Government Funding Bill Ends Shutdown, Advances Key Agriculture Priorities
On Wednesday, November 12, the House of Representatives passed the government funding measure previously approved by the U.S. Senate on Monday, November 10. Shortly after final passage, President Trump signed the measure into law, ending the longest federal government shutdown in history.
The Continuing Appropriations and Extension Act, 2026 (H.R. 5371), funds the government through January 30, 2026, at FY25 levels.
The Senate amendment to H.R. 5371 attaches three full-year FY26 appropriations bills including Agriculture-FDA. The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced the Agriculture, Rural Development, FDA, and Related Agencies bill by a unanimous vote of 27 to 0, and the full Senate passed the bill by a vote of 87 to 9 on August 1, 2025.
Agriculture-FDA Appropriations Highlights
The FY26 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides $26.65 billion in total funding, with key investments in nutrition, rural development, and agricultural research:
Agriculture Research: $3.8 billion for agricultural research programs, including $1.8 billion for the Agricultural Research Service and $1.7 billion for the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to ensure that America maintains our competitive edge in terms of agricultural production and innovation.
- Includes targeted funding increases for high-priority research projects while cutting funding for Biden-era priorities like Climate Hubs.
- Maintains critical funding for land-grant universities and continues competitive grant opportunities to promote cutting-edge agriculture research and technology.
- Fully funds the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility to support the protection of the U.S. agricultural economy and maintain our position as a global leader in animal health, biodefense, and biosecurity.
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS): $1.2 billion for APHIS, as requested by the Administration, to help protect more than $325 billion worth of livestock, poultry, field crop, and specialty crop production.
- $13.5 million to assist ranchers with the cost of electronic identification (EID) tags to comply with animal disease traceability requirements.
- Provides needed resources to combat emerging threats such as chronic wasting disease, new world screwworm, and avian influenza.
Agricultural Marketing Services (AMS): $211 million for AMS to facilitate the marketing of U.S. agricultural products, both domestically and internationally, support domestic commodity purchase programs to support our agricultural producers, and provide and market data to help producers make informed business decisions.
- $1 million to continue the Cattle Contract Library Pilot Program and maintains funding for enforcement activities related to the Packers and Stockyard Act.
Farm Service Agency (FSA): $1.4 billion for the FSA to provide local support for our nation’s farmers and ranchers.
- Includes funding to support $10 billion of farm loans to ensure that our producers have access to necessary capital.
- Continues the prohibition on FSA county office closures.
- Provides additional resources to improve the tracking system of foreign-owned land and maintains the Secretary of Agriculture’s position on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. to protect our farmlands from being bought by our adversaries.
Conservation: $850 million to the Natural Resources Conservation Service for technical and financial assistance to farmers and ranchers to support America’s working lands.
- $50 million for Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations to support locally led water management projects and $3 million for the rehabilitation of aging dam infrastructure to ensure safety and water access to rural communities.
- Decreases funding for offices and programs solely benefiting urban agriculture.
To see the full extent of the Agriculture-FDA funding click here.
Farm Bill Extension
This funding measure also included a one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill, which technically expired in October. While many provisions were addressed in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, H.R. 5371 ensures continuity for remaining programs, including:
- Commodity support programs
- Conservation initiatives
- Nutrition assistance
- Suspension of outdated permanent agricultural laws
- Extension of the Grain Standards Act
