WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted Monday night, Nov. 10, to end the 41-day government shutdown, approving a continuing resolution (CR) that funds the USDA for Fiscal 2026 and extends the 2018 Farm Bill through next year. The legislation now heads to the House of Representatives for final passage before the government can officially reopen.

Senate Ag Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-Ark.) said the bipartisan agreement will restore essential USDA operations and prevent a lapse in farm and nutrition programs.

The Senate bill provides full-year funding for USDA, FDA, and related agencies through FY 2026. It also extends key farm bill authorities that were set to expire at the end of 2025, including the U.S. Grain Standards Act and sections of the 2018 Farm Bill not already covered under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) passed earlier this year.

Farm organizations welcomed the action, warning that further delay would worsen disruptions to USDA service centers and nutrition benefits. American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall urged the House to act quickly.

“We appreciate the Senate’s action to extend key farm-bill programs and authorize USDA’s 2026 budget,” he said. “These steps, along with improvements to farm programs in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, will provide much-needed certainty for farmers and ranchers as we work with Congress to pass a modernized five-year farm bill.”

Duvall also gave Farm Bureau’s largest call to-date asking Congress to quickly pass the bipartisan Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act, which he said is vital for childhood nutrition and could help bolster sagging dairy farm income amid increased milk production, declining milk prices, and sharp declines in butterfat value hitting farm milk checks this fall.

Until the House votes on the CR that includes the farm bill extension, and the President signs the bill, USDA offices remain in partial shutdown status, with most Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Rural Development offices limited to essential operations. House leaders from both parties have signaled support for swift passage.

The stopgap package extends commodity, crop-insurance, dairy, conservation and nutrition titles of the 2018 Farm Bill through Sept. 30, 2026, preventing a lapse in programs serving millions of farmers and rural communities. It also replenishes the Commodity Credit Corporation, so disaster aid and marketing programs continue without interruption.

Among the most-watched provisions for dairy producers is the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program. The OBBBA modernized DMC in July by updating the feed-cost formula, raising the production-history tier-one cap from 5 million to 6 million pounds, allowing enrollees to update production histories, and revising premium tiers — including a discount for producers who commit for all five years of coverage.

These reforms are designed to make margin protection more equitable and responsive; however, USDA has not yet announced the enrollment period or new premium schedule for 2026 forward. Officials say administrative adjustments are underway, and producers should stay in touch with county FSA offices for sign-up details once funding is enacted.

Another key dairy reform now set to advance is the mandatory processor cost-survey requirement. For decades, make-allowance levels used to price milk under the Federal Milk Marketing Orders have relied on limited, voluntary processor data. Congress directed (and funded) USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service to collect and audit this cost information on a mandatory basis from all processors that currently must report wholesale prices for salted butter, nonfat dry milk, cheddar cheese and dry whey, used in FMMO pricing formulas.

Beyond dairy, the Senate-passed bill extends conservation, disaster, and nutrition programs through 2026, allowing USDA to resume delayed loan processing and aid payments as soon as the law is signed. SNAP and WIC benefits are also covered, preventing further disruptions for millions of households.

While the measure’s inclusion of a farm bill extension is a major step toward stability, it remains a bridge. The House and Senate Agriculture Committees must still write a comprehensive five-year farm bill to replace the 2018 law for portions not included in the July passage of the OBBBA.