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119-s-5277119th CongressWALLET

RANCH Act

Sponsored By: Senator Rounds, Mike [R-SD]

Introduced

Summary

Convert cropland to long-term perennial grazing land. This bill creates a federal ranchland program that pays landowners to restore eligible cropland to perennial grasses and forbs and manage it for grazing under 10–15 year contracts.

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  • Farmers and ranchers get multi-year contracts with a required grazing plan within 2 years and permission to graze, do fire presuppression, mowing, and limited emergency haying during severe drought or disasters. Contracts suspend the land’s base history from year 4 for the contract term.
  • Payments fund the switch to pasture. Annual rental payments equal 75% of the county average dryland cash rent. Cost-share covers 50% of establishment costs and incentives cover 50% for high-quality native seed and 50% for beginning farmers. Total cost-share plus incentives cannot exceed 100% of establishment costs.
  • Program design favors beginning farmers and ranchers, existing or planned grazers, wildlife habitat work, high-quality native seed use, highly erodible or marginal cropland, and includes ongoing technical assistance. Enrollment is continuous up to 20,000,000 acres and a $155,000 annual payment cap applies per person or entity.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

4 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 2 mixed.

RANCH payments count toward AGI

If enacted, the bill would add RANCH program payments and benefits to the list of items counted when determining adjusted gross income (AGI) for AGI-based limits under the Food Security Act. That means RANCH payments would raise your AGI for programs that check AGI limits, which could reduce eligibility for those AGI-limited benefits.

New ranchland enrollment rules for farmers

If enacted, the Secretary would create a RANCH program to enroll eligible cropland by contract. Land would be eligible only if it was cropped or considered planted for at least 4 of the 6 crop years before enactment and would be restored to perennial grass and forb cover for grazing. The program would accept applications continuously with ranking at least once a year, but the Secretary could delay ranking if available acreage is under 1,000,000 acres or if high commodity prices risk shortages. Total enrollment would be capped at not more than 20,000,000 acres. The Secretary would prioritize beginning farmers, grazing operations, wildlife-focused conservation, use of diverse native seed, highly erodible land, and marginal cropland.

Rental and cost-share payments for farmers

If enacted, owners or operators could get annual rent equal to 75% of the county average dryland cash rental rate for each enrolled acre. They would be eligible for cost-share covering 50% of the cost to establish perennial grass and forb cover. They would also be eligible for a 50% incentive for using a high-quality native seed mix and a further beginning-farmer payment equal to half of the cost-share. Combined cost-share and incentives could not exceed 100% of establishment cost, and total program payments to any person or entity could not exceed $155,000 in a fiscal year.

Allowed uses and technical help for enrolled land

If enacted, enrolled land could be grazed according to a Secretary-approved site-specific grazing plan. Owners could perform fire presuppression, do fire-related rehabilitation, build fire breaks, and clip or mow to help plant establishment. Emergency haying outside the primary nesting season would be allowed only when one of three triggers is met: county D2 or worse on the U.S. Drought Monitor, at least 40% county forage loss, or a Secretary and State technical committee disaster finding. The Secretary would provide technical assistance for the full contract term.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Rounds, Mike [R-SD]

SD • R

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]

    MN • D

    Sponsored 8/6/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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