II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1888 

To amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 to establish 

a program to provide loans for local farms, ranches, and market gardens 

to improve public health and nutrition, reduce energy consumption, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2011 

Mr. CASEY (for himself and Mr. HARKIN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

and Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 

to establish a program to provide loans for local farms, 

ranches, and market gardens to improve public health 

and nutrition, reduce energy consumption, 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 ‘‘Growing Opportunities 

5 for Agriculture and Responding to Markets Act of 2011’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. LOCAL FARM BUSINESS AND MARKET GARDEN 

2 COMPETITIVE LOAN PROGRAM. 

3 Subtitle D of title X of the Food, Conservation, and 

4 Energy Act of 2008 is amended by adding after section 

5 10404 (Public Law 110–246; 122 Stat. 2111) the fol6 lowing: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 10405. LOCAL FARM BUSINESS AND MARKET GARDEN 

8 COMPETITIVE LOAN PROGRAM. 

9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 ‘‘(1) AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY.—The term 

11 ‘agricultural commodity’ has the meaning given the 

12 term in section 102 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 

13 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5602). 

14 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE LENDING ENTITY.—The term 

15 ‘eligible lending entity’ means a government agency, 

16 nonprofit organization, or any other entity that the 

17 Secretary designates to finance and facilitate the de18 velopment of a local farm business project or market 

19 garden project. 

20 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PRODUCER.—The term ‘eligible 

21 producer’ means an individual or group of individ22 uals who carry out a local farm business project or 

23 market garden project. 

24 ‘‘(4) FOOD DESERT.—The term ‘food desert’ 

25 has the meaning given the term in section 7527(a). 


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1 ‘‘(5) LOCAL FARM BUSINESS PROJECT.—The 

2 term ‘local farm business project’ means a project 

3 on a farm or ranch that— 

4 ‘‘(A) is for the production of an agricul5 tural commodity for local markets in the local 

6 service area; and 

7 ‘‘(B) is located on 1 or more property lots, 

8 the cumulative acreage of which shall be more 

9 than 1 acre. 

10 ‘‘(6) LOCAL SERVICE AREA.—The term ‘local 

11 service area’ means an area consisting of a certain 

12 mile radius (as determined by the Secretary) from 

13 the physical location of production by an eligible 

14 local farm business or market garden project. 

15 ‘‘(7) MARKET GARDEN PROJECT.—The term 

16 ‘market garden project’ means a project that— 

17 ‘‘(A) is for the production of an agricul18 tural commodity for local markets in the local 

19 service area; and 

20 ‘‘(B) is located on 1 or more property lots 

21 (regardless of the population density of the area 

22 in which the property lots are located), the cu23 mulative acreage of which shall be more than 

1 24 ⁄4 acre. 


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1 ‘‘(8) REVOLVING LOAN FUND.—The term ‘re2 volving loan fund’ means a revolving loan fund es3 tablished by an eligible lending entity as described in 

4 subsection (c). 

5 ‘‘(9) SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMER OR

6 RANCHER.—The term ‘socially disadvantaged farmer 

7 or rancher’ has the meaning given the term in sec8 tion 355(e) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De9 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 2003(e)). 

10 ‘‘(10) SPECIALTY CROP.—The term ‘specialty 

11 crop’ has the meaning given the term in section 3 

12 of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 

13 (7 U.S.C. 1621 note; Public Law 108–465). 

14 ‘‘(11) SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE.—The term 

15 ‘sustainable agriculture’ has the meaning given the 

16 term in section 1404 of the National Agricultural 

17 Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 

18 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103). 

19 ‘‘(b) COMPETITIVE LOAN PROGRAM FOR ELIGIBLE

20 LENDING ENTITIES.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To support new entrepre22 neurship and job creation, the Secretary shall estab23 lish a local farm business and market garden com24 petitive loan program under which the Secretary 


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1 shall make available to eligible lending entities loans 

2 to develop revolving loan funds to assist— 

3 ‘‘(A) eligible producers in establishing local 

4 farm business projects or market garden 

5 projects that will locally produce fresh foods; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) local farm business projects and mar8 ket garden projects to create local employment 

9 opportunities by— 

10 ‘‘(i) increasing farm and garden in11 come by connecting producers and con12 sumers; 

13 ‘‘(ii) creating more reliable local food 

14 systems; 

15 ‘‘(iii) diversifying food production; 

16 ‘‘(iv) increasing consumer access to 

17 fresh, local healthful foods produced by 

18 local farms, ranches, and market gardens 

19 in urban, suburban, or rural areas; 

20 ‘‘(v) supporting nutrition education 

21 that incorporates participation of school 

22 children in farm- and garden-based agri23 cultural education activities; and 

24 ‘‘(vi) preserving farmland. 


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1 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

2 loan under the program established under paragraph 

3 (1), an eligible lending entity shall submit to the 

4 Secretary an application at such time, in such form, 

5 and containing such information as the Secretary 

6 may require. 

7 ‘‘(3) SELECTION CRITERIA.— 

8 ‘‘(A) APPROVAL.—Not later than 1 year 

9 after the date of enactment of this section and 

10 in accordance with this paragraph, the Sec11 retary shall, on a competitive basis, begin as12 sessing and approving such applications re13 ceived under paragraph (2) as the Secretary 

14 considers appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—In considering a loan ap16 plication received under paragraph (2), the Sec17 retary shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) evaluate the extent to which the 

19 application demonstrates the ability of the 

20 eligible lending entity— 

21 ‘‘(I) to manage, market, and ad22 minister a revolving loan fund; 

23 ‘‘(II) to assist local eligible pro24 ducers to successfully meet local serv25 ice area opportunities; 


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1 ‘‘(III) to work with partners to 

2 provide technical support to eligible 

3 local farm business projects and mar4 ket garden projects; 

5 ‘‘(IV) to recruit, educate, and as6 sist local producers to advance local 

7 farming and ranching opportunities 

8 that meet local service area needs; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(V) subject to paragraph (5), to 

11 provide matching funds in the form of 

12 cash or in-kind services to properly 

13 implement and manage the revolving 

14 loan fund; 

15 ‘‘(ii) assess— 

16 ‘‘(I) the number and type of local 

17 farm business projects and market 

18 garden projects to be affected by local 

19 farm business project loan funding; 

20 ‘‘(II) the number of new jobs and 

21 eligible local farm business projects 

22 and market garden projects to be cre23 ated by the revolving loan fund; 


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1 ‘‘(III) the ability of an eligible 

2 local farm business project or market 

3 garden project— 

4 ‘‘(aa) to preserve farmland 

5 through economically and envi6 ronmentally sustainable agri7 culture practices (as determined 

8 by the Secretary); and 

9 ‘‘(bb) to serve schools and 

10 institutions with a high propor11 tion of students who are eligible 

12 for free or reduced price lunches 

13 under the Richard B. Russell Na14 tional School Lunch Act (42 

15 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); 

16 ‘‘(IV) the degree to which an eli17 gible local farm business project or 

18 market garden project— 

19 ‘‘(aa) incorporates experien20 tial nutrition education; 

21 ‘‘(bb) demonstrates the po22 tential positive economic impact 

23 for the local economy; 


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1 ‘‘(cc) demonstrates environ2 mentally sustainable agriculture 

3 practices; and 

4 ‘‘(dd) demonstrates a col5 laboration between schools or 

6 educational institutions, non7 governmental organizations, pro8 ducer groups, and other commu9 nity and business partners; and 

10 ‘‘(V) the market opportunity for 

11 eligible local farm business projects or 

12 market garden projects to sell prod13 ucts in the local community; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) consider any other factors that 

15 the Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(C) REGIONAL BALANCE.—To the max17 imum extent practicable, in awarding loans 

18 under this section, the Secretary shall ensure 

19 that loan recipients— 

20 ‘‘(i) are geographically diverse; 

21 ‘‘(ii) serve clients targeted by the loan 

22 program, including socially disadvantaged 

23 farmers or ranchers; 

24 ‘‘(iii) serve clients located in areas 

25 with a variety of population densities, inVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:56 Nov 19, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1888.IS S1888

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1 cluding rural, suburban, urban, and tribal 

2 areas; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) identify and serve food deserts 

4 within the local service area. 

5 ‘‘(D) PRIORITY.— 

6 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In considering 

7 loan applications received under paragraph 

8 (2), the Secretary shall give priority to ap9 plications that demonstrate the ability and 

10 willingness of the eligible lending entity— 

11 ‘‘(I) to serve clients targeted by 

12 the program, including, as appro13 priate, socially disadvantaged farmers 

14 or ranchers; 

15 ‘‘(II) to assist with the financial 

16 management aspects of specialty crop 

17 farming and other types of local agri18 cultural projects; and 

19 ‘‘(III) to address the nutritional 

20 needs of an underserved area, as de21 termined in accordance with clause 

22 (ii). 

23 ‘‘(ii) UNDERSERVED AREAS.—In de24 termining whether an area is an under25 served area, the Secretary shall consider— 


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1 ‘‘(I) population density; 

2 ‘‘(II) below-average supermarket 

3 density or sales; 

4 ‘‘(III) the rate of ownership of 

5 motor vehicles; and 

6 ‘‘(IV) geographical or physical 

7 barriers, such as highways, moun8 tains, major parks, or bodies of water. 

9 ‘‘(4) LOAN TERMS FOR ELIGIBLE LENDING EN10 TITIES.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year 

12 for which the Secretary makes a loan to an eli13 gible lending entity under this subsection, the 

14 loan shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) be in an amount that is not less 

16 than $200,000 and not more than 

17 $1,000,000; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) be used by the eligible lending 

19 entity to establish a revolving loan fund to 

20 provide loans for local farm business 

21 projects or market garden projects. 

22 ‘‘(B) TERM.—The term of a loan under 

23 this subsection shall not exceed 20 years from 

24 the date on which the loan is finalized. 


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1 ‘‘(C) LOAN FINANCING TERMS.—In mak2 ing loans to eligible lending entities under this 

3 subsection, the Secretary shall— 

4 ‘‘(i) set the rate of interest at not 

5 more than 2 percent per year; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) ensure that no payments are due 

7 on the loan during the first 2 years of the 

8 loan. 

9 ‘‘(5) MATCHING FUNDS.—The Secretary may 

10 not require an eligible lending entity that receives a 

11 loan under this subsection to provide, from non-Fed12 eral sources, in cash or in-kind, the cost of carrying 

13 out activities under the loan. 

14 ‘‘(6) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible lending 

16 entity that receives a loan under this subsection 

17 shall be eligible additionally to receive a 1-time 

18 grant for purposes described in subparagraph 

19 (B) in an amount that is not more than the 

20 lesser of— 

21 ‘‘(i) 10 percent of the total amount of 

22 the loan received by the eligible lending en23 tity; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) $50,000. 


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1 ‘‘(B) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Grant funds 

2 received under subparagraph (A) may be used 

3 by the eligible lending entity only to pay man4 agement and technical support costs associated 

5 with the loan. 

6 ‘‘(C) INTEREST RATE.—If an eligible lend7 ing entity receives a grant under subparagraph 

8 (A), the eligible lending entity may not set the 

9 interest rate of loans made by the eligible lend10 ing entity to local farm business projects or 

11 market garden projects at more than 3 percent 

12 per year. 

13 ‘‘(7) PROGRESS REPORTS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 

15 days after the last day of each fiscal year, each 

16 eligible lending entity that has a loan under this 

17 subsection shall submit to the Secretary a re18 port that includes— 

19 ‘‘(i) an evaluation of the progress of 

20 the revolving loan fund carried out by the 

21 eligible lending entity; 

22 ‘‘(ii) a description of the revolving 

23 loan fund, including information on all 

24 loans made to local farm business projects 

25 or market garden projects; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) a status update for the local 

2 farm business projects and market garden 

3 projects funded by the revolving loan fund 

4 that describes— 

5 ‘‘(I) the amount of food pro6 duced; 

7 ‘‘(II) the amount of revenue gen8 erated; and 

9 ‘‘(III) the number of new and re10 tained jobs; and 

11 ‘‘(iv) such other information as the 

12 Secretary may require. 

13 ‘‘(B) REPORTS BY THE SECRETARY.—Not 

14 later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

15 of this section, the Secretary shall submit to the 

16 Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep17 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, 

18 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report 

19 that describes the results and findings of the 

20 loan program carried out under this subsection. 

21 ‘‘(8) ANNUAL REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 

22 conduct an annual review of the financial records of 

23 each eligible lending entity that receives funding 

24 under this subsection— 


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1 ‘‘(A) to assess the financial soundness of 

2 the eligible lending entity; and 

3 ‘‘(B) to determine the effective use of loan 

4 and grant funds made available to the eligible 

5 lending entity under this subsection. 

6 ‘‘(c) REVOLVING LOAN FUND.— 

7 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—Each el8 igible lending entity that receives a loan under sub9 section (b) shall use the funds to establish a revolv10 ing loan fund to provide loans to eligible producers 

11 in the local service area. 

12 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ACTIVITIES.—Loans made by an 

13 eligible lending entity under this subsection shall be 

14 used by the eligible producer to carry out eligible ac15 tivities in the local service area, including— 

16 ‘‘(A) to carry out production projects for 

17 value-added food products; 

18 ‘‘(B) to provide working capital for general 

19 operational costs of the local farm business 

20 project or market garden project; 

21 ‘‘(C) to purchase project-related equip22 ment; 

23 ‘‘(D) to purchase seeds, plants, and fruit 

24 or nut trees; 


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1 ‘‘(E) to purchase livestock, poultry, and 

2 breeding stock; 

3 ‘‘(F) to construct and maintain irrigation 

4 systems; 

5 ‘‘(G) to construct buildings (including 

6 barns, sheds, greenhouses, and dry and cold 

7 storage sheds) necessary to support production; 

8 ‘‘(H) to lease, lease to purchase, or directly 

9 purchase farmland or make a down payment on 

10 an accepted purchase offer for farmland; or 

11 ‘‘(I) to carry out any other activity that 

12 the Secretary determines to be in accordance 

13 with this section. 

14 ‘‘(3) LOAN CONDITIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re16 ceive a loan under this section from an eligible 

17 lending entity, an eligible producer shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) supply a minimum level of sup19 port of the cost of the local farm business 

20 project, market garden project, or institu21 tion costs, as determined by the Secretary; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(ii) submit to the eligible lending en24 tity— 


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1 ‘‘(I) documentation of, as appro2 priate— 

3 ‘‘(aa) a long-term land lease 

4 contract granting the right to 

5 perform local production agri6 culture; 

7 ‘‘(bb) a building lease; or 

8 ‘‘(cc) a deed of property 

9 ownership; and 

10 ‘‘(II) a conservation plan and a 

11 sound business plan that is likely to 

12 result in a profitable business with 

13 sustainable employment for the eligi14 ble producer and any employees. 

15 ‘‘(B) SECRETARIAL APPROVAL; GUAR16 ANTEE.— 

17 ‘‘(i) APPROVAL.—Before an eligible 

18 lending entity may make a loan or package 

19 of loans to an eligible producer under this 

20 section, the Secretary shall approve the 

21 loan or package of loans in accordance 

22 with the requirements of this section. 

23 ‘‘(ii) LOAN GUARANTEE.—The Sec24 retary shall guarantee not more than 85 


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1 percent of the principal and interest on 

2 each loan approved under clause (i). 

3 ‘‘(4) PRIORITY.—In making loans under this 

4 subsection, the eligible lending entity shall give pri5 ority to eligible producers that are operated by, or 

6 that support— 

7 ‘‘(A) qualified beginning farmers or ranch8 ers (as defined in section 343(a) of the Consoli9 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 

10 U.S.C. 1991(a))) and socially disadvantaged 

11 farmers or ranchers; 

12 ‘‘(B) existing eligible producers, whether 

13 owners or tenants, who use loan funds to con14 vert to agricultural production systems ap15 proved by the Secretary; 

16 ‘‘(C) eligible producers who use loan funds 

17 to build conservation structures or carry out 

18 conservation practices; 

19 ‘‘(D) eligible producers who will supply 

20 fresh and locally produced food to underserved 

21 communities; and 

22 ‘‘(E) existing eligible producers of agri23 culture commodities who want to diversify farm, 

24 ranch, or market garden production and in25 come. 


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1 ‘‘(5) LOAN TERMS FOR ELIGIBLE PRO2 DUCERS.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A loan made by an el4 igible lending entity to an eligible producer 

5 under this subsection shall be in an amount 

6 that is— 

7 ‘‘(i) in the case of a local farm busi8 ness project, not less than $5,000 and not 

9 more than $100,000; and 

10 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a market garden 

11 project, not less than $3,000 and not more 

12 than $50,000. 

13 ‘‘(B) TERM.—The term of a loan under 

14 this subsection shall not exceed— 

15 ‘‘(i) in the case of a loan in an 

16 amount that is not more than $35,000, 12 

17 years from the date on which the loan is 

18 finalized; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) in the case of all other loans, 20 

20 years from the date on which the loan is 

21 finalized. 

22 ‘‘(C) LOAN FINANCING TERMS.—In mak23 ing loans under this subsection, an eligible lend24 ing entity shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) set the rate of interest at not 

2 more than 3 percent per year; 

3 ‘‘(ii) ensure that no payments are due 

4 on the loan during the first 9 months of 

5 the loan; and 

6 ‘‘(iii) ensure that only interest is due 

7 on the loan during the period beginning on 

8 the last day of the period described in 

9 clause (ii) and ending 24 months after the 

10 issuance of the loan. 

11 ‘‘(D) LOAN FORGIVENESS.—If an eligible 

12 producer has received a loan under this section 

13 to carry out a local farm business project or 

14 market garden project, and after 3 years the 

15 Secretary determines that the project is suc16 cessful, the Secretary may offer to forgive— 

17 ‘‘(i) up to 10 percent of the out18 standing amount of the loan; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an eligible pro20 ducer supporting sustainable agriculture 

21 practices, up to 20 percent of the out22 standing amount of the loan. 

23 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

24 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary for 

25 each of fiscal years 2012 through 2022— 


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1 ‘‘(1) $20,000,000 to provide loans and grants 

2 under subsection (b); and 

3 ‘‘(2) $100,000 for the administrative costs of 

4 carrying out this section.’’. 

Æ 


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