The recent 43-day federal government shutdown ended on November 12, after Congress passed H.R. 5371, the Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026, which provided immediate funding to federal departments and agencies, allowing normal operations to resume.
Organized into seven “divisions,” the bill provides full fiscal year appropriations through September 30, 2026, for (1) USDA and FDA, (2) Veterans Affairs and Military Construction, and (3) the legislative branch. All other agencies received only stopgap funding through January 30, 2026, leaving them vulnerable to another shutdown unless Congress provides further funding with either full fiscal year 2026 appropriations or another extension.
This legislation also extends the 2018 farm bill, again, this time through September 30, 2026. It also extends the U.S. Grain Standards Act.
A breakdown of key provisions for producers is included below.
USDA Received Full Fiscal Year 2026 Funding
Division B, entitled the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agency Appropriations Act, 2026 provides full fiscal year 2026 funding to the USDA through September 30, 2026. It funds salaries, operations, loans, and programs for USDA overall, including county offices.
Initially closed on October 1, county offices reopened partway through the shutdown, but only with minimal staff to provide limited services. Producer services, including access to relied-on loan programs, were significantly disrupted. While offices still face backlogs resulting from closure, the full-year funding included in H.R. 5371 enabled USDA offices to fully reopen and provides funding to remain open for the entire fiscal year without dependence on additional legislation. The bill also provides funding for direct and guaranteed loans. This stability is critical for producers who rely on USDA loans and programs to cover operating expenses and manage market conditions and natural disasters.
Going forward, the bill prohibits the USDA from closing county FSA and NRSC offices and requires USDA to get congressional approval before permanently relocating any county-based employee that causes an office to be staffed with two or fewer employees. It also targets funding to hire new employees and fill vacancies and anticipated vacancies at FSA county offices and farm loan officers.
Highlights of the USDA Funding Bill
- Provides $2.6 billion for farm ownership direct loans, $1.6 billion for direct operating loans, and $14.3 million for emergency loans. Also provides funding for guaranteed farm ownership, operating, and conservation loans.
- Provides $15 million to hire new employees and fill vacancies and anticipated vacancies at Farm Service Agency County offices and farm loan officers.
- Provides $850 million to NRCS, including $698 million for conservation technical assistance, $86 million for the soil surveys program, and $5 million for the urban agriculture office.
- Provide $7.5 million for the Grassroots Source Water Protection Program.
- Provides $1.2 billion to Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS), including increased funding directed at cattle and bison traceability, chronic wasting disease, the swine health improvement plan, and wildlife damage management. Specifically, it provides-
- $13.5 million to provide EID tags to producers
- $22.5 million for chronic wasting disease (CWD) related activities, including $12.5 million for CWD surveillance, testing, management, and response activities, and $5 million for producer indemnity payments and associated costs to remove infected and exposed animals.
- Provides $1.2 billion to the Food Safety and Inspection Service for expenses related to federal meat, poultry, and egg inspection-related services. Includes a $15.2 million increase for state meat and poultry inspection programs to ensure that the Federal reimbursement remains at 50%.
- Provides $185 billion to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), of which $46 million is for the census of agriculture. Requires NASS to continue activities and reports at the frequency levels of fiscal year 2023, including the July Cattle Report, County Estimates for Crops and Livestock; barley acreage and production estimates; the Bee and Honey Program; the Chemical Use Data Series; the Floriculture Crops Report; Fruit and Vegetable Reports, the Organic Data Initiative; the Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of Agricultural Land Survey; and the 5–Year Vineyard and Orchard Acreage Study.
- Provides $6.5 million for State Mediation Grants.
- Provides $3.5 million for the Reimbursement Transportation Cost Payment Program for Geographically Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers.
- Prevents federal enforcement of the FSMA Produce Safety Rule and the Pre-Harvest Agricultural Water Rule for wine grapes, hops, pulse crops, or almonds.
Farm Bill Extended through September 30, 2026
Division E – Extension of Agricultural Programs provides an additional one-year extension of the farm bill, which continues authorization for expired programs and prevents the “dairy cliff,” a term used to describe the reversion to outdated laws established in the 1930s. The bill extends the farm bill, and also the U.S. Grain Standards Act, through Sept. 30, 2026.
Although traditionally enacted every five years, Congress has not yet agreed on a successor to the 2018 farm bill, first set to expire in 2023. Two prior extensions have carried it through 2025. This bill pushes the expiration date to 2026.
The path to this recent extension has been a bit unusual. This summer, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) enhanced and provided authorization beyond September 30, 2025, for certain traditional farm bill programs, thereby protecting them from the expiring farm bill. Other programs, however, including CRP, were not included in OBBBA, leaving authorization tied to the farm bill. H.R. 5371 extends the remaining farm bill titles and programs, including CRP, through September 30, 2026. Congress will still need to pass a new farm bill, although it is expected to be a pared-down version of the full farm bill we are accustomed to.
In addition to simply extending program authorization, the bill also made a few changes. It removed the $450,000 payment limit under the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and similarly removed the $200,000 payment limit under the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Both limits were included in the 2018 farm bill but specifically excepted from extension in H.R. 5371. H.R. 5371 also increases regulation and narrows the federal definition of hemp, adopting a new total THC standard that hemp growers must comply with.
What’s Next?
Between the farm bill extension and full-year appropriations, USDA, including county offices, is funded, open, and operating. Producers should be able to access loans and current programs without interruption through September 30, 2026.
From a legislative perspective, Congress still needs to pass some sort of farm bill. With the extension in place, the urgency is less, and it will likely spill over into the new year. While USDA is funded through Sept. 30, 2026, most other agencies are not – requiring Congress’s attention to passing full-year appropriations bill(s) for the agencies that received only temporary funding. The scope of this next farm bill may set the stage for future farm bill years.