October 2026 Policy Update

By Lily Hawkins, Policy Director

Farm Bill

On September 16th, the Senate Agriculture Committee passed its latest Farm Bill version out of committee. However, because it failed to reach a compromise on SNAP rules, the bill did not secure Democratic votes, making passage on the full Senate floor, where a two-thirds majority is required, unlikely. 

Traditionally, the bill would move to a Senate floor vote, where more amendments could be introduced. From there, the Senate would reconcile the bill with the House version, and the resulting compromise legislation would return to each chamber for a final vote before being sent to the White House to be signed into law. However, given the difficulty of passing the full Senate, legislators will be exploring other paths forward. This could take the form of attaching some farm bill policies to other must-pass legislation, or it may have to be extended again. 

Organic Grain Farmer Fly-In

On September 15th, the Organic Farmers Association accompanied three organic grain farmers, Steve Boyda (KS), Noah Wendt (IA), and Matthew Fitzgerald (MN), to Washington, D.C., to meet with lawmakers before they left for the fall recess. The farmers met with their Senate and Congressional offices to advocate for key policies supporting organic grain producers, including the Grain Trust Establishment Act, the Domestic Organic Investment Act, and the Organic Imports Verification Act. The group met with eight offices in total, including Agriculture Committee Staff from both chambers.  

While legislative staff were interested in learning about the recent grain buyer bankruptcies and the associated clawbacks, we need more advocacy to encourage legislative action. If you’d like to get involved, use this toolkit to reach out to your Representative and Senators and ask them to support the Grain Trust Establishment Act.