II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2756 

To amend the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act 

of 1998 and the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 

1990 to direct the Agricultural Research Service to expand organic 

research, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023 

Mr. FETTERMAN (for himself and Mr. BRAUN) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To amend the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 and the Food, Agriculture, 

Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to direct the Agricultural Research Service to expand organic research, 

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 ‘‘Streamlining Organic 

5 Research Act of 2023’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. COORDINATING AND EXPANDING ORGANIC RE2 SEARCH INITIATIVE. 

3 Title IV of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

4 Education Reform Act of 1998 is amended by inserting 

5 before section 404 (7 U.S.C. 7624) the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 401. COORDINATING AND EXPANDING ORGANIC RE7 SEARCH INITIATIVE. 

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

9 ‘‘(1) INITIATIVE.—The term ‘Initiative’ means 

10 the Coordinating and Expanding Organic Research 

11 Initiative established under subsection (b). 

12 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

13 the Secretary, acting through the Under Secretary 

14 for Research, Education, and Economics, in con15 sultation with the Office of the Chief Scientist. 

16 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab17 lish, and appoint the members of, an initiative, to be 

18 known as the ‘Coordinating and Expanding Organic Re19 search Initiative’, to coordinate and expand the resources 

20 that the Agricultural Research Service, the National Insti21 tute of Food and Agriculture, the Economic Research 

22 Service, and the National Agricultural Statistics Service 

23 dedicate to organic agricultural research. 

24 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Initiative shall carry out the fol25 lowing duties: 


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1 ‘‘(1) Coordinating all research conducted by the 

2 Secretary that is applicable to organic agricultural 

3 producers and transitioning-to-organic agricultural 

4 producers. 

5 ‘‘(2) Reviewing and assessing the completed 

6 and ongoing organic and transitioning-to-organic ag7 ricultural research of the Secretary. 

8 ‘‘(3) Developing iterative strategic plans for fu9 ture organic and transitioning-to-organic agricul10 tural research of the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(4) Conducting the surveys and submitting to 

12 the Secretary the reports under subsection (e)(1). 

13 ‘‘(d) APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall appoint 

15 not fewer than 12, and not more than 18, members 

16 to the Initiative. 

17 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible for appoint18 ment to the Initiative under paragraph (1), an indi19 vidual shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) be in the competitive service or the 

21 Senior Executive Service (as defined in sections 

22 2102 and 2101a of title 5, United States Code); 

23 and 


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1 ‘‘(B) have expertise in organic agriculture 

2 from a science, research, or technical assistance 

3 division of a Department agency. 

4 ‘‘(3) REPRESENTATION.—In appointing mem5 bers to the Initiative, the Secretary shall ensure 

6 that— 

‘‘(A) not fewer than 1 7 ⁄4 of the members are 

8 appointed from each of— 

9 ‘‘(i) the Agricultural Research Service; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(ii) the National Institute of Food 

12 and Agriculture; and 

13 ‘‘(B) not fewer than 1 member is ap14 pointed from each of— 

15 ‘‘(i) the Office of the Chief Scientist; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the Agricultural Marketing Serv17 ice; 

18 ‘‘(iii) the Economic Research Service; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(iv) the National Agricultural Statis21 tics Service. 

22 ‘‘(4) CHAIR.—The Secretary shall designate a 

23 member of the Initiative appointed from the Office 

24 of the Chief Scientist to serve as the Chair of the 

25 Initiative. 


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1 ‘‘(5) TERM.—A member of the Initiative— 

2 ‘‘(A) shall serve for a term of 5 years; and 

3 ‘‘(B) may be reappointed to the Initiative. 

4 ‘‘(e) SURVEYS; REPORTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years 

6 after the establishment of the Initiative, and every 5 

7 years thereafter, in coordination with the roadmap 

8 for agricultural research, education, and extension 

9 described in section 7504 of the Food, Conservation, 

10 and Energy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 7614a), the Ini11 tiative shall— 

12 ‘‘(A) conduct a survey of all research relat13 ing to organic agriculture of the Secretary; and 

14 ‘‘(B) submit to the Secretary a report con15 taining the findings of the survey conducted 

16 under subparagraph (A), which shall include 

17 sections relating to each of the 4 agencies de18 scribed in subsection (b). 

19 ‘‘(2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The Initiative shall 

20 include in each report submitted under paragraph 

21 (1)(B) recommendations relating to— 

22 ‘‘(A) expanding the research conducted by 

23 the Secretary that— 

24 ‘‘(i) is applicable to agricultural pro25 ducers that adhere to the requirements 


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1 under the national organic program estab2 lished under the Organic Foods Production 

3 Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.); and 

4 ‘‘(ii) would explore the new or en5 hanced research opportunities that could 

6 lead to new discoveries, foster innovation, 

7 improve technologies, and promote inte8 grated systems approaches to assist— 

9 ‘‘(I) organic agricultural pro10 ducers; 

11 ‘‘(II) consumers of organic food 

12 products; 

13 ‘‘(III) organic marketing and dis14 tribution channels; 

15 ‘‘(IV) transitioning-to-organic ag16 ricultural producers, including with 

17 respect to barriers to transitioning to 

18 organic production and producers who 

19 have considered transitioning to or20 ganic production but decided not to 

21 do so; and 

22 ‘‘(V) the organic food industry; 

23 ‘‘(B) strategies to increase the coordination 

24 and effectiveness of projects carried out by the 

25 Secretary that are applicable to organic producVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:10 Sep 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2756.IS S2756

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1 tion and that would improve the efficiency, pro2 ductivity, profitability, and ecosystem services 

3 of organic crop and livestock production, includ4 ing strategies relating to— 

5 ‘‘(i) developing new public plant 

6 cultivars and livestock breeds that are re7 gionally adapted and appropriate for or8 ganic production; 

9 ‘‘(ii) expanding the applicability and 

10 cost-effectiveness of integrated, ecologically 

11 based pest, weed, and disease management 

12 for crop and livestock systems; 

13 ‘‘(iii) developing integrated organic 

14 production systems that— 

15 ‘‘(I) enhance ecosystem services 

16 relating to organic crop and livestock 

17 production; and 

18 ‘‘(II) optimize agricultural resil19 ience to the impacts of climate change 

20 and other stresses, including soil con21 servation and soil health, biodiversity, 

22 water management, carbon sequestra23 tion, and greenhouse gas mitigation; 

24 ‘‘(iv) improving the remote sensing 

25 and monitoring capabilities for ecosystem 


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1 services relating to organic crop and live2 stock production, including soil conserva3 tion and soil health, biodiversity, water 

4 management, carbon sequestration, and 

5 greenhouse gas mitigation; 

6 ‘‘(v) developing grazing, pasture, for7 age, and livestock manure management 

8 techniques that are regionally adapted and 

9 appropriate for organic production; 

10 ‘‘(vi) enhancing irrigation and water 

11 management techniques used in organic 

12 crop and livestock production; 

13 ‘‘(vii) enhancing food safety relating 

14 to organic crops and livestock products, in15 cluding guidance on compliance with the 

16 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 

17 U.S.C. 301 et seq.); 

18 ‘‘(viii) developing new products and 

19 new uses of organic crops and livestock 

20 products; 

21 ‘‘(ix) enhancing the quality of organi22 cally produced food, including taste, ap23 pearance, and nutritional value, after being 

24 processed into organic crop and livestock 


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1 products, through genetic, processing, and 

2 related research topics; and 

3 ‘‘(x) other similar, relevant topics, as 

4 determined by the Initiative; and 

5 ‘‘(C) the development of data and applied 

6 research-based information useful to organic 

7 and conventional crop producers, associations of 

8 those producers, and other interested bene9 ficiaries in evaluating the organic and conven10 tional crops industries from a regional and na11 tional perspective. 

12 ‘‘(3) REVIEW OF PRIOR REPORT.—The Initia13 tive shall include in each report submitted under 

14 paragraph (1)(B)— 

15 ‘‘(A) a review of the recommendations de16 scribed in paragraph (2) included in the prior 

17 report submitted under paragraph (1)(B); and 

18 ‘‘(B) the actions taken by the Secretary to 

19 implement those recommendations. 

20 ‘‘(f) CONSULTATION.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this sec22 tion, the Initiative shall engage in consultation, in23 cluding with— 

24 ‘‘(A) the National Organic Standards 

25 Board; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) land-grant colleges and universities. 

2 ‘‘(2) ORGANIC AND CONVENTIONAL INDUS3 TRIES.—In preparing each report under subsection 

4 (e)(1)(B), the Initiative shall consult, on an ongoing 

5 basis, with a diverse array of— 

6 ‘‘(A) organic and conventional farmers, 

7 ranchers, handlers; and 

8 ‘‘(B) organizations that serve those farm9 ers, ranchers, and handlers. 

10 ‘‘(g) CONSIDERATION BY SECRETARY.—In preparing 

11 the annual budget recommendations for the Department, 

12 the Secretary shall take into consideration the findings 

13 and recommendations contained in the most recently sub14 mitted report under subsection (e)(1)(B). 

15 ‘‘(h) REPORT BY SECRETARY.—In the budget mate16 rial submitted to Congress by the Secretary of Agriculture 

17 in connection with the budget of the United States Gov18 ernment submitted by the President under section 1105 

19 of title 31, United States Code, for each fiscal year, the 

20 Secretary of Agriculture shall include a report describing 

21 how the Secretary addressed each recommendation of the 

22 Initiative contained in the most recently submitted report 

23 under subsection (e)(1)(B).’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. REPORT ON ORGANIC ACREAGE ON AGRICULTURAL 

2 RESEARCH SERVICE STATIONS. 

3 Not later than 3 years after the date of enactment 

4 of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through 

5 the Administrator of the Agricultural Research Service, 

6 shall— 

7 (1) prepare a report describing the resources 

8 needed to increase the research conducted on cer9 tified organic agricultural land, as determined by the 

10 Administrator of the National Agricultural Statistics 

11 Service; and 

12 (2) submit the report prepared under para13 graph (1) to the Committee on Agriculture of the 

14 House of Representatives and the Committee on Ag15 riculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate. 

16 SEC. 4. ORGANIC AGRICULTURE RESEARCH AND EXTEN17 SION INITIATIVE. 

18 Section 1672B of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva19 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925b) is amend20 ed— 

21 (1) in subsection (a)— 

22 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

23 (1)— 

24 (i) by striking ‘‘subsection (e)’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘subsection (f)’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘2028’’; 

3 (B) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

4 the end; 

5 (C) in paragraph (8), by striking the pe6 riod at the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

7 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(9) facilitating the identification and adoption 

9 of traditional ecological knowledge in accordance 

10 with subsection (e); 

11 ‘‘(10) developing cultural practices and other 

12 allowable alternatives to substances recommended 

13 for removal from the National List of approved and 

14 prohibited substances under section 2118; and 

15 ‘‘(11) identifying how organic agriculture can 

16 reduce greenhouse gas emissions, build landscape re17 siliency, and facilitate other related ecosystem serv18 ices.’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (b)— 

20 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

21 ‘‘TYPES AND PROCESS,’’ and inserting ‘‘TERM, 

22 TYPES, AND PROCESS;’’; 

23 (B) by inserting ‘‘(3)’’ after ‘‘Paragraphs’’; 

24 and 


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1 (C) by striking ‘‘(7 U.S.C. 450i)’’ and in2 serting ‘‘(7 U.S.C. 3157(b))’’; 

3 (3) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(e) INDIGENOUS TRADITIONAL ECOLOGICAL

6 KNOWLEDGE.—Any grants made under this section for 

7 the purposes of facilitating the identification and adoption 

8 of indigenous traditional ecological knowledge shall be sub9 ject to the following requirements: 

10 ‘‘(1) A 1994 Institution (as defined in section 

11 532 of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Sta12 tus Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note; Public Law 

13 103–382)) shall have the role of project director. 

14 ‘‘(2) The free, prior, and informed consent of 

15 any Indian Tribes (as defined in section 4 of the In16 dian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

17 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304)) or Native Hawaiian organiza18 tions that possess the applicable indigenous tradi19 tional ecological knowledge shall be obtained. 

20 ‘‘(3) Appropriate attribution to the sources of 

21 the applicable indigenous traditional ecological 

22 knowledge shall be identified.’’; and 

23 (4) in subsection (f)— 

24 (A) in paragraph (1)(C), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

25 at the end; 


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1 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking 

2 ‘‘$25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 

3 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘$15,000,000 for 

4 each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028’’; and 

5 (C) by striking paragraph (3). 

6 SEC. 5. RESEARCHING THE TRANSITION TO ORGANIC AGRI7 CULTURAL PRODUCTION. 

8 Title XVI of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 

9 and Trade Act of 1990 is amended by inserting after sec10 tion 1673 (7 U.S.C. 5926) the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 1674. RESEARCHING THE TRANSITION TO ORGANIC 

12 AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION. 

13 ‘‘(a) COMPETITIVE SPECIALIZED RESEARCH AND

14 EXTENSION GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary of 

15 Agriculture (referred to in this section as the ‘Secretary’), 

16 in consultation with the National Agricultural Research, 

17 Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board, 

18 may make competitive grants to support research, edu19 cation, and extension activities relating to the transition 

20 of nonorganic agricultural production systems into organic 

21 agricultural production systems for the purposes of— 

22 ‘‘(1) overcoming barriers to transitioning to or23 ganic agricultural production; 

24 ‘‘(2) documenting and understanding the effects 

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1 system services, including soil health and fertility, 

2 greenhouse gas mitigation and sequestration, water 

3 management, biodiversity-related services, and pest 

4 management; and 

5 ‘‘(3) developing improved technologies, methods, 

6 models, and metrics to document, describe, and opti7 mize ecosystem services of transitioning nonorganic 

8 agricultural production systems into organic agricul9 tural production systems. 

10 ‘‘(b) GRANT TERM, TYPES, AND PROCESS; PROHIBI11 TION ON CONSTRUCTION.—Paragraphs (3), (4), (7), (8), 

12 and (11)(B) of subsection (b) of the Competitive, Special, 

13 and Facilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157(b)) 

14 shall apply with respect to the making of grants under 

15 this section. 

16 ‘‘(c) PARTNERSHIPS ENCOURAGED.—Following the 

17 completion of a peer review process for grant proposals 

18 received under this section, the Secretary may provide a 

19 priority to the grant proposals, found in the peer review 

20 process to be scientifically meritorious, that— 

21 ‘‘(1) would involve— 

22 ‘‘(A) active partnerships with agricultural 

23 producers; or 

24 ‘‘(B) the conduct of on-farm or consumer 

25 research; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) would involve active partnerships with— 

2 ‘‘(A) 1862 Institutions (as defined in sec3 tion 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, 

4 and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 

5 7601)); 

6 ‘‘(B) 1890 Institutions (as defined in sec7 tion 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, 

8 and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 

9 7601)); 

10 ‘‘(C) 1994 Institutions (as defined in sec11 tion 532 of the Equity in Educational Land12 Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note; 

13 Public Law 103–382)); and 

14 ‘‘(D) Hispanic-serving institutions (as de15 fined in section 502 of the Higher Education 

16 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1101a)). 

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

18 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

19 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.’’. 

20 SEC. 6. ORGANIC PRODUCTION AND MARKET DATA INITIA21 TIVES. 

22 Section 7407 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest23 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 5925c) is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub25 section (e); 


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1 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(d) ECONOMIC IMPACT ANALYSIS OF ORGANIC

4 FARMING AND CERTIFICATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

6 through the Administrator of the Economic Re7 search Service (referred to in this subsection as the 

8 ‘Secretary’), shall conduct an economic impact anal9 ysis of organic agricultural management conducted 

10 in accordance with the national organic program es11 tablished under the Organic Foods Production Act 

12 of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.). 

13 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The analysis under 

14 paragraph (1) shall— 

15 ‘‘(A) take into consideration information 

16 about farming and ranching operations of a va17 riety of sizes, with regional differences, and 

18 that have a diversity of production practices 

19 and methods; and 

20 ‘‘(B) consider the direct and indirect eco21 nomic impacts of organic agriculture on rural 

22 and urban communities, including— 

23 ‘‘(i) the vitality of the local economy; 

24 ‘‘(ii) the labor market; 

25 ‘‘(iii) environmental quality; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) social dynamics; 

2 ‘‘(v) land ownership; and 

3 ‘‘(vi) any other information, data, or 

4 analysis that the Secretary determines to 

5 be necessary to make the analysis com6 prehensive, accurate, and useful. 

7 ‘‘(3) PLAN.—Not later than 1 year after the 

8 date of enactment of the Streamlining Organic Re9 search Act of 2023, the Secretary shall submit a 

10 plan to conduct the analysis under paragraph (1) 

11 to— 

12 ‘‘(A) the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri13 tion, and Forestry of the Senate; and 

14 ‘‘(B) the Committee on Agriculture of the 

15 House of Representatives. 

16 ‘‘(4) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 3 years 

17 after the date on which the Secretary submits the 

18 plan under paragraph (3), the Secretary shall sub19 mit to the committees described in that paragraph 

20 a report describing the results of the analysis con21 ducted under paragraph (1).’’; and 

22 (3) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

24 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

25 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

2 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

3 and’’; and 

4 (iii) by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(C) $5,000,000 for the period of fiscal 

7 years 2024 through 2028.’’; and 

8 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking 

9 ‘‘$5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 

10 through 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000,000 for 

11 each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028’’. 

Æ 


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