# 119-s-3820: Soil CARE Act of 2026

119-s-3820, Soil CARE Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-05-13).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3820
- As of: 2026-05-13
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-3820
- Congress: 119
- Title: Soil CARE Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-02-10
- Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Policy area: Agriculture and Food
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-05-13

## Summary

**This bill would create a national soil health training program** for USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service staff and approved third-party providers, using online courses and regional in-person workshops to teach soil-building practices and updated conservation standards. - NRCS staff and approved third-party providers would have to complete a nationally available online curriculum and, where practicable, attend at least one in-person workshop to improve delivery of soil health practices. - Producers — including new, underserved, and Tribal producers — would get soil health education materials and training on topics like organic production, perennial and diversified systems, livestock integration, soil biology, testing tools, and program options. - Universities, conservation districts, producer co-ops, nonprofit regenerative groups, and Long-Term Agroecosystem Research sites can enter cooperative agreements to help deliver training and updates. *Authorizes $10.0 million in appropriations for fiscal years 2027 through 2032 to run the program, which would increase federal spending if appropriated.*

## Cosponsors (2)

- Sen. Wyden, Ron [D-OR] (D-OR), 2026-02-10T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Welch, Peter [D-VT] (D-VT), 2026-02-10T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Funding for soil health training: benefit, low. If enacted, the bill would authorize $10,000,000 to the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out the Soil Health Training Program. The authorization would cover fiscal years 2027 through 2032. This is an authorization only; Congress would still need to appropriate the money before it could be spent.
- Soil health training for producers: benefit, low. If enacted, the Secretary of Agriculture would set up a Soil Health Training Program in NRCS within 1 year. The program would use cooperative agreements with experts and offer a national online curriculum and in-person workshops. Each Service region would get training twice every 2 years. The curri…

## Related bills

- 119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026
- 119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act
- 119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act
- 119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026
- 119-s-2823: FAMILY Act
- 119-s-2763: Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act

## Sources
- [119-s-3820 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/3820)

## Related
- [119-s-5071: Children's Safe Welcome Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5071)
- [119-s-5022: Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-5022)
- [119-s-2819: Head Start for America's Children Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2819)
- [119-s-3990: PrEP Access and Coverage Act of 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3990)
- [119-s-2823: FAMILY Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2823)
- [119-s-2763: Keep Billionaires Out of Social Security Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2763)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3820 (as of 2026-05-13).