RELEASE: Farm Bill Extension and FY26 USDA Funding Fall Flat

Washington, DC — November 14, 2025 — This week, Congress passed a continuing resolution to end the longest government shutdown in history. The agreement also included a one-year farm bill extension and the fiscal year 2026 appropriations bill to fund programs at the Department of Agriculture. Both provide underwhelming support for agricultural research and dampen future farm bill prospects during the 119th Congress.

The farm bill extension authorizes most programs to continue through at least September 30, 2026. However, the extension failed to provide renewed funding for the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR). This omission was a missed opportunity to fund public-private research partnerships at a time when farmers are facing mounting challenges and U.S. agricultural research spending is falling behind our competitors. While other farm bill research programs were addressed earlier this year in the Republican-led One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) which provided funding through 2031, OBBBA only included one year of funding for FFAR. If Congress fails to renew funding for FFAR in 2026, its grantmaking efforts will grind to a halt. Despite the need for Congress to address FFAR funding and pass other meaningful agriculture policy reforms in a new farm bill, it remains to be seen if enough political pressure or bipartisan goodwill exists to pass a new 5-year farm bill next year.

In addition to the one-year farm bill extension, Congress also opted to pass the agriculture appropriations bill with the shutdown package. The agreement sets new spending levels for USDA programs for fiscal year 2026. The funding levels for most USDA research activities will stay the same as last year, but funding for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative was cut by $10 million to $435 million. This sets USDA’s flagship competitive grant program back to a funding level last seen in 2021.

The agriculture appropriations bill included flat funding for the advanced research projects agency at USDA (AGARDA) and directed the agency to appoint an interim acting director to lead the program. This is a positive step forward as the program has yet to be staffed despite being established in 2018. By appointing strong leadership for AGARDA, USDA will be strategically positioned to carry out the research priorities outlined in its National Farm Security Action Plan.

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Media Contact:

Emily Bass

Director of Federal Policy, Food and Agriculture

emily@thebreakthrough.org