training programs. The minimum share remains 3 percent.

This section increases the annual authorization of appropriations for the rural water and wastewater circuit rider program to $30 million for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031 (from $25 million for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023). It permits essential circuit rider activities necessary to prevent imminent harm to life or property to continue during a lapse in appropriations using unobligated balances from the Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program Account.

This section establishes a rural water and wastewater cybersecurity circuit rider program to provide technical assistance to rural water and wastewater associations. The program requires rapid assessments of associations’ ability to respond to cybersecurity threats and protect cyberinfrastructure and public health, development of cybersecurity protocols, assistance to address inadequate protection plans, and documentation of cyber protection status. It authorizes $10 million annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 and permits essential activities to continue during appropriations lapses.

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture to use at least 2 percent of amounts available each fiscal year for essential community facilities technical assistance and training grants to make awards to eligible entities for on-site technical assistance and training on a national or multi-State regional basis.

This section establishes a rural water and wastewater emergency preparedness, response, and recovery technical assistance program. The program provides grants to qualifying nonprofits to assist rural water and wastewater systems with disaster preparation, on-site response, damage assessments, resiliency planning, GIS mapping, emergency repairs, and related activities. It authorizes $20 million annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 and limits equipment purchases to 25 percent of each grant.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to provide financial assistance under rural water and wastewater programs to eligible associations for construction costs to serve residents in the service areas of distressed water systems. It also authorizes technical assistance grants to qualified nonprofits for regionalization, consolidation, and planning projects, and permits consolidation of governance or regional partnerships between eligible associations and distressed systems while limiting assistance to benefit only the distressed systems’ residents.

This section authorizes the Secretary to make community facility direct or guaranteed loans for health care services projects, regardless of whether the facility is in a rural area, if at least 50 percent of encounters involve individuals who inhabit a frontier and remote area with an area code of level 3 or level 4.

This section establishes the Community Facilities Relending Program to provide loans to eligible private nonprofit intermediaries to capitalize revolving loan funds for community facilities projects in low-income rural areas where median household income is below the higher of 90 percent of the statewide non-metropolitan median or the poverty line. Loans to intermediaries carry an interest rate equal to the lesser of 2 percentage points below the direct loan rate or 2.5 percent, amortize over 40 years, and allow a principal and interest moratorium of at least 3 years, with a $5 million annual cap per intermediary. The Secretary must set aside at least $50 million annually from community facilities direct loan funds to carry out the program.

This section expands uses of Emergency and Imminent Community Water Assistance grants under 7 U.S.C. 1926a to include associated water resources infrastructure such as facilities for potable water, wastewater, storm drainage, or solid waste. It extends the program through FY2031 (from FY2023).

This section authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to provide grants of up to 75 percent of project costs, zero-interest loans, or one-percent interest loans to rural water, wastewater, or waste disposal facilities eligible under sections 306(a), 306A, 306C, or 306D. It also permits the Secretary to forgive or modify terms on existing loans to such facilities and to refinance other eligible loans, and requires the Secretary to establish residential affordability indicators or factors for disadvantaged areas to address financial hardships.

This section expands grants for the development and construction of water systems and wastewater systems, including community-based systems, to improve health and sanitation conditions in rural and Native villages in Alaska. It requires the Secretary to consult with the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, in addition to the State of Alaska, on prioritizing grant allocations. It extends the annual authorization of appropriations of $30 million through FY2031 (from FY2023).

This section expands the decentralized water and wastewater system program under 7 U.S.C. 1926e to include federally recognized Indian Tribes as eligible grant recipients alongside private nonprofit organizations. It adjusts income thresholds to allow subgrants for households below 80 percent of area median nonmetropolitan income and loans for households at or below 100 percent. It raises the maximum loan or subgrant amount to $25,000 (from $15,000), permits subgrants for decentralized wastewater systems to cover the cost of at least 5-year performance warranties, and allows recipients to use up to 10 percent of grant funds for technical assistance. It extends the authorization of appropriations through FY2031 (from FY2023).

This section establishes the Healthy drinking water affordability assistance program. It authorizes grants to eligible end users (homeowners, renters, small multi-unit property owners, and licensed child-care facilities) and nonprofit organizations in rural areas for the approved installation and maintenance of point-of-use or point-of-entry drinking water quality improvement products that reduce health contaminants such as lead, arsenic, PFAS, and volatile organic compounds, when supported by a qualified water quality test.

This section expands eligibility for solid waste management grants to include Indian tribes. It increases the annual authorization of appropriations to $20 million for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031 (from $10 million for each of fiscal years 2014 through 2023).

This section expands the purposes of rural business development grants to include supporting outdoor recreation. It reauthorizes the grants through 2031 (from 2023) and authorizes the Secretary to award them for periods of up to 5 years.

This section defines cooperative development as outreach, education, training, and technical assistance supporting the startup, expansion, or sustainability of cooperatives. It requires the Secretary to award maximum scoring points for matching contributions in rural cooperative development grant applications. It mandates rather than conditions the use of certain funds for the program. It requires the interagency working group to submit annual public reports on the economic effects of all types of cooperatives and the group's prior-year activities, beginning 180 days after enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026. It extends the authorization of appropriations for the grants through FY2031 (from FY2023).

This section establishes the Armed to Farm Initiative within the Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas program to provide training opportunities and resources for veterans who are or seek to become agricultural producers. It reauthorizes the program through FY2031 (from FY2023) and provides $5,000,000 annually, of which $3,500,000 supports existing activities and $1,500,000 supports the initiative.

This section authorizes the Secretary to assess an initial guarantee fee of up to 3 percent of the guaranteed principal and a periodic retention fee of up to 0.75 percent of the outstanding principal on loans issued or modified under section 306(a) and on guaranteed business and industry loans. It exempts direct water and waste disposal loans to communities with populations of 3,300 or fewer from additional refinancing review, credit elsewhere determinations, and private lender comparisons, and requires the Secretary to provide 30 days’ public disclosure of the data and assumptions used before altering any such fees.

This section separates the definitions of rural and rural area for water and waste disposal programs under section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. For direct loans under section 306(a)(1), the terms mean a city, town, or unincorporated area with a population of no more than 25,000 inhabitants.

This section prohibits the Secretary from approving loans or grants under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to drain, dredge, fill, level, or otherwise manipulate a wetland, or to impair or reduce water flow, circulation, or reach. It provides exceptions for maintenance of previously converted wetlands and activities that began before November 28, 1990, and excludes utility lines as well as permitted projects under sections 306 or 306C that hold or require an Army Corps of Engineers permit under section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act or section 404 of the Clean Water Act.

This section extends the National Rural Development Partnership through 2031 (from 2023). The Partnership supports state rural development councils and coordinates federal, state, and local efforts to address rural needs through flexible, locally determined strategies.

This section increases the maximum microloan amount under the rural microentrepreneur assistance program to $75,000 (from $50,000). It allows loans to microenterprise development organizations to cover 100 percent of a loan to a rural microenterprise and up to 50 percent of demolition, construction, and related real estate costs, excluding acquisition. It extends the program through FY2031 (from FY2023).

This section authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants, with terms of 2 to 5 years, to qualified nonprofit multi-State regional technical assistance organizations or private nonprofit intermediaries to help rural communities develop strategic community investment plans and complete related funding applications under covered rural development programs. It adds agricultural producers, related entities, and local businesses to required plan participants, prioritizes grants for high-poverty communities, persistent poverty counties, Indian Tribes, population-loss areas, and communities with major workforce shifts, and authorizes $10 million annually for FY2027 through FY2031.

This section expands the rural jobs accelerator grant program to support career pathway programs and industry or sector partnerships aligned with rural industry sectors. It broadens eligible entities to include area career and technical education schools, requires participation by local workforce development boards for career pathway programs, adds grant purposes addressing worker displacement and skills development, updates selection criteria to consider aging workforces and youth migration, and requires reporting on recognized postsecondary credentials and employment outcomes under Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act indicators.

This section establishes the Rural Development Innovation Center within the Department of Agriculture’s rural development mission area to promote innovation in rural development programs. The Center reviews program processes for inefficiencies and barriers, maintains ongoing stakeholder input, identifies collaborative models and best practices, implements technological solutions, conducts research and evaluations, and disseminates guidance and training, with $5,000,000 authorized annually beginning in FY2027.

This section reduces the number of additional members on the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board to 3 (from 7). It increases the annual authorization of appropriations for the Advisory Board to $750,000 (from $500,000). It extends the Advisory Board's authorization through 2031 (from 2023).

This section expands the citrus disease subcommittee to 12 members (from 11) by adding a nonvoting member representing minor production States. It extends the subcommittee's termination date to September 30, 2031 (from September 30, 2023). It transfers appointment authority for the specialty crops committee to the Secretary and requires members to serve at the Secretary's discretion. It also directs the subcommittee to review grant applications under the citrus disease research and extension program and submit comments to the Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture before awards.

This section revises the criteria for determining veterinarian shortage situations under the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program to include geographical areas, practice areas such as food animal medicine, public health, epidemiology, and food safety, and areas identified by state agencies. It requires the Secretary to develop and share quantitative mechanisms for predicting new shortages, prohibits denying program eligibility based on participation in comparable federal, state, or local programs, and directs streamlined application procedures and guidelines within one year after enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026.

This section expands the veterinary services grant program to support activities that expand, retain, or attract additional veterinary practices in rural areas, in addition to relieving veterinarian shortage situations. It requires the Secretary to establish a streamlined application process not later than 1 year after enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2026. It authorizes grants to cover relocation expenses, startup equipment purchases, and housing or living stipends for veterinary students, interns, externs, fellows, residents, and veterinary technician students.

This section adds workforce training, education, research, and outreach activities relating to the food and agricultural sciences as an authorized purpose for competitive grants to land-grant colleges and universities and other eligible institutions. It extends the authorization of appropriations through fiscal year 2025 (from 2023) and provides $60,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

This section increases the authorization of appropriations for agricultural and food policy research centers to $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031 (from $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 through 2023).

This section increases the authorization of appropriations for education grants to Alaska Native serving institutions and Native Hawaiian serving institutions to $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031 (from $10,000,000 for fiscal years 2001 through 2023). The grants support education, applied research, and community development programs at eligible institutions.

This section permits eligible institutions to carry over unexpended funds for animal health and disease research to the following fiscal year. It extends the authorization for the capacity and infrastructure program and competitive grant program through FY2031 (from FY2023).

This section increases the minimum annual appropriation for agricultural and forestry extension programs at 1890 land-grant colleges, including Tuskegee University, to 40 percent (from 20 percent) of total appropriations under the Smith-Lever Act, beginning in fiscal year 2027 (from fiscal year 2003).

This section increases the minimum annual appropriation for agricultural research at 1890 land-grant colleges, including Tuskegee University, to 40 percent (from 30 percent) of total appropriations under section 361c, beginning in FY2027. It also authorizes use of the funds for graduate student tuition and fees. It requires that payments be certified by each institution’s agricultural research director and agricultural chief administrative officer.

This section renames the scholarship program the David A. Scott Scholarship Program for Students at 1890 Institutions and expands scholarships to cover programs leading to bachelor or graduate degrees. It provides mandatory funding of $15,000,000 annually for fiscal year 2027 and each fiscal year thereafter from the Commodity Credit Corporation. It authorizes discretionary appropriations of $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 and each fiscal year thereafter.

This section modifies the Binational Agricultural Research and Development (BARD) Fund by specifying the 1977 agreement between the United States and Israel, adding authority to support mid-stage research on cooperative agricultural projects of mutual interest, and establishing a BARD Fund accelerator program to fast-track such research, provide management guidance and technical assistance, and advance projects in priority areas. It authorizes appropriations of $12 million annually for the accelerator and $8 million annually for other activities for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

This section renames the international agriculture partnerships program and authorizes the Secretary to award competitive grants to colleges and universities for agricultural research, extension, and teaching activities that enhance international curricula, collaborative research, technology transfer, and U.S. export competitiveness. It increases the annual authorization of appropriations to $20 million for fiscal years 2026 through 2031 (from $10 million for fiscal years 2019 through 2023) and repeals the separate international agricultural research program under section 1459A.

This section extends the authorization of appropriations for agricultural research programs through FY2031 (from FY2023). It covers existing programs under the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977, as well as research conducted at State agricultural experiment stations pursuant to the Hatch Act.

This section extends through September 30, 2031 (from September 30, 2023), the authority for the Secretary of Agriculture to develop and implement a research and pilot project program for supplemental and alternative crops, including canola.

This section reauthorizes the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AGARDA) program through FY2031 (from FY2023) and removes its "pilot" designation. It expands the program's scope to address long-term and high-risk technological barriers to soil and water conservation, resilience to extreme weather, drought, infectious diseases, plant and animal pathogens and pests, and economic costs; requires use of the 2022 strategic plan; permits use of other unobligated funds; and modifies personnel authorities.

This section establishes competitive grants to junior or community colleges supporting agriculture advancement for workforce training, education, research, and outreach in agriculture and related disciplines, with priority for entities coordinating with local agriculture industry operators. It authorizes appropriations of $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031, permits designation of centers of excellence for agriculture advancement, and requires the Secretary to evaluate the program and report to the House and Senate Agriculture and Appropriations Committees within 3 years of enactment.

This section extends the annual authorization of appropriations for aquaculture assistance programs to $5,000,000 through fiscal year 2025 (from fiscal year 2023) and authorizes $15,000,000 annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. It applies the indirect cost limitation under section 1462 to awards under the programs and exempts those awards from the limitation under section 1473.

This section extends the authorization of appropriations for distance education grants and resident instruction grants to insular area institutions of higher education through FY2031 (from FY2023). The distance education grants support competitive awards to strengthen capacity for food and agricultural education programs using digital network technologies.

This section prohibits the Department of Agriculture from conducting or funding research, education, or extension activities involving vertebrate animals in, or in collaboration with, the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, or other countries of concern under the Research, Education, and Economics mission area. The Secretary may waive the prohibition on a case-by-case basis to protect national security, animal and crop health, or public health, safety, or welfare, subject to 30 days’ advance written notification to the House and Senate agriculture committees that includes the research details, cost, and duration.

This section expands high-priority research and extension areas eligible for competitive grants from the Secretary of Agriculture under 7 U.S.C. 5925. It establishes initiatives on coffee plant health, macadamia tree health, PFAS effects on agricultural land used for crops and livestock, peanut aflatoxin reduction, biochar soil carbon sequestration and climate mitigation, spotted wing drosophila mitigation, spotted lanternfly control, wheat pest and disease resiliency, and invasive species research at land-grant colleges and universities. It also adds review of cattle fever tick eradication efforts and includes harmful algal blooms in macro-algae systems research.

This section extends through fiscal year 2031 (from 2023) the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to award competitive grants supporting research, education, and extension on organically grown and processed agricultural commodities. It also authorizes the use of funds from subsection (f) in addition to subsection (e) for those grants.

This section adds managing waste streams of production practices to improve environmental impacts as an eligible activity for competitive grants supporting urban, indoor, and emerging agricultural production. It expands priority for grant proposals to States or regions with urban farms, rooftop farms, and indoor production facilities in rural, suburban, and urban areas. It also updates data collection requirements and increases funding for such collection to $18,000,000 for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 (from $14,000,000 for fiscal years 2019 through 2021).

This section expands the centers of excellence program at 1890 Institutions by authorizing the Secretary to recognize and make awards to not more than 10 such centers (from not less than 3) and adding four new areas of focus on climate resiliency, forestry resilience and conservation, food safety and value-added agriculture, and integration of social sciences. It also increases annual funding to $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031 (from $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023).

This section extends the authorization of appropriations for multi-State research grants to consortia of land-grant colleges and universities on wheat scab and Karnal bunt through FY2026 (from FY2023) and authorizes $20 million annually for FY2027 through FY2031.

This section establishes a competitive grant program within the specialty crop research and extension initiative to advance mechanization and automation that reduces manual labor, improves farmworker safety, or increases efficiency in production, harvesting, processing, and packaging of specialty crops. It requires the Secretary to prioritize projects that train farmworkers on new technologies and communicate results to producers. It allocates $30,000,000 annually for the program for FY2027 through FY2031, with any unobligated amounts reallocated to the broader initiative, and extends overall funding authority for the initiative through FY2031 (from FY2023). It authorizes the Secretary to waive matching funds requirements.

This section increases the authorization of appropriations for the Food Animal Residue Avoidance Database program (FARAD program) to $5 million (from $2.5 million) for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031 (from fiscal years 2008 through 2023). The program provides livestock producers, extension specialists, scientists, and veterinarians with information to prevent drug, pesticide, and environmental contaminant residues in food animal products.

This section establishes a competitive grant program under which the Secretary of Agriculture awards funds to cooperative extension services, land-grant colleges and universities, non-land-grant colleges of agriculture, Hispanic-serving agricultural colleges and universities, State departments of agriculture, nonprofit organizations, community-based organizations, or combinations thereof. Grants support training, curriculum development, workshops, and field experiences to increase the number of veterans pursuing farming and ranching knowledge and skills. Recipients must provide non-Federal matching funds equal to the grant amount. The program is authorized at $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

This section establishes a national biochar research network administered by the Agricultural Research Service. Subject to available funds, the network conducts cross-site experiments at not more than 20 eligible research sites and site-specific farm and forestry assessments to evaluate biochar effects on soil properties, plant growth, emissions, carbon sequestration, and related outcomes across soil types, climates, and production methods.

This section expands eligibility for cooperative agreements under the National Agricultural Library to land-grant colleges and universities (as defined in 7 U.S.C. 3103), in addition to other institutions of higher education carrying out agricultural and food law programs on February 7, 2014. It allows program income generated from such funding to remain available to those institutions until expended for the same purposes. It increases the annual authorization of appropriations to $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2027 and each fiscal year thereafter (from $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2014 and each fiscal year thereafter).

This section extends through FY2031 (from FY2023) authorizations for endowments, institutional capacity building grants, and research grants to 1994 institutions under the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994. It changes the appropriation formula beginning in FY2027 (from FY1996) to require not less than a specified amount. It also authorizes the use of research grant funds to acquire, alter, repair, maintain, and operate equipment necessary to strengthen 1994 institutions’ capacity to conduct food and agricultural sciences research.

This section requires the Comptroller General to study, within 18 months, the extension service needs of Tribal lands and populations and whether the cooperative extension program and the Federally Recognized Tribes Extension Program (7 U.S.C. 5930) are meeting those needs, including Federal funding amounts, service types, and Tribal population data for the most recent 5 fiscal years. It directs submission of a report with findings and any recommendations to the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the House Committee on Agriculture within 60 days after the study.

This section restores the Secretary of Agriculture’s authority to authorize use of the 4-H emblem or name, with or without fees deposited to a special account available until expended for the 4-H Program. It ratifies all civil acts regarding such uses or club recognition taken from May 8, 1914, through the date of enactment, authorizes civil enforcement under the Lanham Act against unauthorized commercial uses, and preserves uses lawful as of December 26, 2020.

This section expands authorized uses of Hatch Act matching funds under 7 U.S.C. 361c(d)(1) to include graduate student tuition and fees in addition to agricultural research. It designates the chief administrative officer of each state agricultural experiment station as the State Agricultural Experiment Station Director and removes references to other officers in allotment payment procedures.

This section expands the authorized uses of appropriations for 1994 Institutions under the Smith-Lever Act to include acquiring, altering, repairing, maintaining, and operating equipment necessary to strengthen their capacity to achieve the Act’s purposes.

This section expands priority areas for competitive grants under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative to include regionally adapted cultivar and breed development for plants and animals, shellfish aquaculture, biochar, precision agriculture technologies, hydroponics and other controlled-environment production systems, artificial intelligence applications in farm management and crop production, farm business and marketing tools, workforce training for meat and poultry processing and precision agriculture, and reductions in food loss and waste. It authorizes grants to consortia of community colleges partnering with land-grant institutions for related workforce training. It extends the program through FY2031 (from FY2023).

This section extends the authorization of appropriations for the Renewable Resources Extension Act of 1978 to $30 million annually through FY2031 (from FY2023). It also extends the Act’s termination date to 2031 (from 2023).

This section extends the authorization of appropriations under the National Aquaculture Act of 1980 through FY2031 (from FY2023), at $1,000,000 annually to the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of the Interior. It also corrects the statutory reference to the Department of the Interior.

This section extends the authority for federal agriculture research facilities through 2031 (from 2023).

This section extends the enhanced use lease authority program through 2031 (from 2023).

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics and the Office of the Chief Scientist and in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, to support research, development, testing, evaluation, demonstration, deployment, commercialization, and technology transition activities that strengthen U.S. agricultural production, agrifood systems, and biomanufacturing against supply chain disruptions, natural disasters, biological threats, and other risks. It requires an implementation plan within 180 days of enactment and a quadrennial agricultural security and durability strategy beginning 2 years after enactment.

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture to transfer $200 million from the Commodity Credit Corporation to the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research within 30 days of enactment, with funds remaining available until expended.

This section expands the Forest Inventory and Analysis program under 16 U.S.C. 1642(e) to include forest carbon data in resource assessments and reporting. It requires the Secretary to conduct a national timber products output survey and a national woodland owner survey, adopt consistent definitions of “forest” across reports, and update the strategic plan every five years to address land cover changes, carbon accounting, remote sensing integration, and sub-state statistical precision. The section also mandates biennial public compilations of national forest statistics and annual progress reports on plan implementation, while ensuring public data access with confidentiality protections for plot locations and nonaggregated owner and survey data.

This section establishes a blue ribbon panel of 10 to 20 members with expertise in forest biometrics, inventory, and remote sensing to review the forest inventory and analysis program. The panel must assess national monitoring of forest carbon, climate change, forest health, and sustainable wood products, consider modernization through advanced remote sensing and public-private-academic partnerships, and submit a report to the Secretary and Congress within 180 days of enactment.

This section establishes definitions for the subtitle, including the National Forest System, public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management, and the Secretary concerned (the Secretary of Agriculture for National Forest System land and the Secretary of the Interior for public lands).

This section requires the Forest Service to solicit and consider public input regionally when selecting projects for the Legacy Road and Trail Remediation Program. It directs annual publication, for each of the nine Forest Service regions, of the list of projects considered for funding, public comments received on each project, regional project rankings, and proposed funding amounts.

This section releases, without consideration or appraisal, the reversionary interest of the United States in the approximately 0.62-acre State forest land parcel in Chickasaw State Forest, Tennessee, conveyed to the State by deed dated August 12, 1955. It also conveys the Federal mineral interests in that parcel to the State by quitclaim deed, without warranty or consideration, and requires the State to pay any associated administrative costs.

This section adds approximately 1,000 acres to the Rough Mountain Wilderness Area in the George Washington National Forest. It also designates approximately 4,600 acres as a potential wilderness area for incorporation into the Rich Hole Wilderness Area on the earlier of the date the Secretary completes specified water quality and aquatic passage improvements or 5 years after enactment, with motorized equipment and mechanized transport permitted only until that date and subject to minimum-impact requirements.

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey 0.81 acres of Forest Service land at 1069 Fourche Avenue in Perryville, Arkansas, to Perry County at no cost upon written request within 180 days of enactment. The conveyance is by quitclaim deed, requires the county to cover all survey and compliance costs, limits use to public purposes such as education and youth development, and provides for reversion to the United States if that use ends.

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey approximately 310.7 acres of National Forest System land in Franklin County, Mississippi, to the Scenic Rivers Development Alliance by quitclaim deed within 180 days of appraisal and agreement. The Alliance must pay fair market value in cash, cover all appraisal and closing costs, maintain the Okhissa Lake Dam and assume related federal and state liability, and use the land only for public recreation and fish and wildlife habitat. The United States retains all mineral rights, road and trail easements, and a right of re-entry if the land is later conveyed to a nonpublic entity or used for other purposes. Proceeds are deposited in the Sisk Act fund for National Forest System acquisitions, and the conveyance is exempt from NEPA and other environmental review requirements.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to exchange approximately 17.5 acres of federal land in Itasca County, Minnesota, for approximately 36.7 acres of non-federal land owned by Big Winnie Land and Timber, LLC. The non-federal land must be added to and managed as part of the Chippewa National Forest, with the exchange conditioned on equal appraised value (or cash equalization), a Phase I environmental assessment, title approval, and payment of all closing and survey costs by the company.

This section releases the reversionary interest of the United States in 31.83 acres of land in Black River State Forest, Wisconsin, upon the State's conveyance of that land to Deli, Inc. in exchange for 37.27 acres of Deli land that will be added to the forest. The Secretary must issue a quitclaim deed conveying the federal interest without consideration before the exchange deeds are recorded.

This section designates approximately 750 acres in the Shawnee National Forest in Illinois as the Camp Hutchins Wilderness and a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System. It establishes the Camp Hutchins Special Management Area (2,953 acres), Ripple Hollow Special Management Area (3,445 acres), and Burke Branch Special Management Area (6,310 acres) to conserve ecological, scenic, wildlife, recreational, cultural, and scientific resources, promote biodiversity, allow restoration and scientific study, and permit public use, and requires the Secretary to develop a management plan within 3 years.

This section establishes the Shenandoah Mountain National Scenic Area, consisting of approximately 92,562 acres of National Forest System land in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests in Virginia. It sets purposes for protecting scenic quality, water resources, wildlife habitat including for the Cow Knob salamander, and old-growth forests; requires administration under National Forest System laws with wilderness areas managed under the Wilderness Act; prohibits buffer zones; authorizes continued recreational uses; and directs the Secretary to develop a nonmotorized trail plan within 2 years.

This section adds approximately 2,212 acres in the Ouachita National Forest to the Flatside Wilderness designated by the Arkansas Wilderness Act of 1984. It renames the expanded area the Flatside-Bethune Wilderness and preserves the Secretary of Agriculture’s authority to manage fire, insects, and diseases under the Wilderness Act.

This section modifies the boundaries of the Talladega National Forest to include the land depicted on the map entitled “Talladega National Forest Proposed Proclamation Boundary Addition” and dated September 6, 2024. It authorizes the Secretary to acquire land, waters, and interests within the modified boundary from willing sellers by donation, exchange, or purchase, and requires acquired land to be managed as part of the National Forest System.

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture to complete and submit to Congress, within 2 years of enactment and in consultation with the Benton MacKaye Trail Association and other interested organizations, a feasibility study on designating the Benton MacKaye Trail—a 287-mile scenic nonmotorized trail in Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina—as a national scenic trail.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to issue a special use permit for relocating a memorial honoring the 9 Air Force crew members killed in the August 31, 1982, C-141B crash to the Stratton Ridge rest area at mile marker 2 on the Cherohala Skyway in the Nantahala National Forest. The relocation requires consent of the current private landowner, concurrence from the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration if applicable, and payment of all processing, environmental, relocation, installation, and maintenance costs by the requester, with no federal funds permitted.

This section revises the basis for annual payments to Minnesota from national-forest receipts to three-quarters of one percent of the highest fair appraised value of lands in the area described in 16 U.S.C. 577d, including all historical appraised values determined by the Secretary of Agriculture at ten-year intervals, rather than the current fair appraised value.

This section establishes the White Oak Restoration Initiative Coalition as a voluntary collaborative group of Federal, State, local, Tribal, private, and nongovernmental entities to coordinate activities restoring white oak trees and forests in the United States. It requires the Coalition to recommend policy changes addressing impediments to white oak health and regeneration, improving cross-boundary projects, closing research gaps, and expanding nursery stock, and directs the Secretaries to provide administrative and technical support with funding from the account established under the Food Security Act of 1985.

This section establishes a Forest Service pilot program to carry out 5 projects restoring white oak trees in National Forest System units through restoration and natural regeneration practices consistent with applicable forest management plans. At least 3 projects must occur on units reserved or withdrawn from the public domain. The authority terminates 7 years after enactment.

This section establishes the White Oak and Upland Oak Habitat Regeneration Program within 180 days of enactment to coordinate federal, state, tribal, and local restoration of white oak forests and upland oak habitat, improve wildlife habitat and climate resilience, expand public outreach, and increase scientific capacity. It requires consultation with the Fish and Wildlife Service, Natural Resources Conservation Service, state governors, and Indian Tribes; directs adoption of a science-based strategy in coordination with the White Oak Restoration Initiative Coalition; creates a voluntary grant and technical assistance program administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation; and terminates all authority 7 years after enactment.

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, to develop and implement a national strategy within 1 year of enactment to increase the capacity of Federal, State, private, and Tribal tree nurseries to address nationwide shortages of tree seedlings. The strategy must coordinate with the Forest Service national reforestation strategy and regional National Forest implementation plans, rely on the best available science including Indigenous knowledge, and address regional seedling shortages, reforestation supply needs, seedling diversity and genetic resources, and barriers to expanding nursery infrastructure.

This section extends the period during which the Secretary of Agriculture may provide matching funds to the National Forest Foundation through FY2031 (from FY2023). It increases the annual authorization of appropriations for the Foundation to $5 million for each of FY2027 through FY2031 (from $3 million for each of FY2016 through FY2023). It also establishes a White Oak Restoration Fund to support re-establishment and improved management of white oak forests on National Forest System lands, funded by gifts and bequests, with annual reporting on amounts received and activities conducted.

This section authorizes the Secretary concerned to make appointments to resource advisory committees through applicable regional foresters after those foresters complete reviews on civil rights, budgetary requirements, vetting, and reporting. It extends the deadline in subsection (d)(6)(C) to October 1, 2031 (from October 1, 2026). It repeals subsection (g).

This section expands the definition of Indian forest land or rangeland under the Tribal Forest Protection Act to include Alaska Native Corporation lands in Alaska with vegetative cover capable of restoration. It authorizes Tribal organizations to enter agreements or contracts with the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior to protect or restore such lands or Federal land of special geographic, historical, or cultural significance, and authorizes $15 million annually for fiscal years 2027 through 2031.

This section establishes Civilian Conservation Centers as residential workforce development facilities for underserved youth operated by the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture. It requires specialized training programs in forestry, rangeland management, and wildland firefighting at these centers, with a goal of hiring 300 covered graduates annually into relevant federal positions. It authorizes direct hire authority for covered graduates beginning in FY2025, signing bonuses, career pathways, and a pilot program using covered students to expand federal housing for wildland firefighters.

This section authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to permit electric utility companies to cut and remove trees or vegetation, including hazardous vegetation that increases fire risk, from the vicinity of distribution or transmission lines on National Forest System land without a separate timber sale, provided the action is consistent with the applicable land management plan. It requires any utility that sells removed material to remit the proceeds, less transportation costs, to the Forest Service.

This section exempts applications for communications use authorizations on National Forest System land from National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and historic preservation reviews if the communications equipment is located in or on existing infrastructure or on previously analyzed areas of such land. It also bars the Secretary of Agriculture from requiring reinitiation of consultation under those laws when new information becomes available on previously analyzed areas.

This section requires the Administrator of the Farm Service Agency and the Chief of the Forest Service to enter into a memorandum of understanding within 60 days of enactment to align drought response activities. The agreement must include consistent practices for determining regional drought severity, use of the United States Drought Monitor where practicable, and uniform information for grazing permittees and other stakeholders.

This section authorizes the Secretary to waive Federal matching requirements for assistance provided to rural volunteer fire departments. It expands eligibility for fire protection organizations to those organized by local government authority, raises the population threshold for eligible communities to 15,000 (from 10,000), and adjusts an additional eligibility criterion to 70 (from 80).

This section requires the Forest Service and Interior Department to develop, within 1 year of enactment, a strategy and appropriate respiratory personal protective equipment for wildland firefighters and supporting staff when smoke exposure exceeds National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or Occupational Safety and Health Administration limits. It also directs the agencies to convene a task force to set an interim smoke exposure standard, update related safety standards, and incorporate by reference the most recent edition of NFPA 1984 for wildland firefighting respirators.

This section expands eligibility under the Forest Legacy Program to any State rather than solely the State of Vermont.