Federal land seizures face new hurdle: prove no alternative exists.
H.R. 10135 — Not In My Barn Yard Act · Filed by Glenn Thompson (R-PA) · Introduced Aug 20, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill prohibits the federal government from seizing agricultural land through eminent domain unless no feasible alternative exists for the public project. It applies only to future takings, not those already underway, and defines agricultural land as property used for farming, ranching, forestry, or timber production in the past 5 years—excluding small operations under 10 acres generating less than $1,000 annually.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is a procedural constraint on federal power—requiring exhaustion of alternatives before eminent domain can be exercised over agricultural land. This is a straightforward property-rights protection, not a deregulation or carve-out.
What the text implies
- The 'feasible alternative' standard is undefined and may invite litigation over what constitutes feasibility, potentially creating years of delay or uncertainty for infrastructure projects.
- The 5-year lookback for agricultural use may protect land that is nominally agricultural but functionally abandoned or transitional, depending on how 'used' is interpreted.
The full analysis lists 3 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
agricultural landowners; ranchers; forestry operators