Farm Bill Debate Continues to Drag On
Congress is working to renew the comprehensive statute known as the Farm Bill, which underpins our nation’s row-crop and dairy programs, as well as nutrition, forestry, and many renewable energy initiatives. The last time the law was overhauled and renewed was in 2018; however, row crop and dairy subsidies, as well as nutrition programs, were addressed last year in H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The current effort focuses on programs the Federation cares about in the Forestry and Energy Titles that were left out of last year’s measure.
Following House passage of the Farm, Food and National Security Act (H.R. 7567) in April, Senator John Boozman (R-AR) released on June 23 the Agricultural Act of 2026—colloquially known as Farm Bill 2.0. Chairman Boozman continues to believe that his panel can mark up the measure before the upper chamber leaves town for the August recess (currently scheduled for August 7).
The bill largely mirrors the House-passed product approved on April 30 and includes several Hardwood Federation policy priorities. Among them are:
Jobs in the Woods Act: Amends the existing Rural Innovation Stronger Economy (RISE) program to include forestry and forest products specifically. This language captures the Jobs in the Woods Act (JWA), which provides grants between $500,000 and $2 million to establish job training and career pathway programs tailored to careers in sawmilling, logging, or other jobs in the forestry and forest products sector. RISE is structured similarly to JWA but currently excludes our sector. This language rectifies that situation and will provide needed workforce development assistance for the entire forest products value chain.
Wood Innovation Grants: Reauthorizes the Wood Innovation and Community Wood Grant programs. On WIG, the bill reduces the non-federal dollar-for-dollar matching requirement to 50 percent. It also updates priorities for grants to include the use of or retrofitting of existing sawmill facilities, the enhancement of carbon-reduction strategies, and the economic benefits associated with wood products and resilience. On Community Wood, the measure changes the program’s name to the Community Wood Facilities Grant Program. It also increases the federal cost-share from 35 percent to 50 percent for projects and the maximum grant per facility to $5 million. Finally, it increases the maximum size for energy systems eligible to 40 megawatts (the current limit is 5 megawatts of nameplate capacity) and doubles the total authorization to $50 million.
Biomass Carbon Neutrality: Includes a binding biomass carbon neutrality provision requiring the Department of Agriculture to assign a greenhouse gas emissions factor of no more than zero to any policy related to the combustion of forest-based biomass for energy. This language differs from the existing carbon neutrality provision, which is reauthorized every year as part of the appropriations process, in that it is legally binding—meaning the Department must comply with the directive. The Hardwood Federation, working with other trade associations in the sector, hopes to expand upon this provision to include an “all of government” approach—not just USDA—to this important and legally binding carbon neutrality language.
Biofuel Payments: Reauthorizes the Bioenergy Program for Advanced Biofuels through 2031. This direct payment program incentivizes wood pellet production because the law defines “advanced biofuel” to include wood pellets—both those used in the domestic heating market and export pellets. Producers report their tonnage to the USDA quarterly and receive fairly lucrative cash payments.
Forest Inventory and Analysis: Updates the Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program to improve national forest data collection and requires, as a data collection method, a timber products output survey and woodland owner survey. The language requires the USDA to annually report on the inventory and analysis of timber within our national forests. Finally, the bill establishes an expert “Blue Ribbon” panel to review the FIA, evaluate its effectiveness, and provide recommendations for improvement.
The legislation does not address the “renewable biomass” definition in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program; however, we anticipate that an amendment will be offered during committee markup. In a related development, Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Representatives Cliff Bentz (R-OR) and Bennie Thompson (D-MS) introduced the Wildfire Reduction Market Expansion Act of 2026 last week. The legislation would expand the definition of “renewable biomass” in the existing statute authorizing the RFS to include forest-based biomass. The current statutory definition generally excludes liquid transportation fuels de-rived from forest biomass from the renewable liquid fuel mandate.
If these measures move, they will not be taken up individually and passed. Rather, they would be offered as amendments to larger legislative vehicles, such as the Farm Bill or government funding legislation, that may advance later this year. The Federation team is actively working in support of these bills and any amendment efforts that may materialize. Recall, Rep. Bentz offered the language embodied in his bill as an amendment during House floor consideration of the Farm Bill. That effort failed, but it was a close vote, and we are encouraged by our advocacy and messaging on this critical market development issue.
In terms of process, the current Farm Bill expires September 30. If the Senate does not move its measure before the August recess, an extension of the current law is likely. A week before recess, Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman (R-AR) announced the Committee would mark up the bill just before departing Washington, teeing up action when they return in September, a positive sign for potential passage. The Federation team is on the scene and working with our Congressional champions. We are hopeful that Congress will find a way to advance a Farm Bill reauthorization measure to the President’s desk by year’s end.
By DANA COLE, Executive Director of the Hardwood Federation
