This year’s farm bill is not exactly light reading.

The Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026 is more than 800 pages. 

And while its recent passage in the U.S. House is nothing short of monumental — particularly when most pundits had written off its chances earlier this year — many Arizona farmers and ranchers are wondering what to make of it.

That’s understandable. 

The House version of the farm bill is revenue-neutral, meaning it makes rules for how to spend money that Congress approved last year.

And its largest programs — those governing food stamps, crop insurance and commodity payments — were largely reauthorized during that time.

But the farm bill still contains meaningful provisions for Arizona. Here are a few to consider as the Senate prepares to unveil its own version in June:

1. Make Arizona forests healthier

Multiple measures aim to lower wildfire risks in Arizona’s dangerously overgrown forests.

That includes expanding Good Neighbor Authority, which for years has allowed the state forestry department to thin federal lands. 

This authority was instrumental in scaling up a partnership with Salt River Project to strategically thin areas in the Salt and Verde watersheds.

The farm bill extends this authority to counties and tribes, creating even more opportunities to do the work.

It also creates initiatives to scale up the use of biochar, a carbon-rich form of charcoal made from those giant piles of branches left over after thinning projects.

“Biochar can reduce the cost of restoration, so we can get the cycle done faster and cheaper,” said Elvy Barton, who manages Salt River Project’s forest health initiatives. 

“But it also has tremendous benefits — everything from use in water filtration, biodigesters, asphalt, recycled steel and rangeland management.”

The utility recently received a grant to explore how biochar can help soil retain more moisture, potentially creating water-savings benefits for farmers.

The farm bill also requires federal officials to develop a strategy for using targeted grazing to thin federal lands. 

Livestock can eat invasive grass and other fuels, further reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire. 

“We often say, ‘Log it, graze it, or watch it burn,’ and too often, we’re watching it burn,” said Ben Menges, Arizona Farm Bureau’s second vice president and a Graham County rancher who has contracts to graze on federal land.

“It’s time for a different strategy.”

2. Help ranchers affected by wolves

Dalton Dobson, an Apache County rancher, offered heart-wrenching congressional testimony in 2025 about one of his calves that had been attacked by wolves.

A soccer ball-sized chunk had been ripped from its back leg. It was clearly in pain.

But an inspector told him not to euthanize the calf, saying the calf had to die from its injuries before Dobson could be compensated for the loss.

The incident illustrates the confusing and often illogical web of regulations that ranchers face in rectifying losses from wolf depredation.

The farm bill does not fully untangle these problems.

But an amendment from Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar requires officials to accept other evidence of wolf depredation for compensation besides subcutaneous hemorrhaging, which often disappears before inspectors can investigate.

It’s a meaningful first step.

3. Strengthen rural communities

The farm bill creates a three-year initiative to improve the quality and lower the cost of childcare in rural communities. 

It expands access to mental, behavioral and maternal care in these communities. 

It continues investments in rural broadband connectivity.

And it offers assistance for financially distressed water systems so they can continue delivering clean drinking water.

At first blush, these provisions might seem disconnected from agriculture.

But they are essential elements to attract young workers and deploy the technology on which farmers and ranchers increasingly rely.

4. Bolster farm innovation

The farm bill reauthorizes funding for cooperative extension programs and university-led agriculture research.

It also heavily emphasizes precision agriculture, making data-driven farm management projects eligible for federal funding in multiple titles of the bill.

That could be good news for Yuma, where a growing number of farmers are using artificial intelligence and drones to monitor crop health and predict yields, and irrigation districts are deploying technology to more precisely deliver water and measure use.

“The technologies we have today are more advanced than they were five years ago, and they will be much more advanced five years from now,” said Marcos Moore, an agronomist and Arizona Farm Bureau board member who uses AI to monitor fields across Yuma.

“We must stay on the cutting edge of efficacy and productivity — and that takes investment.”


Joanna Allhands writes about water, land use and other issues important to the Arizona Farm Bureau. Reach her at joannaallhands@azfb.org.