S. 3860 Introduced Agriculture and Food

Office of Small Farms Establishment Act of 2026

A bill to amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to establish an Office of Small Farms, and for other purposes.

  1. Introduced
  2. Committee
  3. Passed Senate
  4. Passed House
  5. To President
  6. Became law
Sponsor Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ] Introduced February 12, 2026 Cosponsors 0 Latest action February 12, 2026

Summary

Office of Small Farms Establishment Act of 2026
This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish the Office of Small Farms within the farm production and conservation mission area. 
The office must coordinate, review, and implement various programs and activities related to small farms, ranches, and forest operations. Under the bill, a small farm, ranch, or forest operation (1) is less than 180 acres or meets another USDA-determined, acreage-based definition of small; and (2) has an annual gross cash farm income of less than $350,000.
Among other things, the activities of the office related to small farms, ranches, and forest operations must include
- coordinating USDA efforts to improve support for these operators;
- providing or coordinating technical assistance for these operators for USDA grant, cost-share, and loan programs; and
- providing grants of not more than $25,000 to these operators directly or through cooperative agreements with other entities for areas including equipment and infrastructure repairs and upgrades, uninsured losses, business planning, and conservation practice adoption.
In addition, the Office of Small Farms must designate a small farms coordinator in each state.

Summary by the Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress.

Congress.gov

Actions

  1. Feb 12, 2026 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  2. Feb 12, 2026 Introduced in Senate

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