National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
Jun 15, 2026
On April 29, the House Appropriations Committee approved, by a 35-25 vote, the fiscal year (FY) 2027 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill. The markup lasted nearly 6 hours, covering a wide range of issues – from staffing shortages at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), to cuts to conservation programs, to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
The House bill sets FY27 USDA spending at $22.5 billion, which is $675 million below FY26 levels. These funding reductions come at the expense of many programs popular among farmers, which are detailed below. In addition, the bill includes harmful policy riders that would prevent implementation of rules designed to promote fair competition for livestock farmers under the Packers and Stockyards Act, as well as any similar rulemaking effort (Section 758). However, the bill includes report language on staffing levels at Farm Service Agency (FSA), Rural Development (RD), and Agriculture Research Service (ARS), noting the need for significant and rapid onboarding of employees to these agencies.
For a deeper analysis of the FY27 House Agriculture Appropriations bill see link below.