Senate Farm Bill 2.0 Discussion Draft Keeps Water, Soil and Wildlife Top Priorities
EDGEFIELD, SC — The National Wild Turkey Federation applauds Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman and committee staff for keeping water, soil and wildlife conservation central to The Agricultural Act of 2026, or Farm Bill 2.0, while maintaining critical support for farmers, ranchers and forest owners nationwide.
The discussion text, released today, provides stakeholders an initial framework for a full Farm Bill reauthorization after two years of extensions.
The bill includes strong Conservation and Forestry titles, reauthorizing key programs such as the Conservation Reserve Program and strengthening partnership authorities for federal land management.
It also:
- Expands conservation programs’ ability to address long-term drought, including through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Regional Conservation Partnership Program and Watershed Programs.
- Reauthorizes Conservation Reserve Program enrollment up to the 27-million-acre cap, reforms rental rates and boosts wildlife and drought-response incentives.
- Creates the Forest Conservation Easement Program and State Conservation Assistance Program to support emerging conservation goals and local initiatives.
- Improves the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program by prioritizing wetland easement stewardship, increasing federal cost share, empowering certified entities and removing adjusted gross income requirements.
- Creates a transparent process for new Conservation Practice Standards and improves review of existing practices.
- Streamlines Technical Service Provider certification to expand access to qualified technical assistance.
- Modernizes the Forest Inventory and Analysis program.
- Enhances Good Neighbor Authority and Stewardship End Result Contracting.
- Streamlines environmental reviews with new and expanded categorical exclusions for urgent forest health projects.
- Reduces frivolous lawsuits that delay vital forest management on National Forest System lands.
“We are grateful to Chairman Boozman and his staff for their commitment to moving a Farm Bill forward in this Congress,” said Matt Lindler, NWTF director of government affairs. “We still have a lot of work to do to ensure the best bill possible makes it across the finish line, ending a too-long streak of extensions and putting certainty back into the system for farmers, ranchers and conservation-minded landowners.”
About the National Wild Turkey Federation
Since 1973, the National Wild Turkey Federation has invested over half a billion dollars into wildlife conservation and has positively impacted over 25 million acres of critical wildlife habitat. Since 2022, the NWTF has also invested over $2.3 million in critical wild turkey research that, when leveraged with partner contributions, has resulted in more than $22 million to guide the management of the wild turkey and to ensure sustainable populations. The organization continues to deliver its mission by working across boundaries on a landscape scale to create healthy forests and wildlife habitats, clean and abundant water, resilient communities and robust recreational opportunities. With the help of its dedicated members, partners and staff, the NWTF is committed to creating a nation united by the life-changing power of the outdoors.