North Carolina Governor Josh Stein has signed the sweeping 2026 Farm Act into law.
The legislation will ease regulatory burdens and provide financial certainty for local farmers facing rising material costs and volatile weather. Key pieces of the legislation extend state land conservation tax credits through 2031 and update the state's strategic protections for agricultural water resources.
The bill passed with near-unanimous support, but only after lawmakers spent months gutting its most controversial measures. The final version stripped out an unpopular ban on raw milk, alongside a corporate-backed provision that would have blocked cancer patients from filing product-liability lawsuits against pesticide companies.
