Action Needed NOW to Amend the Senate Farm Bill

The Agricultural Act of 2026, the Senate version of the Farm Bill, is scheduled for markup in the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry on Thursday, August 6. The bill has several troubling provisions that must be amended or removed.

Threats to seeking justice for injuries from toxic exposures

Tens of thousands of people who developed cancer have sued Bayer (formerly Monsanto) in state courts alleging their cancer was caused by pesticide exposure. The recent Supreme Court ruling in Monsanto v. Durnell determined that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) expressly preempts state-law failure-to-warn claims and that EPA’s approval of a pesticide label should provide permanent immunity for manufacturers like Bayer from those lawsuits. The decision undermines Americans’ rights to seek justice in court, extinguishes pending lawsuits, and blocks future cases.

The bill must be amended to reverse this decision by explicitly providing that FIFRA does not preempt state-law failure-to-warn claims, ensuring that individuals retain the right to pursue both pending and future claims under state law.

Pesticide oversight

The bill contains provisions that would weaken oversight of pesticide safety reviews. These provisions should be removed from the legislation, including the following sections:

• Sec. 10201 – Permanently carves out dozens of synthetic and bioengineered chemicals from human health safety reviews.
• Sec. 10203 – Requires USDA to participate in what should be EPA’s unbiased scientific reviews of pesticide effects on endangered species.
• Sec. 10207 – Delays the review of hundreds of pesticides, including glyphosate, for their effects on human health until 2031.
• Sec. 10209 – Gives USDA an unprecedented new role in pesticide safety oversight, and requires EPA to consider the cost to industry when developing pesticide safety measures (a significant shift from pesticide reviews being focused solely on human health).

The Regenerative Pilot Program

The bill contains language that would block the Regenerative Pilot Program announced by Secretaries Kennedy, Oz, and Rollins in December 2025 that would award some existing Environmental Quality Incentives Program and Conservation Stewardship Program funding to farmers involved with regenerative agriculture projects. Through this program, farmers would need to test their soil and submit a plan for how their whole farm is moving towards regenerative operation. The House and Senate Farm Bills would block the ability of the Department of Agriculture to require soil testing or whole-farm planning in conservation projects.

The bill should be amended by striking the provision that restricts whole-farm planning and soil testing.

Call to Action!

Please take action today by completing this Action Alert and calling the members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Urge them to strike or amend each of the troubling provisions outlined above before the bill advances. Every email sent and every phone call made helps amplify our collective voice in protecting public health, preserving environmental safeguards, and defending the rights of farmers, consumers, and future generations.

• John Boozman (Chair) (202) 224-4843
• Amy Klobuchar (Ranking member) (202) 224-3244
• Mitch McConnell (202) 224-2541
• John Hoeven (202) 224-2551
• Joni Ernst (202) 224-3254
• Cindy Hyde-Smith (202) 224-5054
• Roger Marshall (202) 224-4774
• Tommy Tuberville (202) 224-4124
• James Justice (202) 224-3954
• Charles Grassley (202) 224-3744
• John Thune (202) 224-2321
• Deb Fischer (202) 224-6551
• Jerry Moran (202) 224-6521
• Michael Bennet (202) 224-5852
• Tina Smith (202) 224-5641
• Richard Durban (202) 224-2152
• Cory Booker (202) 224-3224
• Ben Ray Lujan (202) 224-6621
• Raphael Warnock (202) 224-3643
• Peter Welch (202) 224-4242
• John Fetterman (202) 224-4254
• Adam Schiff (202) 224-3841
• Elissa Slotkin (202) 224-4822

It is critical that every member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry hears directly from concerned constituents. The committee is scheduled to mark up the Farm Bill on Thursday, August 6, leaving very little time to influence the outcome. Please act today!