Washington Roundup - August 2026
By: Lowell Randel
Congress Passes Stopgap Funding Measure
On September 1st, the House of Representatives voted to approve a Continuing Resolution that will keep the government funded through December 11th. The Senate passed the measure on August 8th just before leaving for recess. The stopgap measure pushes further funding negotiations past the midterm elections and avoids a potential shutdown at the end of the fiscal year.
Senate Agriculture Committee Plans Return to Farm Bill Consideration
On August 6th, the Senate Agriculture Committee failed to pass its version of the Farm Bill through committee. The vote was complicated by the absence of Sen. Mitch McConnell who continues to recover from a health issue. Without McConnell’s vote, Senate Republicans needed at least one Democrat to vote in favor of the legislation. Chairman Boozman has indicated that he intends to bring the Farm Bill back to the committee for consideration with the Senate returns in September. Even if the committee passes the bill, it is unlikely that there will be time for floor consideration ahead of the midterm elections. Action would then need to happen during the lame duck session before a new Congress is sworn in at the beginning of 2027.
USDA Announces Initiatives Intended to Rebuild American Beef Herd
On August 31st, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the Ranchers First Initiative, a package of actions to intended to help rebuild the American beef herd. The initiatives include:
- New Tools to Support Heifer Retention
USDA is developing a new Beef Retention and National Development (BRAND) endorsement for Livestock Risk Protection (LRP). The BRAND endorsement will allow producers to insure the economic value of retaining a heifer for breeding over a two-year period. The endorsement would establish a protected value based on the expected slaughter value of the heifer at the time of enrollment. If, at any time during the endorsement period, the heifer’s projected or realized slaughter value exceeds the economic value of retaining her as breeding stock, the policy would provide for the difference.
- ECP and Grassland CRP Maximization
USDA will allow producers to use the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) on Grassland Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acres to speed recovery after wildfires and other natural disasters. This flexibility is a direct investment in rebuilding the herd by providing ranchers the ability to rebuild critical infrastructure quickly and minimize long-term losses from disaster events.
- Revitalizing American Local Processing
USDA is creating a SPUR Guaranteed Loan Program to help support regional processing, including establishing processor co-ops, expanding small business footprints, and increasing the variety of animal proteins being processed. USDA will also establish a Regional Processor Continuity Effort designed to strengthen regional processing capacity and improve business resilience across the agricultural supply chain.
- Prioritizing American Beef in Federal Spending
USDA will prioritize federal procurement of locally processed American beef by encouraging purchasing across federal and state institutions—including prisons, hospitals, and related facilities. By strengthening locally processed domestic sourcing requirements, USDA aims to bolster demand for American-raised beef, support U.S. ranchers, and reinforce integrity and transparency within federal food purchasing programs.
- Supporting New Farmers and Ranchers
USDA will be establishing an initiative focused on Beginning and Veteran Farmers and Ranchers Affairs. USDA will also be working with the Department of War and the Department of Veterans Affairs, to leverage programs like Department of War’s (DOW) SkillBridge program, to recruit service members departing military service into ranching and farming careers.
Trump Signs Proclamation Authorizing Additional Beef Imports
On August 26th, President Trump signed a Proclamation to temporarily increase the quantity of lean beef trimmings that are imported with no above-quota tariff to ensure affordable beef for American consumers in light of current supply challenges. The Proclamation temporarily expands the existing quantity of lean beef trimmings that are subject to an in-quota tariff rate, to produce ground beef, allowing trading partners eligible to ship beef to the United States to take advantage of lower, in-quota tariff rates.
This expanded quota allows 100,000 tons per month and applies for 90 days, beginning on September 1, 2026. The expansion only applies to lean beef trimmings to combine with U.S. beef for ground beef and encourages beef to be sold at a 25% discount from the going import price. The Proclamation does not modify any commitments related to beef for countries with a free trade agreement with the United States, and does not apply to countries with country-specific beef quotas. The announcement was met with immediate criticism from industry groups such as the National Cattleman’s Beef Association and the American Farm Bureau Federation citing concerns the policy will have on markets and efforts to rebuild the domestic herd.
