All three Nebraska House members vote to advance Farm Bill
Republican Congressman Don Bacon. (Graphic by Brian Beach/Nebraska Public Media News)
By Macy Byars, Nebraska Public Media
(April 30, 2026)
The U.S. House passed the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026 Thursday in a 224-220 vote, updating a legislative package that hasn’t been significantly overhauled since 2018.
The 2026 Farm Bill has been touted as a necessary fix to many problems farmers and ranchers are facing – such as high input costs, low selling prices, tariffs and rising gas and fertilizer costs due to the U.S. war with Iran. However, some worry it doesn’t go far enough.
District 2 Rep. Don Bacon serves on the House Committee on Agriculture. He defended the bill’s economic value.“It’s a step up from what we had in 2018,” Bacon said. “It’s much improved from the status quo.”District 1 Rep. Mike Flood also celebrated the bill’s passage.“
This new Farm Bill framework not only modernizes key ag programs to better serve our farmers and ranchers today, but it also invests in the future of our agricultural economy,” Flood said in a statement.
Some farm and food legislation was included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. This Farm Bill is budget-neutral and does not make any significant cuts or investments in government programs.
National Farmers Union President Rob Larew said the House vote was a good step forward, but the 2026 Farm Bill does not fully address the difficult situation farmers are in.“The bill largely continues existing farm safety net programs that do not match the scale of the current economic crisis family farmers are facing. It also maintains cuts to the nutrition safety net at a time when too many American families are struggling to make ends meet,” Larew said in a statement.
Larew cited “missed opportunities” on year-round E15, country-of-origin labeling, addressing high input costs, market protection and domestic market opportunities. He says the NFU looks forward to refining the Farm Bill with the Senate.John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmer’s Union, said the Farm Bill is not perfect, but it is an important first step.
“Nebraska family farmers and ranchers are currently facing one more year of the toughest financial challenges since the 1980s farm crisis,” Hansen said. “We need a Farm Bill that deals with the 2026 economic realities we are facing today. We were hoping for more substantial improvements.”
The vote was originally delayed Wednesday night in an apparent revolt over ethanol, The Hill reported. Farm-state lawmakers have pushed for year-round, nationwide E15 gasoline in amendments, but ultimately decoupled E15 provisions from the final bill.The House will vote on a separate E15 bill on May 13, then couple it to the Farm Bill before sending it to the Senate.
More than 40 Senators signed off on amendments related to E15. The bill is 850 pages in total and had over 350 proposed amendments.
Democrats also raised concerns about cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, during the mark-up process. Many attempted to reverse or stall cuts and changes passed in the One Big Beautiful Bill but were unsuccessful.
Consumer advocacy nonprofit Nebraska For Us said it was disappointed Bacon and Flood voted for a bill that sustained SNAP cuts.
“While that law has forced many Nebraskans off of SNAP, rising costs have increased the need for it. Nonprofits across the metro area have been facing major growth in demand from members of our community who can’t afford the rising cost of groceries,” State Director Angie Lauritsen said in a statement. “Our leaders need to vote for policies that lower costs rather than allowing them to continually rise.”
The Senate will likely take a vote on the Farm Bill in May.
