I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8488 

To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to expand the provision of farmerled technical assistance, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 21, 2024 

Mr. VASQUEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to expand the 

provision of farmer-led technical assistance, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Farmer to Farmer 

5 Education Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DELIVERY OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

7 Section 1242 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

8 U.S.C. 3842) is amended— 

9 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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1 (A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as 

2 paragraph (3); and 

3 (B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(2) FARMER-TO-FARMER NETWORK.—The 

6 term ‘farmer-to-farmer network’ means any affili7 ation or association of farmers that share informa8 tion, technical assistance, or any other type of mutu9 ally beneficial support.’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (f)(1), by inserting ‘‘and for 

11 the purpose of carrying out subsection (j)’’ before 

12 the period at the end; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(j) PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE TO FARMER-TO15 FARMER NETWORKS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this sub17 section are— 

18 ‘‘(A) to build capacity for farmer-to-farmer 

19 networks, connect farmers with mentors or 

20 group learning opportunities, and support goal 

21 setting to increase long-term adoption of con22 sistent, science-based, site-specific practices de23 signed to achieve conservation objectives on 

24 land active in agricultural, forestry, or related 

25 uses; 


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1 ‘‘(B) to increase the provision of technical 

2 assistance that meets the specific needs of, and 

3 is accessible to, farmers, ranchers, and forest 

4 owners using different farming models, prac5 tices, and scales; and 

6 ‘‘(C) to establish and steward farmer-to7 farmer networks. 

8 ‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

10 enter into cooperative agreements with eligible 

11 entities to carry out the purposes described in 

12 paragraph (1). 

13 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity eligi14 ble to enter into a cooperative agreement with 

15 the Secretary under subparagraph (A) is— 

16 ‘‘(i) a nonprofit entity described in 

17 section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

18 Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation 

19 under section 501(a) of that Code; 

20 ‘‘(ii) a farmer-to-farmer network; 

21 ‘‘(iii) an Indian Tribe or a Tribal or22 ganization (as those terms are defined in 

23 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

24 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

25 5304)); 


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1 ‘‘(iv) a unit of local government (in2 cluding a conservation district and a con3 servation district association); 

4 ‘‘(v) an institution of higher edu5 cation; 

6 ‘‘(vi) a State; and 

7 ‘‘(vii) any other entity designated by 

8 the Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(C) PRIORITIZATION.—In selecting eligi10 ble entities with which to enter into cooperative 

11 agreements under subparagraph (A), the Sec12 retary shall give priority to eligible entities that 

13 seek to meet the specific needs of, and are ac14 cessible to— 

15 ‘‘(i) historically underserved farmers, 

16 ranchers, and forest owners, including— 

17 ‘‘(I) beginning farmers and 

18 ranchers (as defined in section 

19 2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture, 

20 Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 

21 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a))) and beginning 

22 forest owners; 

23 ‘‘(II) veteran farmers and ranch24 ers (as defined in section 2501(a) of 

25 the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 


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1 and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 

2 2279(a))) and veteran forest owners; 

3 ‘‘(III) socially disadvantaged 

4 farmers and ranchers (as defined in 

5 section 2501(a) of the Food, Agri6 culture, Conservation, and Trade Act 

7 of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a))) and so8 cially disadvantaged forest owners; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(IV) limited-resource farmers, 

11 ranchers, and forest owners; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) farmers, ranchers, and forest 

13 owners operating in high-poverty areas. 

14 ‘‘(3) RESPONSIBILITIES OF PROVIDERS OF AS15 SISTANCE TO FARMER-TO-FARMER NETWORKS.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an eligible entity 

17 provides assistance to establish a farmer-to18 farmer network using assistance provided 

19 through a cooperative agreement under para20 graph (2), the eligible entity shall be responsible 

21 for not less than 2 of the following actions: 

22 ‘‘(i) Facilitating and increasing farm23 er access to farmer-to-farmer networks. 

24 ‘‘(ii) Facilitating mentor and mentee 

25 matchmaking among farmers. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Coordinating training and re2 sources to build the skills of farmer-to3 farmer network leaders and participants 

4 for effective education, grassroots-based 

5 learning, and cross-training with respect to 

6 the facilitation of, information about, and 

7 other skills with respect to building effec8 tive farmer-to-farmer networks. 

9 ‘‘(iv) Maintaining and promulgating a 

10 list of relevant entities, associations, and 

11 individuals that are supporting, or have an 

12 interest in supporting, farmer-to-farmer 

13 networks. 

14 ‘‘(v) Administering subawards to in15 crease farmer access to farmer-to-farmer 

16 assistance in accordance with paragraph 

17 (4). 

18 ‘‘(vi) Other actions determined appro19 priate by the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(B) LANGUAGE ASSISTANCE.—If an eligi21 ble entity provides assistance described in sub22 paragraph (A) to a non-English speaking farm23 er, rancher, or forest owner, the eligible entity 

24 shall, to the greatest extent practicable, provide 


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1 that assistance in the native language of the 

2 farmer, rancher, or forest owner. 

3 ‘‘(4) SUBAWARDS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If an eligible entity 

5 awards a subaward pursuant to paragraph 

6 (3)(A)(v) to an eligible subawardee described in 

7 subparagraph (B), the eligible subawardee shall 

8 use that award— 

9 ‘‘(i) to plan and conduct events, and 

10 identify and develop innovative activities, 

11 to support building capacity for farmer-to12 farmer networks, connecting farmers with 

13 mentors or group learning opportunities, 

14 and supporting goal setting to increase 

15 long-term adoption of consistent, science16 based, site-specific conservation objectives 

17 on land active in agricultural, forestry, or 

18 related uses; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) to compensate participants in the 

20 events and activities described in clause (i) 

21 at market rates. 

22 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE SUBAWARDEES.—An entity 

23 eligible for a subaward under paragraph 

24 (3)(A)(v) is— 


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1 ‘‘(i) a nonprofit entity described in 

2 section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 

3 Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation 

4 under section 501(a) of that Code; 

5 ‘‘(ii) a farmer-to-farmer network; 

6 ‘‘(iii) an Indian Tribe or a Tribal or7 ganization (as those terms are defined in 

8 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination 

9 and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

10 5304)); 

11 ‘‘(iv) a unit of local government (in12 cluding a conservation district and a con13 servation district association); 

14 ‘‘(v) an institution of higher edu15 cation; 

16 ‘‘(vi) an individual; and 

17 ‘‘(vii) any other entity designated by 

18 the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary, in 

20 conjunction with the Chief of the Natural Re21 sources Conservation Service, shall establish 

22 any necessary additional requirements for sub23 awards under paragraph (3)(A)(v).’’. 

Æ 


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