Comparison Passed House
2018 Farm Bill vs 2026 Farm Bill
Complete side-by-side comparison of the 2018 Agriculture Improvement Act and the 2026 Farm Bill (H.R. 7567). Eight years of policy change, with the 2025 reconciliation law (H.R. 1) sitting between them.
The big picture
The 2018 farm bill ran from FY2019 to FY2023, was extended three times, and finally gets replaced by the Farm Bill 2.0, running through FY2031.
But this isn’t a clean replacement. H.R. 1, the 2025 budget reconciliation law, locked in much of what would normally be in a farm bill. So the 2026 farm bill is narrower than 2018 in scope.
What’s in the 2026 bill that wasn’t in 2018
Brand-new programs
| Program | Title |
|---|---|
| Forest Conservation Easement Program (FCEP) | II |
| Specialty Crop Emergency Assistance Framework | I |
| State Soil Health Program | II |
| U.S. Southern Border EQIP Initiative | II |
| Office of Conservation Innovation | II |
| NASS Modernization Commission | VII |
| FMD Infrastructure Subprogram | III |
| Common Names Protection | III |
| Specialty crop competitiveness reports | III |
Eliminated programs
| Program | Disposition |
|---|---|
| Healthy Forests Reserve Program (HFRP) | Repealed; functions absorbed into FCEP |
| Supplemental Agricultural Trade Promotion | Repealed; rolled into expanded promotion |
| Mink association ban (under MAP) | Repealed |
Major funding changes
| Program | 2018 Bill | Farm Bill 2.0 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| EQIP mandatory funding | $2.655B (FY26) | $2.53B (FY27) → $3.255B (FY31) | Net −$786M / 10yr |
| MAP | $200M annually | $400M (FY27), $410M after | Doubled |
| Foreign Market Development | $34.5M annually | $70.5M (FY27), $82M after | Doubled |
| Specialty Crop Research | Lower | $30M | Increased |
| Specialty Crop Automation | $0 | $20M | New |
| TASC | $9M | $18M | Doubled |
| Feral Swine Eradication | $105M (FY25-31) | $150M (FY25-31) | +$45M |
| Conservation Reserve Program | 27M acres | 27M acres | No change |
| Organic conservation cost-share cap | $140K | $200K | +$60K |
| ACEP federal share | 50% | 65% (90% for SDA) | Up |
Major policy changes
Conservation
- ACEP exemption from $900K AGI limit (NEW in 2026)
- Buy-protect-sell transactions in ACEP eliminated
- Precision agriculture defined and made eligible at 90% cost-share
- Forest Service direct hire authority
Nutrition
- Hot rotisserie chicken now SNAP-eligible (NEW)
- State authority to outsource SNAP certification (NEW)
- ABAWD work requirements (locked in by H.R. 1)
- State cost-shifts (locked in by H.R. 1)
Trade
- Food for Peace transferred to USDA (NEW)
- Common Name Protection (NEW)
- 50% U.S. commodity floor for FFP (NEW)
Rural Development
- REAP eligibility expanded to ag co-ops <2,500 employees (NEW)
- Satellite broadband eligibility (NEW)
- Rural mental health, maternal health prioritization (NEW)
Crop Insurance
- Veteran farmer definition broader (NEW)
- Veteran subsidies increased (NEW)
- Quality loss adjustment review (NEW)
Miscellaneous
- Federal preemption of state animal welfare standards (NEW; major)
- Foreign farmland ownership reporting expanded
- Agricultural cybersecurity funding (NEW)
What didn’t change
- CRP cap at 27M acres
- Most TEFAP and CSFP food distribution provisions
- Core ACEP wetland reserve easement structure
- Most research program authorities and structures
- The basic crop insurance subsidy framework
- Most forestry research authorities
Key takeaways
The 2026 farm bill is best understood as a maintenance bill with targeted upgrades, not a wholesale rewrite. The most consequential structural changes are:
- EQIP cuts redirected to other conservation programs: net budget neutral
- REAP expansion to ag co-ops: biggest single rural energy unlock
- FCEP creation: biggest forestry program in years
- Prop 12 federal preemption: biggest livestock policy shift
- MAP/FMD doubling: biggest trade promotion increase