Legislation would reauthorize CRP and improve conservation programs

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 with a vote of 224-200, advancing the process to complete a bipartisan, five-year farm bill for the first time since 2018. The legislation represents a major step toward restoring certainty and stability for farmers, ranchers, and rural communities following three years of short-term extensions.  

The federal farm bill is the single most important piece of legislation for conservation on private lands, supporting programs that improve wildlife habitat, soil health, water quality, and rural economies. Critically, the House farm bill would reauthorize the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) through 2031, a vital part of the farm safety net and the foundation of private lands conservation for upland birds and many other wildlife species nationwide. The bill also makes much-needed improvements to other farm bill conservation programs that deliver meaningful benefits on working agricultural and forest lands and maintains the historic investments in conservation baseline funding made by Congress through H.R.1 in 2025.  

“Today’s House passage is an important step toward enacting a long-overdue bipartisan farm bill, and we thank Chairman Thompson and the members of the House Agriculture Committee for their work on this bill,” said Andrew Schmidt, Director of Government Affairs for Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever. “After multiple short-term extensions, farmers, ranchers, and conservationists cannot afford further delay. We urge the Senate to build on this progress and continue the bipartisan work needed to swiftly deliver a final farm bill that provides certainty for rural America and strengthens cornerstone programs like CRP.” 

As part of the House floor proceedings, an amendment offered by Rep. Kim Schrier (D-WA) was adopted by voice vote to codify the State Acres for Wildlife Enhancement (SAFE) initiative as part of the Continuous CRP signup. This ensures high-priority practices under SAFE will continue to receive increased incentives and cost-share. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever will continue to work with the Senate to secure additional improvements to CRP, including the remaining provisions of the bipartisan, bicameral CRP Improvement and Flexibility Act, in the final farm bill.