Aug 5, 2026
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August 5, 2026
The Honorable John Boozman, Chairman The Honorable Amy Klobuchar, Ranking Member United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 328A Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510
RE: MARKUP OF THE AGRICULTURAL ACT OF 2026 (2026 FARM BILL)
Dear Chairman Boozman, Ranking Member Klobuchar, and Members of the Committee,
We the undersigned organizations write to urge the Senate Agriculture Committee to make the following changes to the Agricultural Act of 2026 before advancing it from committee. Our organizations include tribal nation representatives, conservation groups, faith communities, farmer networks, land trusts, public health advocates, and environmental justice organizations. We represent the communities most directly affected by the decisions this markup will produce. We respectfully ask the Committee to address the following priorities:
Reverse the SNAP cuts enacted through reconciliation. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act cut $187 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and, for the first time in the program's history, shifted benefit costs onto states. More than 4.5 million people have already lost SNAP benefits since July 2025, and SNAP participation has declined in every state. Twenty-three governors have warned that they may be forced to end their SNAP programs. The Farm Bill has historically been the vehicle through which Congress protects and strengthens this lifeline. We urge the Committee to extend the full two-year delay in the SNAP cost-shift to every state, and to protect SNAP's role as a nutrition safety net for the tens of millions of Americans who depend on it, including the rural and farming communities this bill is intended to serve.
Strengthen heirs' property protections. Heirs' property remains the leading cause of Black involuntary land loss, affecting millions of acres of Southern Black-owned land worth more than $28 billion (Federation of Southern Cooperatives; Farm Aid). We urge the Committee to strengthen and expand the Heirs' Property Relending Program, fund cooperative agreements with nonprofits providing legal and technical assistance to underserved heirs, and authorize a comprehensive USDA study on agricultural land transfer and heirs' property as included in the House-passed bill.
Require meaningful tribal consultation and protect tribal stewardship authority. Tribal nations have stewarded these lands since long before this country's founding, and their sovereignty and knowledge must be reflected in every title that affects their lands, waters, and food systems. The House-passed bill makes only a narrow technical correction to the Tribal Forest Management Program (Sec. 8420), and its conservation easement provisions (Title II) do not account for Indigenous stewardship practices. We urge the Committee to strengthen, not merely correct, tribal forest management and co-stewardship authority, to design conservation easement provisions that accommodate Indigenous stewardship, and to require documented, up-front tribal consultation before any provision affecting tribal lands, waters, or food systems is finalized.
Protect conservation program funding and restore the staff to deliver it. The Senate discussion draft cuts nearly $2 billion from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), and the House-passed version reduces EQIP outlays by $786 million over ten years (Congressional Research Service, R48918), with much of it redirected into new programs rather than meeting existing demand. In 2025, only 24 to 37 percent of valid applicants to EQIP and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) received contracts. Meanwhile, NRCS has lost 23 percent of its staff since January 2025, dropping from 11,861 employees to 9,078, and 141 counties have lost every NRCS employee they had (NSAC, June 2026). Demand for these programs already far exceeds available funding. Conservation programs that are both underfunded and unstaffed are programs in name only. We urge the Committee to maintain robust funding for EQIP, CSP, and CRP, ensure equitable access for socially disadvantaged and beginning producers, and include provisions requiring the restoration of NRCS field capacity.
We will be watching how each priority is addressed as the bill advances. We thank you for your consideration and welcome the opportunity to discuss these priorities with committee staff and members.
Respectfully,
Adamah Alaska Wilderness League Action Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments America the Beautiful for All Coalition Legacy Lands Workgroup Center for Heirs' Property Chilis on Wheels Dogwood Alliance Earthjustice Action Endangered Species Coalition Environmental Working Group Food in Neighborhoods Community Coalition GreenLatinos Healthy Ocean Coalition Japanese American Citizens League Kua'aina Ulu 'Auamo (KUA) Nuestra Tierra Conservation Project Sierra Club Wildlife for All Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
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About Us
The America the Beautiful for All Coalition unites 300+ organizations across missions, ecosystems, communities, and cultures to steward nature while upholding environmental justice and defending public health. We follow the leadership of the communities closest to the lands, waters, and wildlife under threat.
