S. 3860 · Where this bill is now
In committee
Introduced in the Senate, Feb 12, 2026
What this bill does
In plain words · AI-written from the official summaryUSDA establishes office to support small farms
The bill requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture to create a new Office of Small Farms to help coordinate and expand support for small farms, ranches, and forest operations across the country. The office will provide technical assistance to help these operators access USDA grants, loans, and other funding programs, and can give grants up to $25,000 directly to small farm operators for things like equipment repairs, recovery from uninsured losses, business planning, and conservation work. Each state will have its own coordinator dedicated to small farms.
How it affects you
If you run a small farm, ranch, or forest operation with less than 180 acres and annual income below $350,000, this office would make it easier to navigate USDA support programs and potentially access grants for repairs, upgrades, and other needs. For most other people, this doesn't create a direct personal change, though it could affect agricultural services and food production in your area over time.
Read the official summary (Introduced in Senate, Feb 12, 2026)
Office of Small Farms Establishment Act of 2026
This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish the Office of Small Farms within the farm production and conservation mission area.
The office must coordinate, review, and implement various programs and activities related to small farms, ranches, and forest operations. Under the bill, a small farm, ranch, or forest operation (1) is less than 180 acres or meets another USDA-determined, acreage-based definition of small; and (2) has an annual gross cash farm income of less than $350,000.
Among other things, the activities of the office related to small farms, ranches, and forest operations must include
• coordinating USDA efforts to improve support for these operators;
• providing or coordinating technical assistance for these operators for USDA grant, cost-share, and loan programs; and
• providing grants of not more than $25,000 to these operators directly or through cooperative agreements with other entities for areas including equipment and infrastructure repairs and upgrades, uninsured losses, business planning, and conservation practice adoption.
In addition, the Office of Small Farms must designate a small farms coordinator in each state.
Written by AI (Claude) using only the official summary by the Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress’s nonpartisan research staff. It can miss nuance, so check the official summary and the bill text for details.
2nd SessionS. 3860
A BILL
Office of Small Farms Establishment Act of 2026
Sponsor: Sen. Cory A. Booker (D-NJ) · Introduced Feb 12, 2026 · Agriculture and Food · 1 version of the text
Sources: Congress.gov actions and votes · bill text from GovInfo · latest official action Feb 12, 2026: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.”