Policy Updates and Issue News October 2026
Agriculture and Food
Farmers to receive $8 billion for harvest and fuel relief
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will make $8 billion available for one-time payments this harvest season to provide relief during temporary market disruptions and increased input costs. Commodity-specific payment rates for Title I commodities (row crops) will be released in November and will be administered by the Farm Service Agency. Payment methodology for other eligible commodities will be announced at a later date.
USDA announces regenerative agriculture assistance
USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins has increased financial assistance for the Regenerative Pilot Program from $700 million to $1 billion in fiscal year 2027. This increase will allow more producers to adopt conservation systems that improve soil health, water quality, and long-term farm resilience. Producers can apply through their local Natural Resources Conservation Service Center (NRCS).
Pesticide labels to target spray drift and runoff
The EPA is nearing the final stage of a multiyear effort to align agricultural chemical use with the Endangered Species Act. The effort centers on label instructions specific to the chemical, its use, and location.
Build energy projects before seeking grants
Farmers and local businesses seeking USDA’s Rural Energy for America Program grants for renewable and energy-efficient projects will now have to build and operate them for a year before they can apply for grants. The agency pointed to confusion over what costs grants would cover; many past applicants built oversized projects for their businesses due to the USDA incentives, and the potential for the agency to choose projects based on actual rather than projected data as reasons for the change.
Animal Care
USDA announces new era of companion animal welfare
Secretary Rollins announced new standards to improve animal welfare, deploy new training and staffing to continuously monitor facilities under USDA jurisdiction, and build further public awareness to protect companion animals. Her actions will include:
- Advancing updates to standards of care
- Delivering breeder refresher notices
- Deploying welfare watchdogs
- Increasing Inspector General office staffing
- Implementing compliance goals to remove repeat bad actors
- Strengthening inspector training
- Accelerating enforcement against bad actors
- Target unlicensed activity
- Add professionals to capacity build
- Build public awareness
Data Centers
Rural America’s newest challenge
The data center explosion has reached the rural landscape. So has the controversy. The huge colorless buildings full of computer servers require as much power as a small city. They also consume large amounts of water for cooling. People who live near data centers complain about the continuous excessive noise. Others contend that large data centers are incompatible with rural land use and the viewscape. But local governing bodies counter with promises of added employment and increases in property taxes, both of which benefit the local economy. We’ll hear lots more about data centers in rural and small-town America going forward. The challenge for residents is to get all the facts on the table before agreements are signed and construction begins, and “Know before you go,” as the old saying goes.
Health Care
Grange pushes passage of Alzheimer’s bill
The National Grange is strongly supporting the adoption of the bipartisan Alzheimer’s Screening and Prevention Act (ASAP) H.R. 6130/S. 3267 during the final weeks before Congress adjourns for the session. The Act would allow Medicare to cover the screening test that diagnoses early-stage Alzheimer’s years before symptoms appear, which allows patients to seek mitigation therapy and gives families extra time to plan for the future. In general, rural America has fewer resources, fewer specialists, and fewer options. National Grange president Chris Hamp told members of Congress that, “Geography should never determine whether someone receives a diagnosis in time to benefit from treatment.” By the time many rural residents receive a diagnosis, they have already lost the critical window when Alzheimer’s can be anticipated, planned for, and made more manageable.
Grange’s 340B rural drumbeat continues
As Grange members saw in the last Grange Today! newsletter, the National Grange rolled out a major campaign to raise awareness of the loopholes in the 340B program that is taking a toll on rural hospitals and other safety-net providers. Large urban hospitals dual-register as rural providers by obtaining a rural facility designation or by treating a few rural patients. This allows them to obtain high-priced specialty drugs at a large discount from drug companies, then charge their urban patients the full price. These profits go toward operating expenses and other uses that enhance their financial bottom line. The cost of the 340B program has exploded from $6.6 billion in 2010 to over $100 billion in 2025. The Grange sent over 900 personal letters to every Senate and House candidate’s campaign nationwide, asking for their help to reform the 340B program if they are elected to the 120th Congress beginning in January. Media coverage of our efforts has been good. The drumbeat will continue through the first quarter of 2027 with special rural media coverage, surveys, and further contact with Congress.
Permitting Reform
Grange supports permitting reform
The National Grange joined a large group of agriculture, telecommunications, utility, road building, and other groups to urge Senate passage of the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act of 2026 (S. 5653) during the post-election lame-duck session. The Act would overhaul federal environmental review and permitting timelines across statutes like the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and Federal Power Act. The bill focuses on enforceable deadlines for environmental reviews. It addresses the frustrations farmers, ranchers, cooperatives, agribusinesses, and broadband providers have experienced with open-ended reviews, which increase project uncertainty and costs while delaying the benefits to rural communities.
Perspectives on Growth
“Be not afraid of growing slowly; be afraid only of standing still." ~ Chinese Proverb
"Failure is not fatal, but failing to change might be." ~ John Wooden
“The investor of today does not profit from yesterday’s growth." ~ Warren Buffett
“We can’t become what we need to be by remaining what we are." ~ Oprah Winfrey
“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional." ~ John C. Maxwelle