Strengthen Rural America: We Need a Farm Bill for Family Farmers & Food Security

I urge you to work with your colleagues to strengthen the Agricultural Act of 2026 to address critical shortcomings that prevent it from truly supporting family farms and rural communities. Payment Structure & Accountability The bill fails to modernize payment caps and attribution rules—a missed opportunity to close loopholes that allow large operations to exploit complex ownership structures and receive unintended benefits. We need amendments that apply strict limitations at the correct ownership level and eliminate "stacking" through legal entities. The current language actually exempts some conservation payments from AGI and attribution limits, making it easier for wealthy landowners to receive more assistance. Public dollars should support people who actively farm and manage land—not rent-seeking structures. The bill also fails to strengthen "active farm" requirements. Without clear, enforceable standards for genuine farming participation and meaningful management, subsidy eligibility remains a paperwork exercise vulnerable to abuse. This amendment is essential for protecting taxpayers and ensuring subsidies reach those who bear real risk and do the work. Food Security Remains Vulnerable While the bill improves SNAP operations by adding online purchasing and cybersecurity protection, it fails to strengthen the safety net itself. There are no provisions to increase benefit levels or protect them from future cuts. With food insecurity persistent in rural communities, the bill should mandate stable, adequate nutrition support and expand healthy food access through local supply chain initiatives. Commodity Programs Unchanged Title I extends various commodity loan programs without restructuring them to reduce concentration among large producers. The bill preserves a system where benefits flow disproportionately to the largest operations rather than rewarding resilience, conservation, and affordability. Amendments should fundamentally shift commodity and crop insurance payments away from production-volume incentives. Beginning Farmers Underfunded While crop insurance support for beginning and BIPOC farmers is welcome, it is modest. The bill needs substantially dedicated credit, technical assistance, and practical barrier reduction to enable long-term farm survival and rural economic stability. A Farm Bill worthy of its name should equitably support family farms and the communities they sustain. I urge you to work to strengthen these provisions before passage.