The "Farmland for Farmers Act of 2026" seeks to ban new corporate ownership of agricultural land across the United States. Congress finds that maintaining the family farm system is crucial for national security and economic well-being, but corporate and institutional investment in farmland has surged, driving up prices and prioritizing short-term profits over long-term conservation. This trend disadvantages independent family farmers and threatens the future use of agricultural land for the public good. The core provision of the bill prohibits an unauthorized legal entity from directly or indirectly acquiring or holding an ownership interest in agricultural land. An "authorized legal entity" is defined as one with no more than 25 natural person shareholders, partners, members, or beneficial owners, all of whom must be actively engaged in farming , and which is not a multilayered subsidiary. "Actively engaged in farming" involves regularly making management decisions or performing physical work related to farm operations, explicitly excluding solely providing capital. Several exceptions are provided, allowing certain entities to hold agricultural land. These include land acquired for security purposes, research or experimental use by public institutions or non-profits, or for immediate non-agricultural purposes. Other exceptions cover land acquired through debt collection (requiring divestment within five years), municipal corporations, tax-exempt non-profit entities, those acting in a fiduciary capacity, entities formed by owners of heirs' property, and authorized farmer or rancher cooperatives . Importantly, legal entities owning agricultural land before the bill's enactment are grandfathered in, provided they continue to own the land. To ensure compliance, legal entities acquiring agricultural land must submit an affidavit certifying adherence to the Act, and all entities with farmland ownership must file an annual affidavit with their federal tax returns. Non-compliant unauthorized legal entities are ineligible for Department of Agriculture programs or the Farm Credit System. The Secretary of Agriculture is mandated to report violations to the Attorney General, who can initiate actions for divestiture and seek civil penalties up to twice the fair market value of the land, or criminal penalties for knowing natural person violators. State Attorneys General are also empowered to enforce the Act, including seeking injunctions, divestiture, damages, and civil penalties. Finally, the bill explicitly authorizes States, under the Commerce Clause, to regulate legal entities owning agricultural land within their borders in a manner that is at least as restrictive as this Act. This includes the ability for States to implement more stringent requirements, such as stricter definitions of "actively engaged in farming," even if such regulations impose a greater burden on out-of-state owners.