Congress has begun the process of approving the 12 annual appropriations bills that will provide funding for federal agencies/programs in FY 2027. On June 4 the full House passed the USDA funding measure (H.R. 8646) in a tight 213–210 vote. The House bill approved a $26.27 billion discretionary allocation, which represents a 1.4% decrease from FY 2026 funding levels. However, included in the measure is language that prohibits the permanent relocation or consolidation of county-based personnel at local NRCS and FSA field offices if such a move would leave the office with fewer than two staff members. This is designed to preserve local access to technical assistance for farmers. While protecting physical local offices, the bill slashes NRCS Conservation Technical Assistance funding by roughly 35%.
Though the House bill reduces NRCS capacity, it rejects the much deeper staffing cuts proposed in the administration's budget, which would have kept the NRCS workforce capped at a historic low of just 8,000 to 9,000 employees nationwide.
The Senate Appropriations Committee has not yet formally addressed its version of the appropriations legislation. While the committee did hold an initial hearing to review the Administration’s budget proposal it has delayed drafting and voting on its own bill. The delay stems from ongoing bipartisan disagreements regarding the overall topline spending limits for fiscal year.
LICA wrote to the Senate committee pointing out that both NRCS and FSA have suffered from work force shortages in recent years which have only been made worse by additional staffing reductions. Continuing this trend will have long lasting, devastating impacts of conservation initiatives and cost-effective farming in the broader agriculture community. LICA’s letter strongly urges support for adequate funding levels for NRCS and FSA to enhance EQIP and other conservation programs, support necessary staffing and to prevent office closures and forced consolidations that would further reduce staffing at these vital USDA agencies.