Putting Tribal Sovereignty
WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Feb. 13, the House Committee on Agriculture released its long-awaited Farm Bill draft, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (H.R.7567). The Committee will hold a markup beginning March 3.
Background
The Farm Bill is an important omnibus legislation that reauthorizes, modifies, and creates new programs at USDA, covering nutrition, farm production and conservation, rural infrastructure, trade, and more. Congress last passed a Farm Bill in 2018, which expired in 2023. While the House and Senate introduced competing Farm Bill drafts in 2024, neither proposal advanced due to political disagreements and other priorities. Lawmakers have instead extended the 2018 Farm Bill authorities several times.
Last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBA, H.R.1), which was signed into law on July 4, 2025, included many agriculture provisions that have traditionally been part of the Farm Bill, including changes to nutrition programs, conservation programs, and risk management programs (see IFAI’s analysis on OBBA agriculture provisions impacting Indian Country here). As a result, H.R.7567 is a somewhat unusual Farm Bill, generally only including provisions that could not be passed in OBBA and other largely modest changes.
Farm Bill highlights for Indian Country
The 2026 House Farm Bill text includes almost 40 provisions specifically referencing Tribes, as well as other provisions may have an impact on Indian Country. Some highlights are included below. A detailed section-by-section analysis is forthcoming.
Advancing Tribal Sovereignty
- Establishes a new 638 pilot demonstration project to enable Tribes to assume procurement of some foods in the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), a nutrition assistance program that serves low-income elders (Sec. 4204).
- Makes the Tribal Forest Management Demonstration project permanent, allowing Tribes to enter 638 agreements for forest management activities (Sec. 8420).
- Directs the USDA to designate an existing office to oversee 638 agreements and provides $1.2 million in authorization of appropriations for staffing (Sec. 4204).
- Note: H.R.7567 does not include a provision making the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) 638 demonstration project permanent, likely due to concerns with cost. This demonstration project was established in the 2018 Farm Bill, and the 2024 version of the House Farm Bill made the program permanent. Existing 638 agreements will likely be able to continue, subject to appropriations.
Advancing Tribal parity
- Allows Tribes to participate in and retain timber revenue under Good Neighbor Agreements with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and to use revenue for projects on Indian lands (Sec. 8412)
- Allows Tribes to participate in Solid Waste Management Grants (Sec. 6409).
Supporting Tribal, local, and regional food systems
- Establishes a new cooperative agreement program for States and Tribes to receive non-competitive funds to purchase local food and distribute to local communities. Ten percent of funds are set aside for Tribes. The program is similar to the popular Local Food Purchasing Agreement (LFPA) program, which was terminated last year (Sec. 4306).
- Establishes a grant program for increasing access to new, mobile, and innovative meat processing facilities in rural communities. Funds can also be used for purchasing equipment and for cold storage (Sec. 6304).
Supporting Tribal-led conservation
- Directs the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) to consider traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in future updates to conservation practice standards (Sec. 2502).
- Establishes a new program assisting States and Tribes with soil health programs (Sec. 2302). Tribes can receive an enhanced federal cost share of up to 75%, compared to 50% for states.
What’s next for the Farm Bill?
The House Agriculture Committee will begin Farm Bill markup on March 3 and will likely pass the bill out of committee by the end of the week. From there, H.R.7567 does not have a clear path forward. Congress is focused on other priorities, and it is unclear if House Republicans have the votes to pass the Farm Bill. House Democrats are largely expected to oppose the legislation due to cuts to nutrition programs under OBBA. Even if the legislation passes the House, it is unlikely to pass the Senate. The most likely outcome is that Congress will pass yet another one-year extension of expiring Farm Bill authorities in an end-of-year legislative package.