Peace Garden News

The Senate has approved the Fiscal Year 2026 agriculture appropriations bill, a measure included in broader legislation to re-open the federal government. Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee, played a leading role in negotiating and securing passage of the bill.

In a statement following the vote, Hoeven said: “We advanced this year’s agriculture funding legislation through regular order, showing that we can support our priorities and find savings to reduce the debt and deficit, while securing bipartisan support both in committee and on the Senate floor. That’s the right way to approach our appropriations work, and this agreement to re-open government helps us get that process moving again.” He added: “Importantly, we worked to ensure our ag funding legislation supports the innovative research being conducted by NDSU, Grand Farm and their partners. At the same time, this bill supports better access to credit and the services our producers rely on at FSA. This is important not only as harvest wraps up, but as we work to advance an ag assistance bill to provide a bridge to help producers until the new reference prices come into effect.”

The bill includes close to $2.5 million for North Dakota State University’s Agricultural Risk Policy Center. Since FY2024, nearly $6.5 million has been allocated for this initiative under Hoeven’s leadership. Additionally, $5 million will go toward an AgTech Cooperative Agreement involving Grand Farm, NDSU, and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), including $2 million for establishing an ARS site at Grand Farm.

Other provisions include $3 million for ongoing renovations at Fargo's Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center. The legislation also maintains funding for agricultural research in North Dakota through ARS and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), focusing on crop yields and disease resistance for various crops such as wheat, soybeans, barley, oats, potatoes, pulse crops, and canola.

For farmers and ranchers nationwide, the bill provides sufficient funds for direct and guaranteed operating loans from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) while continuing a ban on closing FSA county offices. It also allocates resources so ranchers can comply with electronic identification tag requirements set by APHIS—a move building on last year’s efforts that secured three million EID tags to prevent unfunded mandates.

The Northern Great Plains will receive $500,000 specifically targeting blackbird depredation issues affecting agriculture in that region.

To protect livestock health nationally against diseases like avian influenza or chronic wasting disease (CWD), APHIS receives further support; continued CWD research at ARS is also funded.

The cattle industry will see measures aimed at market transparency—$1 million continues Hoeven’s pilot program creating a cattle contract library—and sustained backing is provided for AMS enforcement of fair practices under the Packers and Stockyards Act.