The Senate Agriculture Committee advanced the Agricultural Act of 2026 on Sept. 16. The bill passed on a 12-11 party-line vote after Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-KY, returned to the committee following an extended absence. No changes were made to the legislation, so the version that advanced is the same one considered at the Aug. 6 markup.
The committee-passed bill keeps the dairy priorities NMPF has championed throughout the drafting process. These include mandatory cost and yield surveys to inform future Federal Milk Marketing Order updates, extension of key dairy safety net programs, support for common cheese name protections, and expanded funding for dairy nutrition and innovation initiatives. The current version also removes Tier I premiums and enrollment fees related to Dairy Margin Coverage. NMPF President & CEO Gregg Doud welcomed the vote in a statement.
Given the tight legislative calendar left this Congress, it would be a heavy lift to pass the Senate farm bill and then enter into conference negotiations with the House. Senator Boozman suggested recently that his staff will begin four corner negotiations to try to reach a deal that could be included in a year-end package. That said, this will still require some Democratic support in the Senate. Senate Democrats continue to demand a two-year delay to the SNAP cost share provisions passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year.
NMPF will keep working with both parties to get a strong farm bill across the finish line.
