The Farm Bill's Forgotten Title Is Now a Flashpoint

Why It Matters

The horticulture title farm bill provisions cover an enormous swath of American agriculture — fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, nursery crops, floriculture, organic production, hemp, and local food systems. These are not niche programs. They touch the food most Americans eat daily, yet they have historically received less direct federal support than commodity crops like corn and soybeans.

With the current one-year extension expiring and a new farm bill still unfinished, the programs in this title face an uncertain future. Some are funded only through FY2026. Others have already received extended mandatory funding through FY2031 via the FY2025 budget reconciliation law (P.L. 119-21). The inconsistency creates a patchwork of expiration dates that Congress must now untangle.

A new Congressional Research Service report on Farm Bill horticulture programs lands at a pivotal moment: the 2018 Farm Bill has been extended three times, a Supreme Court case over pesticide liability is pending, and Congress must soon decide the future of billions in fruit, vegetable, and specialty crop support.

The Big Picture

What the Congressional Farm Bill Primer Covers

Congress first created a dedicated horticulture title in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. Since then, each successive farm bill has expanded it. The 2018 Farm Bill added hemp production, broadened local and regional food system support, and amended pesticide regulation under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

The FY2026 agriculture appropriations law (P.L. 119-37) enacted the third one-year extension of the 2018 Farm Bill and also made a notable change to the statutory definition of hemp. Section 781 of that law shifted the THC threshold from a delta-9 THC concentration of less than 0.3 percent to a total THC concentration of less than 0.3 percent. That new definition takes effect November 12, 2026, and explicitly includes industrial hemp while excluding cannabinoids that were synthesized or manufactured outside the plant.

The law also directed the Food and Drug Administration to publish lists of cannabinoids within 90 days of enactment, placing a near-term regulatory obligation on an agency that has long struggled to define its role in the hemp and CBD space.

Fruit and Vegetable Crop Support: The Funding Picture

The Specialty Crop Block Grant program is the primary vehicle for fruit and vegetable crop support, providing competitive grants to states on behalf of specialty crop producers. USDA is authorized to distribute those grants through FY2026.

The Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP) receives $50 million in annual mandatory funding and is also authorized through FY2026. The Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, created in the 2018 Farm Bill, is authorized for $25 million in annual appropriations through the same deadline.

Organic programs fared somewhat better in the recent reconciliation law. The Organic Certification Cost Share Program and the Organic Production and Market Data Initiative both received mandatory funding extended through FY2031 under P.L. 119-21.

Political Stakes

For the Administration

The Trump administration faces a set of near-term regulatory deadlines embedded in the horticulture title. USDA must update its hemp production plan standards to reflect the new total THC definition before it takes effect in November. FDA must publish its cannabinoid lists. How aggressively the administration enforces the new hemp framework — particularly around products containing cannabinoids derived from hemp — will signal its broader posture on the fast-growing hemp-derived product market.

On pesticides, the administration's EPA could weigh in on Monsanto Co. v. Durnell, No. 24-1068, the Supreme Court case examining whether FIFRA's preemption provision bars state-law failure-to-warn claims against pesticide manufacturers. Federal circuit courts are currently split on the question. A ruling in favor of broad federal preemption would reduce liability exposure for pesticide manufacturers. The administration's position in that litigation, whether through an amicus brief or regulatory guidance, will be watched closely by both industry and consumer advocates.

For Congress and Agricultural Policy Horticulture Decisions

The CRS report lays out a series of decisions Congress must make in a new farm bill. On specialty crops, members will need to decide whether to reauthorize the block grant program, adjust mandatory funding, or create new programs to support mechanization and marketing. The report notes that some in the agriculture industry and some members of Congress have proposed new programs to enhance specialty crop promotion, while others contend that existing funding is sufficient or should be reduced.

On local food programs, the debate is sharper. LAMP and OUAIP both expire after FY2026, and there is no consensus on whether to reauthorize them at current levels, expand them, or let them lapse. The report notes that some in the industry and some in Congress have proposed expanding eligibility and activities under these programs, while others have supported reducing funding and emphasis for local food initiatives.

On pesticides, prior unenacted farm bills included proposals that would have reversed the Supreme Court's 1991 ruling in Wisconsin Public Intervenor v. Mortier, which held that FIFRA does not preempt local ordinances regulating pesticide use. Those proposals would have prohibited towns, counties, and municipalities from regulating pesticides subject to federal oversight. Congress may revisit those proposals in the next farm bill, particularly if the Supreme Court's ruling in Monsanto Co. v. Durnell leaves questions unresolved at the state and local level.

For the Public

The agricultural policy horticulture debate is not abstract. The programs at stake affect the price and availability of fresh produce, the viability of organic certification for small farms, the regulatory clarity around hemp products on store shelves, and the legal exposure of pesticide manufacturers when consumers allege they were not adequately warned of health risks.

The Bottom Line

The horticulture title is overdue for reauthorization, and the decisions Congress makes in the next farm bill will have real consequences for specialty crop producers, organic farmers, urban agriculture programs, and the hemp industry. The most immediate flashpoint is the pesticide preemption question before the Supreme Court, where a ruling could either settle a long-running circuit split or push the issue back to Congress for a legislative fix. Either way, the horticulture title — often treated as a secondary concern in farm bill negotiations — is positioned to be one of the more contested sections of whatever legislation Congress ultimately passes.

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