House Agriculture Committee Passes Farm Bill, Includes Policies Important to Aerial Application

Under the leadership of Chairman G.T. Thompson (R-PA), the House Agriculture Committee advanced its version of the farm bill last week in a 34-17 vote backed by seven of the panel’s Democrats without the backing of Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-Minn.).

H.R. 7567, the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, commonly referred to as the Farm Bill, builds on agricultural policy that was included in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB), enacted last year, by strengthening the farm safety net, providing incentives and resources for farmers. It also includes regulatory relief provisions advocated by NAAA. This includes federal pesticide labeling preemption which ensures EPA’s policies are based on sound science and abidance of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and prevents local government jurisdictions from setting pesticide policy based on emotion rather than science. It also incorporates U.S. Representative David Rouzer’s (R-NC) “Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act” to remove duplicative permitting requirements for federally approved crop protection tools, such as removing unnecessary and costly requirements for pesticides applied over or near water to obtain an NPDES Pesticide General Permit under the Clean Water Act when such pesticides are already approved for water safety under FIFRA.

NAAA also was successful in advocating language included in the bill’s committee report that would ensure towers that are constructed for rural broadband and financed by USDA “take into account the proposed rule soon to be finalized [by FAA] that would amend Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) Part 77, Safe, Efficient Use, and Preservation of the Navigable Airspace, as it applies to certain towers with the highest point of the structure at least 50 feet Above Ground Level (AGL) up to and including 200 feet AGL at its site (FAA Document ID FAA-2024-2574-0001). The proposed rule stems from Section 2110 of the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 (P.L. No. 114-190). This will ensure communication towers providing broadband services in rural areas that meet the specifications described in Section 2110 are properly marked and entered into a Federal Aviation Administration database to protect the safety of aerial applicators, aerial firefighters, public health applicators, medevac units, law enforcement, and other low-flying aircraft.”

In addition, NAAA was successful in advocating for language in the bill’s committee report supportive of aerial application technology research conducted at the USDA. That language reads, “The Committee recognizes the importance of the aerial application of pest control tools. These tools are useful not only to ensure overall food safety and food security, but also to promote public health through improved mosquito control techniques. The ARS Aerial Application Technology Program conducts innovative research making aerial applications more efficient, effective, and precise. This program has yielded more effective public health control programs, as well as increased efficiencies and greater crop production. Research for aerial application serves the public interest as a vital tool for the future.”

At this point, it’s not clear if the bill can pass the full House or Senate, but it would authorize programs that couldn’t be included in the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025. The OBBBA put more money into commodity programs, crop insurance and foreign market promotion while cutting nutrition assistance. Congress hasn’t passed a full farm bill since 2018. Democrats offered up a raft of failed amendments aimed at restoring last year’s cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Also failing was language enabling year-round sales of E15 that would increase domestic corn demand by more than 2 billion bushels annually, as it is outside the scope of the House Agriculture Committee and inclusion in the bill would violate House rules.

Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-MN) said that the Farm Bill’spesticide language will make it difficult to pass the farm bill with widespread bipartisan support, and she praised Senate Agriculture Chairman Boozman (R-AR) for recognizing that the Farm Bill cannot pass with these pesticide provisions. The Senate has yet to release, let alone mark up, a farm bill at its Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. Chairman Thompson (R-PA) expressed frustration with Rep. Craig since she had previously supported the pesticide provisions.