WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Agriculture Department rolled out a sweeping set of actions at year’s end aimed at tightening national farm security, redirecting federal research priorities, and delivering billions in direct aid to farmers, marking one of the most aggressive federal resets of agricultural policy in decades.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced coordinated steps under USDA’s National Farm Security Action Plan to curb foreign influence over U.S. farmland, steer federal purchasing toward domestic producers, and realign research dollars around profitability and national security. The moves also include the next phase of a $12 billion emergency assistance package for farmers expected to hit bank accounts early next year.
At the center of the security push is a planned overhaul of the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act, or AFIDA. The law requires foreign investors to report ownership interests in U.S. agricultural land, but USDA officials say enforcement and transparency gaps have persisted for years. The department is opening an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to solicit public input as it strengthens reporting, verification, and monitoring of foreign land holdings.
USDA estimates that entities linked to foreign adversaries control at least 277,000 acres of U.S. agricultural land. Federal officials describe each acre as a potential risk to food supply chains, biosecurity, and nearby military or critical infrastructure. The effort also deepens coordination with the Treasury Department and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States on land transactions involving agriculture.
At the same time, USDA is tightening eligibility for its BioPreferred Program and guaranteed lending initiatives, barring entities and products tied to foreign adversary nations effective immediately. The BioPreferred Program, funded through September 30, 2026, promotes U.S.-made biobased products and domestic manufacturing. Current participants must comply with audits or face removal.
Rollins also signed a Secretary’s Memorandum resetting priorities for USDA-funded research and development, steering resources away from what the department called politically driven initiatives and toward projects focused on farmer profitability, market expansion, pest and disease defense, soil health, and human nutrition.
New research priorities include reducing input costs through automation, opening new domestic and export markets, defending crops and livestock from invasive species and disease, improving long-term soil productivity, and advancing precision nutrition to improve public health while boosting demand for U.S. farm products.
Alongside the policy shifts, USDA announced detailed payment rates under the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, a one-time aid effort designed to stabilize producers after years of high costs and weak trade growth. Of the $12 billion authorized for 2026, $11 billion will go directly to eligible row crop producers, with payments expected by February 28.
Per-acre payment rates range from $8.05 for flax to $132.89 for rice, with major commodities such as corn at $44.36 per acre, soybeans at $30.88, wheat at $39.35, cotton at $117.35, and peanuts at $55.65. Payments are based on 2025 planted acres, cost-of-production data, and global supply and demand estimates. Double-cropped acres qualify, while prevent-plant acres do not.
USDA said crop insurance participation is not required for the payments, though producers are encouraged to use expanded risk management tools enacted under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Of the remaining assistance, $1 billion is reserved for specialty crops and sugar, with payment timelines still under development.
Rollins said the combined actions are designed to put American farmers first, strengthen national security, and restore predictability to a farm economy she said was battered by inflation, weak trade policy, and regulatory pressure in recent years.
Taken together, the measures signal a sharp shift in how the federal government polices farmland ownership, directs research dollars, and intervenes financially in the agricultural economy — with farmers, national security planners, and global competitors all watching closely.
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