Marker Bill Tracker

The farm bill is an omnibus bill, meaning that it’s a massive piece of legislation that’s made up of smaller bills that cover a variety of related topics. Because of its scale, it’s easy for ideas to get lost. This is where marker bills come in.

Not intended to pass as standalone bills, marker bills are introduced to get the attention of lawmakers and amass collective support for an idea. They’re like the building blocks of larger bills. Oftentimes, the goal of a marker bill is inclusion in an omnibus bill, like the farm bill.

OEFFA’s Marker Bill Tracker for the new farm bill

We continue to await a full farm bill after operating off farm bill extensions for the last two years. With the new 119th Congress coming in this year, marker bills from previous years must be reintroduced. Below are the OEFFA-endorsed marker bills that have been rewritten, reintroduced, or newly produced for the next farm bill. Stay tuned—we’ll continue to update this marker bill tracker as more are introduced!

Name	Priority	Senate Bill Number	House Bill Number	Short Summary
Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025		S. 1507	H.R. 3077	Sets a net-zero goal for agriculture by 2040 by focusing on policy areas around research, soil health, farmland preservation and viability, pasture-based livestock, on-farm renewable energy, and food loss and waste
Biochar Research Network Act of 2025		S. 2450	H.R. 4764	Establishes a National Biochar Research Network to study biochar’s ability to bolster economic and agricultural benefits
Strengthening Local Processing Act of 2025		S. 1509	H.R. 3076	Addresses critical livestock supply chain issues by promoting competitive agricultural markets, investing in economic development, supporting small meat and poultry processing plants, and promoting training programs that will bolster community and food system resilience
Strengthening Local Food Security Act		S. 2338		Creates a permanent grant program for state and tribal governments to procure local foods for distribution in schools and food access programs, prioritizing purchases from small, mid-sized, beginning, veteran, and underserved fishers, farmers, and ranchers
Local Farmers Feeding Our Communities Act			H.R. 4782	Creates a program to have cooperative agreements between the USDA and eligible units of government (States, Tribes, territories) to purchase minimally or unprocessed local food from small, mid-sized, beginning, or veteran producers, to be distributed to organizations Cosponsored by Ohio Rep. Max Miller
Withstanding Extreme Agricultural Threats by Harvesting Economic Resilience (WEATHER) Act		S. 231		Develops an index-based insurance policy that is more responsive to crop and income losses as a result of extreme weather
Save Our Small (SOS) Farms Act of 2025		S. 1271	H.R. 2435	Creates an on-ramp from the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Protection (NAP) program, in addition to several improvements and discounts to expand NAP enrollment
Opportunities for Fairness in Farming (OFF) Act		S. 1848	H.R. 3516	Prohibits anti-competitive behavior by preventing checkoff programs from paying agriculture lobbyists and banning activities that involve a conflict of interest or deceptive practices
Organic Science and Research Investment (OSRI) Act of 2025		S. 1385	H.R. 5703	Makes strategic investments in organic agriculture research and creates and increases tools, funding, and services to meet the growing demand for organic products and keep organic dollars circulating in regional communities
Organic Imports Verification Act (OIVA) of 2025		S. 1398		Increases residue testing for organic feedstuffs to address concerns about fraudulent imports in the organic grain sector
Organic Dairy Data Collection Act			H. R. 4110	Enhances data collection at the USDA to better understand the costs associated with producing organic milk
Organic Dairy Assistance, Investment, and Reporting Yields (O DAIRY) Act		S. 2442		Invests in infrastructure, innovation, and improved data collection to support organic dairy farmers with greater resilience and long-term viability
Farm Ownership Improvement Act		S. 910		Makes farm loans more accessible for producers by launching pilot program for pre-qualification or pre-approval for USDA Direct Farm Ownership Loans
New Producer Economic Security Act		S. 1237	H.R. 2536	Directs FSA to establish a pilot project to resource locally led, community-based projects that address challenges of land, capital, and market access for the next generation of farmers and ranchers
Capital for Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Act of 2025		S. 2797	H.R. 5367	Directs FSA to develop a multi-year operating loan pilot for beginning farmers to finance start-up costs like building business infrastructure for crop records, acquiring small equipment, investing in practices to increase soil fertility, and more.

Take Action!

Now that you’re well-versed on marker bills that can promote soil health and climate resilience, support beginning and BIPOC farmers, address consolidation in the food system, strengthen regional and local food systems, and invest in organic and sustainable research, let your members of Congress know that you want to see them included in the next farm bill.

Start by sharing this marker bill tracker with friends and family. Our Take Action page is where you’ll find valuable advocacy tools to help you with:

• Making your voice heard about influential marker bills;
• Calling your Congressional office;
• Using social media as an advocacy tool;
• Writing an op-ed;
• Planning an in-district meeting with your member of Congress; and more!

For more ideas or support as you advocate for a farm bill that works for you, reach out to policy@oeffa.org.