By Lily Hawkins, Policy Director

Annual Farmer Fly-In Approaches

Each year, Organic Farmers Association brings together organic farmers and representatives of organic organizations for a week of in-person collaboration and meetings with decision-makers. This year, we are expecting over 30 attendees from 19 states to join us in Washington, D.C. from March 2nd through March 5th. Meetings are planned with Senators, Representatives, Committee Leadership, and the USDA National Organic Program.

OFA leadership will advocate for policies that:

• Improve organic integrity
• Fund increased organic research
• Make USDA programs like credit and crop insurance work for organic farmers
• Expand the Organic Certification Cost Share Program to better serve small and underserved producers
• Provide assistance for organic dairy farmers
• Increase organic infrastructure
• Prevent organic import fraud

Read about all the marker bills OFA will be supporting here, and take action here by asking your legislators to continue working toward a comprehensive Farm Bill. 

Farm Bill 2.0

Last week, Congress passed legislation to fund nearly all federal agencies through September 30. This agreement ended a brief partial shutdown—the second in just four months. Funding for the Department of Homeland Security has not been agreed upon and is set to be a standoff between the parties over President Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.

This development could open space for House Ag Committee Chair GT Thompson to advance legislation this month to reauthorize key programs not included in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act passed last July.

Since many big decisions about funding levels were determined in OBBB, this new legislation, which has been called a Farm Bill 2.0 or a “Skinny” Farm Bill, would largely deal with rules about how that money would be spent. It’s likely that the House Republican text will be very similar to the bill they put forward in Spring of 2024.

As we wait to see what will happen next for the Farm Bill, here is a review of how we got where we are today:

2018–2023: Original Authorization & Expiration 

• December 20, 2018: President Trump signs the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 into law. It is authorized for five years through 2023.
• August 16, 2022: The Inflation Reduction Act is signed, providing $19.5 billion for Farm Bill conservation programs through 2031, independent of the 2018 expiration.
• September 30, 2023: The 2018 Farm Bill officially expires for the first time.
• November 16, 2023: President Biden signs the first one-year extension, continuing the 2018 law through September 30, 2024. 

2024: Legislative Deadlock & Second Extension 

• May 23, 2024: The House Agriculture Committee passes the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 (H.R. 8467). It fails to reach a floor vote due to disputes over SNAP and conservation funding.
• November 18, 2024: Senate Agriculture Chair Debbie Stabenow introduces the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act (S. 5335), but it does not advance.
• December 21, 2024: President Biden signs the second one-year extension as part of the American Relief Act of 2025, extending the bill through September 30, 2025. 

2025–2026: Shutdown, Third Extension and Current Status 

• July 4, 2025: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) is signed into law. While not a full Farm Bill, this budget reconciliation package updates reference prices for safety-net programs through 2031, restores funding for some “orphan programs,” and shifts funding away from nutrition programs. 
• September 30, 2025: The 2018 Farm Bill expires for the second time, coinciding with a 43-day federal government shutdown.
• November 14, 2025: President Trump signs the Continuing Appropriations… and Extensions Act, 2026 (H.R. 5371). This law ends the shutdown and provides a third one-year extension, moving the expiration to September 30, 2026. 

Advocacy Continues

Despite the uncertain timeline, OFA and allied organizations continue to advocate for the inclusion of key policies for organic in any future Farm Bill. 

Read about all the marker bills OFA is supporting here, and take action here by asking your legislators to continue working toward a comprehensive Farm Bill. 

Opportunities in Organic Act of 2026 Introduced

On January 29th, the Opportunities in Organic Act was reintroduced in the Senate with leadership from Senator Welch, and in the House with leadership from Representatives Panetta and Adams.

The legislation aims to reduce barriers to organic transition for farmers and other businesses, strengthen organic supply chains, and provide essential support for growers to succeed in the organic market and meet rising consumer demand. 

Specifically, the bill would expand the existing National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program into a comprehensive Opportunities in Organic Program by:

• Increasing USDA’s technical assistance for producers to advance organic practices; 
• Making organic practices more accessible for agricultural producers from socially disadvantaged groups and underserved regions by increasing cost-share payments for organic certification and granting USDA flexibility to exceed current cost-share caps; and 
• Providing additional support for non-governmental organizations working to help producers transition to organic practices.

Crucially, passing this bill would allow partners to continue the successful technical assistance and transition models established by the Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP), which is currently set to expire in 2026.