II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 679 

To promote local and regional farm and food systems, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 9, 2013 

Mr. BROWN (for himself, Mr. CASEY, Mr. COWAN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. HARKIN, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. TESTER, Mr. 

WYDEN, and Mrs. SHAHEEN) introduced the following bill; which was 

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

Forestry 

A BILL 

To promote local and regional farm and food systems, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Local Farms, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—NUTRITION 

Sec. 101. Retailers. 


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Sec. 102. Demonstration projects on acceptance of benefits of mobile transactions. 

Sec. 103. Use of benefits for purchase of community-supported agriculture 

share. 

Sec. 104. Additional authority for purchase of fresh fruits, vegetables, and 

other specialty food crops. 

Sec. 105. Encouraging locally and regionally grown and raised food. 

Sec. 106. Assistance for community food projects. 

Sec. 107. Senior farmers’ market nutrition program. 

Sec. 108. Hunger-free communities. 

Sec. 109. Food and Nutrition Agriculture Service Learning Program. 

TITLE II—CREDIT 

Sec. 201. Loans to local and regional food producers. 

Sec. 202. Clarification of the mission of the farm credit system to recognize the 

economic benefits of supporting young, beginning, and small 

farmers and ranchers, and contributions of local and regional 

farm and food systems. 

Sec. 203. Young, beginning, and small farmers and ranchers and locally or regionally produced agricultural products. 

TITLE III—RURAL DEVELOPMENT 

Sec. 301. Availability of rural business opportunity grants for local and regional 

food systems. 

Sec. 302. Clarification on allowed partnerships for certain community facilities 

grants and loans. 

Sec. 303. Availability of rural business enterprise grants for value-added processing, aggregation, distribution, storage, and marketing in 

connection with production agriculture. 

Sec. 304. Making improvements to business and industry direct and guaranteed 

loans to benefit producers of local or regionally produced agricultural food products. 

Sec. 305. Value-added agricultural product market development grants. 

TITLE IV—RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND RELATED MATTERS 

Sec. 401. Agriculture and food research initiative. 

Sec. 402. Local and regional food system enterprise facilitation. 

Sec. 403. Conventional breeding initiative. 

Sec. 404. National genetics resources program. 

TITLE V—HORTICULTURE 

Sec. 501. Farmers market and local food promotion program. 

Sec. 502. Specialty crop block grants. 

Sec. 503. Study on local food production and program evaluation. 

TITLE VI—CROP INSURANCE 

Sec. 601. Research and development authority. 

Sec. 602. Whole farm risk management insurance. 

Sec. 603. Approval of costs for research and development. 

Sec. 604. Crop insurance for organic crops. 

Sec. 605. Nationwide expansion of agricultural management assistance program 

and inclusion of organic certification cost share assistance. 


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TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS 

Sec. 701. Technical assistance. 

Sec. 702. Guidance. 

Sec. 703. Labels and public information on label content. 

Sec. 704. Meat and poultry processing report. 

1 TITLE I—NUTRITION 

2 SEC. 101. RETAILERS. 

3 (a) DEFINITION OF RETAIL FOOD STORE.—Section 

4 3(p) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

5 2012(p)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1)(A) by striking ‘‘at least 2’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘at least 3’’; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (4) by inserting ‘‘or agricul9 tural producers who market agricultural products di10 rectly to consumers’’ after ‘‘venture’’. 

11 (b) ALTERNATIVE BENEFIT DELIVERY.—Section 

12 7(f) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

13 2016(f)) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(2) IMPOSITION OF COSTS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

18 subparagraph (B), the Secretary shall require 

19 participating retailers (including restaurants 

20 participating in a State option restaurant pro21 gram intended to serve the elderly, disabled, 

22 and homeless) to pay 100 percent of the costs 


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1 of acquiring, and arrange for the implementa2 tion of, electronic benefit transfer point-of-sale 

3 equipment and supplies. 

4 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTIONS.—The Secretary may 

5 exempt from subparagraph (A)— 

6 ‘‘(i) farmers’ markets and other direct 

7 farmer-to-consumer marketing outlets, 

8 military commissaries, nonprofit food buy9 ing cooperatives, and establishments, orga10 nizations, programs, or group living ar11 rangements described in paragraphs (5), 

12 (7), and (8) of section 3(k); and 

13 ‘‘(ii) establishments described in para14 graphs (3), (4), and (9) of section 3(k), 

15 other than restaurants participating in a 

16 State option restaurant program.’’; and 

17 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(4) TERMINATION OF MANUAL VOUCHERS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Effective beginning on 

20 the effective date of this paragraph, except as 

21 provided in subparagraph (B), no State shall 

22 issue manual vouchers to a household that re23 ceives supplemental nutrition assistance under 

24 this Act or allow retailers to accept manual 

25 vouchers as payment, unless the Secretary deVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:04 Apr 10, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S679.IS S679

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1 termines that the manual vouchers are nec2 essary, such as in the event of an electronic 

3 benefit transfer system failure or a disaster sit4 uation. 

5 ‘‘(B) EXEMPTIONS.—The Secretary may 

6 exempt categories of retailers or individual re7 tailers from subparagraph (A) based on criteria 

8 established by the Secretary. 

9 ‘‘(5) UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER RE10 QUIRED.—In an effort to enhance the antifraud pro11 tections of the program, the Secretary shall require 

12 all parties providing electronic benefit transfer serv13 ices to provide for and maintain a unique terminal 

14 identification number information through the sup15 plemental nutrition assistance program electronic 

16 benefit transfer transaction routing system. In devel17 oping the regulations implementing this paragraph, 

18 the Secretary shall consider existing commercial 

19 practices for other point-of-sale debit transactions. 

20 The Secretary shall issue proposed regulations im21 plementing this paragraph not earlier than 2 years 

22 after the date of enactment of this paragraph.’’. 

23 (c) ELECTRONIC BENEFIT TRANSFERS.—Section 

24 7(h)(3)(B) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 

25 U.S.C. 2016(h)(3)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘is operVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:04 Apr 10, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S679.IS S679

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1 ational—’’ and all that follows through ‘‘(ii) in the case 

2 of other participating stores,’’ and inserting ‘‘is oper3 ational’’. 

4 (d) APPROVAL OF RETAIL FOOD STORES AND

5 WHOLESALE FOOD CONCERNS.—Section 9 of the Food 

6 and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2018) is amended— 

7 (1) in the second sentence of subsection (a)(1) 

8 by striking ‘‘; and (C)’’ and inserting ‘‘; (C) whether 

9 the applicant is located in an area with significantly 

10 limited access to food; and (D)’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (b) by adding at the end the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(3) RETAIL FOOD STORES WITH SIGNIFICANT

14 SALES OF EXCLUDED ITEMS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—No retail food store 

16 for which at least 45 percent of the total sales 

17 of the retail food store is from the sale of ex18 cluded items described in section 3(k)(1) may 

19 be authorized to accept and redeem benefits un20 less the Secretary determines that the partici21 pation of the retail food store is required for 

22 the effective and efficient operation of the sup23 plemental nutrition assistance program. 

24 ‘‘(B) APPLICATION.—Subparagraph (A) 

25 shall be effective— 


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1 ‘‘(i) in the case of retail food stores 

2 applying to be authorized for the first 

3 time, beginning on the date that is 1 year 

4 after the effective date of this paragraph; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(ii) in the case of retail food stores 

7 participating in the program on the effec8 tive date of this paragraph, during periodic 

9 reauthorization in accordance with sub10 section (a)(2)(A).’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(g) EBT SERVICE REQUIREMENT.—An approved 

13 retail food store shall provide adequate EBT service as 

14 described in section 7(h)(3)(B).’’. 

15 SEC. 102. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS ON ACCEPTANCE OF 

16 BENEFITS OF MOBILE TRANSACTIONS. 

17 Section 7(h) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 

18 (7 U.S.C. 2016(h)) is amended by adding at the end the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(14) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS ON ACCEPT21 ANCE OF BENEFITS OF MOBILE TRANSACTIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

23 pilot the use of mobile technologies determined 

24 by the Secretary to be appropriate to test the 

25 feasibility and implications for program integVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:04 Apr 10, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S679.IS S679

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1 rity, by allowing retail food stores, farmers 

2 markets, and other direct producer-to-consumer 

3 marketing outlets to accept benefits from recipi4 ents of supplemental nutrition assistance 

5 through mobile transactions. 

6 ‘‘(B) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—To be 

7 eligible to participate in a demonstration project 

8 under subsection (a), a retail food store, farm9 ers market, or other direct producer-to-con10 sumer marketing outlet shall submit to the Sec11 retary for approval a plan that includes— 

12 ‘‘(i) a description of the technology; 

13 ‘‘(ii) the manner by which the retail 

14 food store, farmers market or other direct 

15 producer-to-consumer marketing outlet will 

16 provide proof of the transaction to house17 holds; 

18 ‘‘(iii) the provision of data to the Sec19 retary, consistent with requirements estab20 lished by the Secretary, in a manner that 

21 allows the Secretary to evaluate the impact 

22 of the demonstration on participant access, 

23 ease of use, and program integrity; and 

24 ‘‘(iv) such other criteria as the Sec25 retary may require. 


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1 ‘‘(C) DATE OF COMPLETION.—The dem2 onstration projects under this paragraph shall 

3 be completed and final reports submitted to the 

4 Secretary by not later than July 1, 2016. 

5 ‘‘(D) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Sec6 retary shall submit a report to the Committee 

7 on Agriculture of the House of Representatives 

8 and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

9 and Forestry of the Senate that includes a find10 ing, based on the data provided under subpara11 graph (C) whether or not implementation in all 

12 States is in the best interest of the supple13 mental nutrition assistance program.’’. 

14 SEC. 103. USE OF BENEFITS FOR PURCHASE OF COMMU15 NITY-SUPPORTED AGRICULTURE SHARE. 

16 Section 10 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 

17 (7 U.S.C. 2019) is amended in the first sentence by insert18 ing ‘‘agricultural producers who market agricultural prod19 ucts directly to consumers shall be authorized to redeem 

20 benefits for the initial cost of the purchase of a commu21 nity-supported agriculture share for an appropriate time 

22 in advance of food delivery as determined by the Sec23 retary,’’ after ‘‘food so purchased,’’. 


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1 SEC. 104. ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY FOR PURCHASE OF 

2 FRESH FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND OTHER 

3 SPECIALTY FOOD CROPS. 

4 Section 10603 of the Farm Security and Rural In5 vestment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 612c–4) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘2012’’ and 

7 inserting ‘‘2018’’; 

8 (2) by redesignating subsection (c) as sub9 section (e); and 

10 (3) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol11 lowing new subsections: 

12 ‘‘(c) LOCAL PREFERENCE IN MEMORANDUM OF

13 AGREEMENT.—To the maximum extent practicable, a 

14 memorandum of agreement between the Secretary of Agri15 culture and the Secretary of Defense related to the pur16 chase of fresh fruits and vegetables under this section 

17 shall require that fruits and vegetables purchased under 

18 the agreement be locally grown (as determined by the Sec19 retary). 

20 ‘‘(d) PILOT GRANT PROGRAM FOR PURCHASE OF

21 FRESH FRUITS AND VEGETABLES.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Using amounts made avail23 able to carry out subsection (b), the Secretary of Ag24 riculture shall conduct a pilot program under which 

25 the Secretary will give not more than five partici26 pating States the option of receiving a grant in an 


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1 amount equal to the value of the commodities that 

2 the participating State would otherwise receive 

3 under this section for each of fiscal years 2014 

4 through 2018. 

5 ‘‘(2) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—A participating 

6 State receiving a grant under this subsection may 

7 use the grant funds solely to purchase fresh fruits 

8 and vegetables for distribution to schools and service 

9 institutions in the State that participate in the food 

10 service programs under the Richard B. Russell Na11 tional School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) 

12 and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

13 1771 et seq.). To the maximum extent practicable, 

14 the fruits and vegetables shall be locally grown, as 

15 determined by the State. 

16 ‘‘(3) SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING STATES.— 

17 The Secretary shall select participating States from 

18 applications submitted by the States. 

19 ‘‘(4) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) SCHOOL AND SERVICE INSTITUTION

21 REQUIREMENT.—Schools and service institu22 tions in a participating State shall keep records 

23 of purchases of fresh fruits and vegetables 

24 made using the grant funds and report such 

25 records to the State. 


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1 ‘‘(B) STATE REQUIREMENT.—Each par2 ticipating State shall submit to the Secretary a 

3 report on the success of the pilot program in 

4 the State, including information on— 

5 ‘‘(i) the amount and value of each 

6 type of fresh fruit and vegetable purchased 

7 by the State; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) the benefit provided by such pur9 chases in conducting the school food serv10 ice in the State, including meeting school 

11 meal requirements.’’. 

12 SEC. 105. ENCOURAGING LOCALLY AND REGIONALLY 

13 GROWN AND RAISED FOOD. 

14 (a) COMMODITY PURCHASE STREAMLINING.—The 

15 Secretary of Agriculture (in this section referred to as the 

16 ‘‘Secretary’’) may permit each school food authority with 

17 a low annual commodity entitlement value, as determined 

18 by the Secretary, to elect to substitute locally and region19 ally grown and raised food for the authority’s allotment, 

20 in whole or in part, of commodity assistance under section 

21 6(b) of the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 

22 (42 U.S.C. 1755(b)) for the school lunch program under 

23 such Act, if— 

24 (1) the election is requested by the school food 

25 authority; 


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1 (2) the Secretary determines that the election 

2 will reduce State and Federal administrative costs, 

3 such as costs related to transportation, technology, 

4 and overhead; and 

5 (3) the election will provide the school food au6 thority with greater flexibility to purchase locally 

7 and regionally grown and raised foods. 

8 (b) FARM-TO-SCHOOL DEMONSTRATION

9 PROJECTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

11 may establish and carry out farm-to-school dem12 onstration programs under which school food au13 thorities, agricultural producers producing for local 

14 and regional markets, and other farm to school 

15 stakeholders will collaborate with the Agriculture 

16 Marketing Service to source food for the school 

17 lunch program under the Richard B. Russell Na18 tional School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) 

19 from local farmers and ranchers in lieu of the com20 modity assistance provided under section 6(b) of the 

21 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 

22 U.S.C. 1755(b)) to such school food authorities for 

23 the school lunch program. 

24 (2) REQUIREMENTS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—A demonstration pro2 gram carried out under this subsection shall— 

3 (i) facilitate and increase the purchase 

4 of unprocessed and minimally processed lo5 cally and regionally grown and raised agri6 cultural products to be served under the 

7 school lunch program; 

8 (ii) test methods to improve procure9 ment, transportation, and meal preparation 

10 processes; 

11 (iii) assess whether administrative 

12 costs can be saved through increased 

13 school authority flexibility to source locally 

14 and regionally produced foods; and 

15 (iv) undertake rigorous evaluation and 

16 share information about results, including 

17 cost savings, with the Department of Agri18 culture, other school food authorities, agri19 cultural producers producing for the local 

20 and regional market, and the general pub21 lic. 

22 (B) PLANS.—The Secretary shall require 

23 demonstration program participants to provide 

24 to the Secretary detailed plans with respect to 


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1 how the participants will meet the requirements 

2 of this subsection. 

3 (3) LENGTH.—The Secretary shall conduct 

4 each demonstration program under this subsection 

5 for not less than 3 school years and not more than 

6 5 years, except in the case of a demonstration pro7 gram that requires additional time to meet the re8 quirements under paragraph (2)(A), as determined 

9 by the Secretary. 

10 (4) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall co11 ordinate among relevant agencies of the Department 

12 of Agriculture and non-governmental organizations 

13 with appropriate expertise to facilitate the provision 

14 of training and technical assistance necessary to the 

15 successful implementation of demonstration pro16 grams under this subsection. 

17 (5) NUMBER.—The Secretary shall carry out at 

18 least 10 demonstration programs under this sub19 section. 

20 (6) DIVERSITY AND BALANCE.—In carrying out 

21 demonstration programs under this subsection, the 

22 Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 

23 ensure— 

24 (A) geographical diversity; 


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1 (B) that at least half of the demonstration 

2 programs are completed in collaboration with 

3 school food authorities with small annual com4 modity entitlements, as determined by the Sec5 retary; 

6 (C) that at least half of the demonstration 

7 programs are completed in rural or tribal com8 munities; and 

9 (D) equitable treatment of school food au10 thorities with a high percentage of students eli11 gible for free or reduced price lunches under the 

12 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.). 

14 (7) DATA ANALYSIS.—With respect to each 

15 demonstration program carried out under this sub16 section, the Secretary shall ensure that participants 

17 of the demonstration program collect data on how 

18 the program met the requirements of paragraph 

19 (2)(A) in a manner that will enable the aggregation 

20 and analysis of such data. 

21 (8) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 

22 January 1, 2018, the Secretary shall provide to the 

23 Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep24 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nu25 trition, and Forestry of the Senate, and a report on 


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1 the demonstration programs carried out under this 

2 subsection, including— 

3 (A) an analysis of the data collected under 

4 paragraph (7); 

5 (B) a summary of the efforts of the De6 partment of Agriculture to increase the avail7 ability and use of locally and regionally grown 

8 foods by school food authorities through the 

9 commodity assistance provided to such authori10 ties under section under section 6(b) of the 

11 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 1755(b)); and 

13 (C) a determination of whether a dem14 onstration program carried out under this sec15 tion or any aspect of such a program should be16 come an option for school food authorities 

17 based on outcomes, such as children’s nutri18 tional health status, economic benefits to par19 ticipating agricultural producers and the local 

20 economy, school meal participation rates, and 

21 an all-inclusive comparison of administrative 

22 cost of the commodity assistance described in 

23 subparagraph (B) and such demonstration pro24 gram. 


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1 SEC. 106. ASSISTANCE FOR COMMUNITY FOOD PROJECTS. 

2 Section 25 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 

3 (7 U.S.C. 2034) is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (b)(2)(B)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘$5,000,000’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘$10,000,000’’; and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘2008’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘2014’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (f)(2), by striking ‘‘3’’ and in10 serting ‘‘5’’. 

11 SEC. 107. SENIOR FARMERS’ MARKET NUTRITION PRO12 GRAM. 

13 Section 4402 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest14 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3007) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘$20,600,000’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘$25,000,000’’; 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘2008’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘2014’’; and 

20 (C) by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘2018’’; and 

22 (2) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting ‘‘maple 

23 syrup,’’ after ‘‘honey,’’. 

24 SEC. 108. HUNGER-FREE COMMUNITIES. 

25 Section 4405 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy 

26 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 7517) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)— 

2 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert3 ing the following: 

4 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.— 

5 ‘‘(A) COLLABORATIVE GRANTS.—In sub6 section (b), the term ‘eligible entity’ means a 

7 public food program service provider or non8 profit organization, including an emergency 

9 feeding organization, that has collaborated or 

10 will collaborate with 1 or more local partner or11 ganizations to achieve at least 1 hunger-free 

12 communities goal. 

13 ‘‘(B) INCENTIVE GRANTS.—In subsection 

14 (c), the term ‘eligible entity’ means a nonprofit 

15 organization (including an emergency feeding 

16 organization), an agricultural cooperative, pro17 ducer network or association, community health 

18 organization, public benefit corporation, eco19 nomic development corporation, farmers’ mar20 ket, community-supported agriculture program, 

21 buying club, supplemental nutrition assistance 

22 program retail food store, a State, local, or trib23 al agency, and any other entity the Secretary 

24 designates.’’; and 

25 (B) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(4) SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE

2 PROGRAM.—The term ‘supplemental nutrition assist3 ance program’ means the supplemental nutrition as4 sistance program established under the Food and 

5 Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.). 

6 ‘‘(5) UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.—The term 

7 ‘underserved community’ has the meaning given the 

8 term in section 25 of the Food and Nutrition Act of 

9 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2034).’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (b)(1)(A), by striking ‘‘not 

11 more than 50 percent of any funds made available 

12 under subsection (e)’’ and inserting ‘‘funds made 

13 available under subsection (d)(1)’’; and 

14 (3) by striking subsections (c), (d), and (e) and 

15 inserting the following: 

16 ‘‘(c) HUNGER-FREE COMMUNITIES INCENTIVE

17 GRANTS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In each of the years 

20 specified in subsection (d), the Secretary shall 

21 make grants to eligible entities in accordance 

22 with paragraph (2). 

23 ‘‘(B) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal 

24 share of the cost of carrying out an activity 


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1 under this subsection shall not exceed 50 per2 cent of the total cost of the activity. 

3 ‘‘(C) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The non-Federal 

5 share of the cost of an activity under this 

6 subsection may be provided— 

7 ‘‘(I) in cash or in-kind contribu8 tions as determined by the Secretary, 

9 including facilities, equipment, or 

10 services; and 

11 ‘‘(II) by a State or local govern12 ment or a private source. 

13 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—In the case of a 

14 for-profit entity, the non-Federal share de15 scribed in clause (i) shall not include serv16 ices of an employee, including salaries paid 

17 or expenses covered by the employer. 

18 ‘‘(2) CRITERIA.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of this 

20 subsection, an eligible entity is a governmental 

21 agency or nonprofit organization that— 

22 ‘‘(i) meets the application criteria set 

23 forth by the Secretary; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) proposes a project that, at a 

25 minimum— 


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1 ‘‘(I) has the support of the State 

2 agency; 

3 ‘‘(II) would increase the purchase 

4 of fruits and vegetables by low-income 

5 consumers participating in the supple6 mental nutrition assistance program 

7 by providing incentives at the point of 

8 purchase; 

9 ‘‘(III) agrees to participate in the 

10 evaluation described in paragraph (4); 

11 ‘‘(IV) ensures that the same 

12 terms and conditions apply to pur13 chases made by individuals with bene14 fits issued under this Act and incen15 tives provided for in this subsection as 

16 apply to purchases made by individ17 uals who are not members of house18 holds receiving benefits, such as pro19 vided for in section 278.2(b) of title 7, 

20 Code of Federal Regulations (or a 

21 successor regulation); and 

22 ‘‘(V) includes effective and effi23 cient technologies for benefit redemp24 tion systems that may be replicated in 

25 other for States and communities. 


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1 ‘‘(B) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants 

2 under this section, the Secretary shall give pri3 ority to projects that— 

4 ‘‘(i) maximize the share of funds used 

5 for direct incentives to participants; 

6 ‘‘(ii) use direct-to-consumer sales mar7 keting; 

8 ‘‘(iii) demonstrate a track record of 

9 designing and implementing successful nu10 trition incentive programs that connect 

11 low-income consumers and agricultural 

12 producers; 

13 ‘‘(iv) provide locally or regionally pro14 duced fruits and vegetables; 

15 ‘‘(v) are located in underserved com16 munities; or 

17 ‘‘(vi) address other criteria as estab18 lished by the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(3) APPLICABILITY.— 

20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The value of any ben21 efit provided to a participant in any activity 

22 funded under this subsection shall not be con23 sidered income or resources for any purpose 

24 under any Federal, State, or local law. 


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1 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION ON COLLECTION OF

2 SALES TAXES.—Each State shall ensure that no 

3 State or local tax is collected on a purchase of 

4 food under this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(C) NO LIMITATION ON BENEFITS.—A 

6 grant made available under this subsection shall 

7 not be used to carry out any project that limits 

8 the use of benefits under the Food and Nutri9 tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) or any 

10 other Federal nutrition law. 

11 ‘‘(D) HOUSEHOLD ALLOTMENT.—Assist12 ance provided under this subsection to house13 holds receiving benefits under the supplemental 

14 nutrition assistance program shall not— 

15 ‘‘(i) be considered part of the supple16 mental nutrition assistance program bene17 fits of the household; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) be used in the collection or dis19 position of claims under section 13 of the 

20 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

21 2022). 

22 ‘‘(4) EVALUATION.— 

23 ‘‘(A) INDEPENDENT EVALUATION.—The 

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1 uation of projects selected under this subsection 

2 that measures the impact of each project on— 

3 ‘‘(i) improving the nutrition and 

4 health status of participating households 

5 receiving incentives under this subsection; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(ii) increasing fruit and vegetable 

8 purchases in participating households. 

9 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENT.—The independent 

10 evaluation under subparagraph (A) shall use 

11 rigorous methodologies capable of producing 

12 scientifically valid information regarding the ef13 fectiveness of a project. 

14 ‘‘(C) COSTS.—The Secretary may use 

15 funds not to exceed 10 percent of the funding 

16 provided to carry out this section to pay costs 

17 associated with administering, monitoring, and 

18 evaluating each project. 

19 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.— 

20 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

21 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

22 subsection (b) $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

23 2014 through 2018. 


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1 ‘‘(2) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of 

2 the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 

3 shall use to carry out subsection (c)— 

4 ‘‘(A) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2014; 

5 ‘‘(B) $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

6 2015 through 2017; and 

7 ‘‘(C) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2018.’’. 

8 SEC. 109. FOOD AND NUTRITION AGRICULTURE SERVICE 

9 LEARNING PROGRAM. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle D of the Department of 

11 Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6951) 

12 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 242. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE SERVICE LEARNING 

14 PROGRAM. 

15 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab16 lish a Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program (in 

17 this section referred to as the ‘Program’) to increase 

18 knowledge of agriculture and improve the nutritional 

19 health of children. 

20 ‘‘(b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the Program 

21 are— 

22 ‘‘(1) to increase capacity for food, garden, and 

23 nutrition education within host organizations or enti24 ties, school cafeterias, and in the classroom; 


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1 ‘‘(2) to complement and build upon the efforts 

2 of the farm to school programs implemented under 

3 section 18(g) of the Richard B. Russell National 

4 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769(g)); 

5 ‘‘(3) to support the implementation of the regu6 lations to update meal patterns and nutrition stand7 ards promulgated under section 4(b)(3) of the Rich8 ard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 

9 U.S.C. 1753(b)(3)); 

10 ‘‘(4) to carry out activities that advance the nu11 tritional health of children and nutrition education 

12 in elementary schools and secondary schools; 

13 ‘‘(5) to build on activities carried out by the 

14 Food and Nutrition Service and the Corporation for 

15 National and Community Service by providing funds 

16 to establish new approved national service positions 

17 for a national service program; and 

18 ‘‘(6) to further expand the impact of the efforts 

19 described in paragraphs (1) through (5) through co20 ordination with the National Institute of Food and 

21 Agriculture. 

22 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY.—To carry out the Program, the 

23 Secretary may make awards to an organization or other 

24 entity that, as determined by the Secretary— 


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1 ‘‘(1) has a proven track record in carrying out 

2 the activities described in subsection (b); 

3 ‘‘(2) is carrying out or otherwise supporting a 

4 national service program that receives assistance 

5 from the Corporation for National and Community 

6 Service under subtitle C of title I of the National 

7 and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 

8 12571 et seq.); 

9 ‘‘(3) works in underserved rural and urban 

10 communities; 

11 ‘‘(4) teaches and engages children in experien12 tial learning about agriculture, gardening, nutrition, 

13 cooking, and where food comes from; and 

14 ‘‘(5) facilitates a connection between elementary 

15 schools and secondary schools and agricultural pro16 ducers in the local and regional area. 

17 ‘‘(d) ACCOUNTABILITY.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may require 

19 an organization or other entity receiving an award 

20 under subsection (c), or another qualified entity, to 

21 collect and report any data on the activities carried 

22 out by the Program as the Secretary determines nec23 essary. 

24 ‘‘(2) EVALUATION.—The Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) conduct regular evaluation of the ac2 tivities carried out by the Program; and 

3 ‘‘(B) submit to the Committee on Agri4 culture of the House of Representatives and the 

5 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For6 estry of the Senate a report that includes a de7 scription of the results of an evaluation con8 ducted under subparagraph (A). 

9 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds of the Com11 modity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use 

12 to carry out this section $25,000,000, to remain 

13 available until expended. 

14 ‘‘(2) USE OF CERTAIN FUNDS.—Of the funds 

15 made available to carry out this section for a fiscal 

16 year, 20 percent shall be made available to the Na17 tional Institute of Food and Agriculture to offset 

18 costs associated with hosting, training, and over19 seeing individuals in approved national service posi20 tions for the Program. 

21 ‘‘(3) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—Funds made 

22 available under paragraph (1) shall be used only to 

23 supplement, not to supplant, the amount of Federal 

24 funding otherwise expended for nutrition, research, 

25 and extension programs of the Department. 


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1 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

2 ‘‘(1) APPROVED NATIONAL SERVICE POSI3 TION.—The term ‘approved national service position’ 

4 has the meaning given the term in section 101 of the 

5 National and Community Service Act of 1990 (42 

6 U.S.C. 12511)). 

7 ‘‘(2) ESEA TERMS.—The terms ‘elementary 

8 school’ and ‘secondary school’ have the meanings 

9 given the terms in section 9101 of the Elementary 

10 and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

11 7801).’’. 

12 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 296(b) of 

13 the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 

14 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)) is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (6)(C), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

16 end; 

17 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at 

18 the end and inserting ‘‘or’’; and 

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

20 ‘‘(8) the authority of the Secretary to carry out 

21 activities described in section 242.’’. 


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1 TITLE II—CREDIT 

2 SEC. 201. LOANS TO LOCAL AND REGIONAL FOOD PRO3 DUCERS. 

4 Subtitle D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De5 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1981 et seq.) is amended by in6 serting after section 333C the following new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 333D. LOANS TO LOCAL AND REGIONAL FOOD PRO8 DUCERS. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make and 

10 guarantee loans under this title to eligible producers for 

11 the production of locally or regionally produced agricul12 tural food products (as defined in section 310B(g)(9)), in13 cluding qualified producers engaged in direct-to-consumer 

14 marketing, direct-to-institution marketing, or direct-to15 store marketing, businesses or activities that produce a 

16 value-added agricultural product (as defined in section 

17 231(a) of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 

18 (7 U.S.C. 1632a(a)), mid-tier value chains (as defined in 

19 such section 231(a)), and other local and regional market 

20 outlets. 

21 ‘‘(b) TRAINING.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

22 loan officers processing loans under this section receive 

23 appropriate training to serve borrowers and potential bor24 rowers engaged in local and regional food production. 

25 ‘‘(c) VALUATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

2 ways to determine unit prices (or other appropriate 

3 forms of valuation) for crops and other agricultural 

4 products, the end use of which is intended to be in 

5 locally or regionally produced agricultural food prod6 ucts, to facilitate lending to local and regional food 

7 producers. 

8 ‘‘(2) PRICE HISTORY.—The Secretary shall im9 plement a mechanism for local and regional food 

10 producers to establish price history for the crops and 

11 other agricultural products produced by such pro12 ducers. 

13 ‘‘(d) OUTREACH.—The Secretary shall develop and 

14 implement an outreach strategy to engage and provide 

15 loan services to local and regional food producers.’’. 

16 SEC. 202. CLARIFICATION OF THE MISSION OF THE FARM 

17 CREDIT SYSTEM TO RECOGNIZE THE ECO18 NOMIC BENEFITS OF SUPPORTING YOUNG, 

19 BEGINNING, AND SMALL FARMERS AND 

20 RANCHERS, AND CONTRIBUTIONS OF LOCAL 

21 AND REGIONAL FARM AND FOOD SYSTEMS. 

22 Section 1.1 of the Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 

23 U.S.C. 2001) is amended by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(d) Recognizing that the vitality of United States 

2 agriculture and rural communities depends on the contin3 ued entry of young, beginning, and small farmers and 

4 ranchers into agriculture, many of whom will operate 

5 farms with local and regional food product distribution, 

6 it is declared to be the policy of the Congress and an objec7 tive of this Act that the Farm Credit System should en8 deavor to serve the credit and related needs of these indi9 viduals and the businesses on which they rely and that 

10 are necessary to the growth and vitality of local and re11 gional farm and food systems.’’. 

12 SEC. 203. YOUNG, BEGINNING, AND SMALL FARMERS AND 

13 RANCHERS AND LOCALLY OR REGIONALLY 

14 PRODUCED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 

15 (a) CREDIT FOR YOUNG, BEGINNING, AND SMALL

16 FARMERS.—Section 4.19(a) of the Farm Credit Act of 

17 1971 (12 U.S.C. 2207(a)) is amended— 

18 (1) in the first sentence by inserting ‘‘and for 

19 the production of locally or regionally produced agri20 cultural food products (as defined in section 

21 310B(g)(10)(A) of the Consolidated Farm and 

22 Rural Development Act)’’ before the period; and 

23 (2) by inserting after the second sentence the 

24 following: ‘‘Each such program shall include initia25 tives and may include grants to support current and 


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1 future borrowers by helping to organize, build, ex2 pand, or improve infrastructure and markets for lo3 cally or regionally produced agricultural food prod4 ucts (as so defined).’’. 

5 (b) Section 4.19 of such Act (12 U.S.C. 2207(b)) is 

6 amended by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(c) The Farm Credit Administration shall submit to 

8 the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representa9 tives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 

10 Forestry of the Senate an annual report that contains a 

11 summary and analysis of the operations and achievements 

12 of the Farm Credit System as a whole in meeting the ob13 jectives of this section. The Farm Credit Administration 

14 shall notify the Congress whenever a program is out of 

15 compliance with this section, and indicate in the notice 

16 the steps the Farm Credit Administration is taking in re17 sponse.’’. 

18 TITLE III—RURAL 

19 DEVELOPMENT 

20 SEC. 301. AVAILABILITY OF RURAL BUSINESS OPPOR21 TUNITY GRANTS FOR LOCAL AND REGIONAL 

22 FOOD SYSTEMS. 

23 Section 306(a)(11) of the Consolidated Farm and 

24 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(11)) is amend25 ed— 


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1 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

2 (A) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘domestic 

3 and’’ before ‘‘export’’; 

4 (B) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

5 end; 

6 (C) in clause (v)— 

7 (i) by inserting ‘‘domestic and’’ before 

8 ‘‘international’’; and 

9 (ii) by striking the period and insert10 ing ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(vi) to develop enterprises and busi13 ness ventures that build sustainable local 

14 and regional food systems, including 

15 through processing, aggregation, distribu16 tion, storage, or marketing businesses in 

17 connection with production agriculture.’’; 

18 and 

19 (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘2008 

20 through 2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2014 through 2018’’. 

21 SEC. 302. CLARIFICATION ON ALLOWED PARTNERSHIPS 

22 FOR CERTAIN COMMUNITY FACILITIES 

23 GRANTS AND LOANS. 

24 (a) COMMUNITY FACILITIES GRANT PROGRAM.— 

25 Section 306(a)(19) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 


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1 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(19)) is amended by 

2 adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(D) PARTNERSHIPS ALLOWED.—An asso4 ciation, unit of general local government, non5 profit corporation, or Indian tribe that receives 

6 a grant under this paragraph may partner with 

7 philanthropic or for-profit entities in developing 

8 specific essential community facilities in rural 

9 areas.’’. 

10 (b) LOAN GUARANTEES FOR WATER, WASTEWATER, 

11 AND ESSENTIAL COMMUNITY FACILITIES LOANS.—Sec12 tion 306(a)(24) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De13 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1926(a)(24)) is amended by add14 ing at the end the following new subparagraph: 

15 ‘‘(C) PARTNERSHIPS ALLOWED.—The re16 cipient of a loan guarantee under this para17 graph may partner with philanthropic or for18 profit entities in servicing, or providing addi19 tional credit with respect to, a loan described in 

20 subparagraph (A).’’. 


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1 SEC. 303. AVAILABILITY OF RURAL BUSINESS ENTERPRISE 

2 GRANTS FOR VALUE-ADDED PROCESSING, 

3 AGGREGATION, DISTRIBUTION, STORAGE, 

4 AND MARKETING IN CONNECTION WITH PRO5 DUCTION AGRICULTURE. 

6 Section 310B of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

7 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932) is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)(2)— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

10 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

11 (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the 

12 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

14 ‘‘(E) value-added processing, aggregation, 

15 distribution, storage, or marketing in connec16 tion with production agriculture.’’; and 

17 (2) in subsection (c)(1)(B)(ii), by inserting ‘‘, 

18 aggregation, distribution, storage, or marketing’’ 

19 after ‘‘processing’’. 

20 SEC. 304. MAKING IMPROVEMENTS TO BUSINESS AND IN21 DUSTRY DIRECT AND GUARANTEED LOANS 

22 TO BENEFIT PRODUCERS OF LOCAL OR RE23 GIONALLY PRODUCED AGRICULTURAL FOOD 

24 PRODUCTS. 

25 Section 310B(g) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

26 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(g)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (6)(A)— 

2 (A) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘value-added 

3 processing’’ and all that follows through the 

4 semicolon and inserting ‘‘value-added proc5 essing, distribution, aggregation, storage, or 

6 marketing of agricultural food products that 

7 create new opportunities for agricultural pro8 ducers;’’; and 

9 (B) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘subsection 

10 (a)(2)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘this subsection’’; and 

11 (2) in paragraph (9)(B)— 

12 (A) in clause (i), by inserting ‘‘in rural or 

13 non-rural areas’’ after ‘‘entities’’; 

14 (B) by striking clauses (ii) and (iii) and in15 serting the following new clauses: 

16 ‘‘(ii) PRIORITY.—In making or guar17 anteeing a loan under clause (i), the Sec18 retary shall give priority to projects that 

19 will— 

20 ‘‘(I) result in increased access to 

21 locally or regionally grown food in un22 derserved communities; 

23 ‘‘(II) create new market opportu24 nities for local or regional agricultural 

25 producers; or 


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1 ‘‘(III) support strategic economic 

2 and community development regional 

3 economic development plans on a 

4 multijurisdictional basis. 

5 ‘‘(iii) GUARANTEE FEE.—In guaran6 teeing a loan under clause (i), the Sec7 retary may waive, reduce, or incorporate 

8 into the amount of the guarantee made 

9 under such clause, the fee that would oth10 erwise be imposed under paragraph (5) 

11 with respect to such guarantee.’’; 

12 (C) by redesignating clauses (iv) and (v) as 

13 clauses (v) and (vi), respectively; 

14 (D) by inserting after clause (iii) the fol15 lowing new clause: 

16 ‘‘(iv) OUTREACH.—The Secretary 

17 shall develop and implement an outreach 

18 plan to publicize the availability of loans 

19 and loan guarantees under this paragraph, 

20 working closely with rural cooperative de21 velopment centers, credit unions, commu22 nity development financial institutions, re23 gional economic development authorities, 

24 and other financial and economic develop25 ment entities.’’; 


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1 (E) in clause (v) (as redesignated by sub2 paragraph (C))— 

3 (i) in the matter preceding subclause 

4 (I), by inserting ‘‘, and publish on the 

5 internet,’’ after ‘‘Senate’’; 

6 (ii) by redesignating subclauses (I) 

7 and (II) as subclauses (II) and (III), re8 spectively; 

9 (iii) by inserting before subclause (II), 

10 the following new subclause: 

11 ‘‘(I) summary information on 

12 each such project;’’; and 

13 (iv) in subclause (II) (as redesignated 

14 by clause (ii)), by inserting ‘‘and agricul15 tural producers’’ after ‘‘communities’’; and 

16 (F) in clause (vi)(I) (as so redesignated), 

17 by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2018’’. 

18 SEC. 305. VALUE-ADDED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT MAR19 KET DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. 

20 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 231(a) of the Agricul21 tural Risk Protection Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 1632a(a)(3)) 

22 is amended— 

23 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

24 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

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1 erate through food distribution centers that co2 ordinate agricultural production and the aggre3 gation, storage, processing, distribution, and 

4 marketing of locally or regionally produced agri5 cultural products)’’ after ‘‘products’’; and 

6 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘a 

7 family farm’’ and inserting ‘‘family farms’’; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (5)(A)(v), by inserting ‘‘or as 

9 part of a mid-tier value chain’’ before the semicolon. 

10 (b) GRANT PROGRAM.—Section 231(b) of the Agri11 cultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 1632a(b)) 

12 is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

14 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

15 (A)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘paragraph (7)’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘paragraph (8)’’; and 

18 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, using a peer review 

19 process,’’ before ‘‘shall’’; and 

20 (B) in subparagraph (A)(i), by inserting 

21 ‘‘or conducting a feasibility study’’ after ‘‘busi22 ness plan’’; 

23 (2) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the 

24 following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(6) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

2 subsection, the Secretary shall— 

3 ‘‘(A) in the case of grants awarded under 

4 paragraph (1)(A), give priority to— 

5 ‘‘(i) operators of small- and medium6 sized farms and ranches that are struc7 tured as family farms; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) beginning farmers and ranchers 

9 or socially disadvantaged farmers and 

10 ranchers; and 

11 ‘‘(B) in the case of grants awarded under 

12 paragraph (1)(B), give priority to projects that, 

13 as determined through peer review, best con14 tribute to— 

15 ‘‘(i) increasing opportunities for oper16 ators of small- and medium-sized farms 

17 and ranches that are structured as family 

18 farms; or 

19 ‘‘(ii) creating opportunities for begin20 ning farmers and ranchers or socially dis21 advantaged farmers and ranchers.’’; 

22 (3) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para23 graph (8); 

24 (4) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol25 lowing new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(7) OUTREACH AND TECHNICAL ASSIST2 ANCE.—The Secretary shall develop and implement 

3 an outreach and technical assistance strategy to as4 sist recipients of a grant under this subsection reach 

5 and serve underserved States and communities (as 

6 determined by the Secretary).’’; and 

7 (5) in paragraph (8) (as redesignated by para8 graph (3))— 

9 (A) by striking subparagraph (A) and in10 serting the following new subparagraph: 

11 ‘‘(A) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the 

12 funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the 

13 Secretary shall make available to carry out this 

14 subsection— 

15 ‘‘(i) $15,000,000 for the period of fis16 cal years 2008 through 2013, to remain 

17 available until expended; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) $20,000,000 for each of fiscal 

19 years 2014 through 2018, to remain avail20 able until expended.’’; 

21 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

22 ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2018’’; and 

23 (C) by striking subparagraph (C) and in24 serting the following new subparagraph: 

25 ‘‘(C) PRIORITY FUNDING.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

2 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, 

3 reserve not less than two-thirds of the 

4 amounts made available for each fiscal 

5 year under this paragraph to fund grants 

6 with respect to which priority is given 

7 under paragraph (6). 

8 ‘‘(ii) RESERVATION OF FUNDS FOR

9 PROJECTS TO BENEFIT BEGINNING FARM10 ERS OR RANCHERS, SOCIALLY DISADVAN11 TAGED FARMERS OR RANCHERS, AND MID12 TIER VALUE CHAINS.— 

13 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Sec14 retary shall reserve 10 percent of the 

15 amounts made available for each fiscal 

16 year under this paragraph to fund 

17 projects that benefit beginning farm18 ers or ranchers or socially disadvan19 taged farmers or ranchers. 

20 ‘‘(II) MID-TIER VALUE

21 CHAINS.—The Secretary shall reserve 

22 10 percent of the amounts made avail23 able for each fiscal year under this 

24 paragraph to fund applications of eli25 gible entities described in paragraph 


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1 (1) that propose to develop mid-tier 

2 value chains. 

3 ‘‘(III) UNOBLIGATED

4 AMOUNTS.—Any amounts in the re5 serves for a fiscal year established 

6 under subclauses (I) and (II) that are 

7 not obligated by the date on which the 

8 Secretary completes the review proc9 ess for applications submitted under 

10 this section in the fiscal year shall be 

11 available to the Secretary to make 

12 grants under this subsection to eligi13 ble entities in any State, as deter14 mined by the Secretary.’’. 

15 TITLE IV—RESEARCH, EDU16 CATION, AND RELATED MAT17 TERS 

18 SEC. 401. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD RESEARCH INITIATIVE. 

19 Subsection (b) of the Competitive, Special, and Fa20 cilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 450i(b)) is amend21 ed— 

22 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘food and ag23 ricultural sciences’’ and all that follows through the 

24 period at the end and inserting the following: ‘‘food 

25 and agricultural sciences (as defined under section 


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1 1404 of the National Agricultural Research, Exten2 sion, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

3 3103))— 

4 ‘‘(A) in the case of a grant made under 

5 paragraph (6), to an entity described in sub6 paragraphs (A), (B), (C), or (D) of such para7 graph; and 

8 ‘‘(B) in the case of any other grant made 

9 under this subsection, to any eligible entity de10 scribed in paragraph (7), including a grant 

11 made for— 

12 ‘‘(i) fundamental research (as defined 

13 in section 251(f)(1) of the Department of 

14 Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 

15 U.S.C. 6971(f)(1))); 

16 ‘‘(ii) applied research (as defined in 

17 such section 251(f)(1)); 

18 ‘‘(iii) integrated research conducted 

19 pursuant to section 406 of the Agricultural 

20 Research, Extension, and Education Re21 form Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7626); or 

22 ‘‘(iv) integrated research so conducted 

23 that is applied or fundamental research.’’; 

24 (2) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (A)(iii), by striking 

2 ‘‘conventional breeding, including cultivar and 

3 breed development,’’ and inserting ‘‘public 

4 cultivar development through conventional 

5 breeding with no requirement or preference for 

6 the use of marker-assisted or genomic selection 

7 methods, including’’; 

8 (B) in subparagraph (B)(iv), by striking 

9 ‘‘conventional breeding, including breed develop10 ment,’’ and inserting ‘‘public breed development 

11 through conventional breeding with no require12 ment or preference for the use of marker-as13 sisted or genomic selection methods, including’’; 

14 and 

15 (C) in subparagraph (F)— 

16 (i) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

17 the end; 

18 (ii) in clause (vi), by striking the pe19 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

20 (iii) by adding at the end the fol21 lowing new clause: 

22 ‘‘(vii) new approaches to advance sys23 tems that enhance the markets for, and 

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1 fined in section 310B(g)(9)(A) of the Con2 solidated Farm and Rural Development 

3 Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(g)(9)(A)).’’; 

4 (3) in paragraph (4)(A), by inserting ‘‘, includ5 ing by conducting each fiscal year at least 1 sepa6 rate request for applications for grants for research 

7 on public cultivar development through conventional 

8 breeding as described in paragraph (2)’’ before the 

9 semicolon at the end; 

10 (4) by redesignating paragraph (11) as para11 graph (12); 

12 (5) by inserting after paragraph (10) the fol13 lowing new paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(11) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

15 ‘‘(A) CONVENTIONAL BREEDING.—The 

16 term ‘conventional breeding’ means the develop17 ment of new varieties of an organism through 

18 controlled mating and selection without the use 

19 of transgenic methods. 

20 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC BREED.—The term ‘public 

21 breed’ means a breed that is the commercially 

22 available uniform end product of a publicly 

23 funded breeding program that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) has been sufficiently tested to 

2 demonstrate improved characteristics and 

3 stable performance; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) remains in the public domain for 

5 research purposes. 

6 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC CULTIVAR.—The term ‘public 

7 cultivar’ means a cultivar that is the commer8 cially available uniform end product of a pub9 licly funded breeding program that— 

10 ‘‘(i) has been sufficiently tested to 

11 demonstrate improved characteristics and 

12 stable performance; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) remains in the public domain for 

14 research purposes.’’; and 

15 (6) in paragraph (12)(A) (as redesignated by 

16 paragraph (4)), in the matter preceding clause (i), 

17 by striking ‘‘2012’’ and inserting ‘‘2018’’. 

18 SEC. 402. LOCAL AND REGIONAL FOOD SYSTEM ENTER19 PRISE FACILITATION. 

20 Section 502 of the Rural Development Act of 1972 

21 (7 U.S.C. 2662) is amended by inserting after subsection 

22 (e) the following new subsection: 

23 ‘‘(f) LOCAL AND REGIONAL FARM AND FOOD SYS24 TEM ENTERPRISE FACILITATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab2 lish a local and regional farm and food system enter3 prise facilitation initiative to increase training and 

4 technical assistance for purposes of building sustain5 able local and regional food systems, the activities of 

6 which may include— 

7 ‘‘(A) providing practical, reliable, and 

8 timely information to entrepreneurs and entre9 preneurial development organizations con10 cerning business management, business plan11 ning, microenterprise, marketing, and entrepre12 neurial education and training related to the 

13 development of local and regional farm and food 

14 system enterprises; 

15 ‘‘(B) providing training and technical as16 sistance to newly operational and growing local 

17 and regional farm and food system businesses; 

18 ‘‘(C) establishing networks of entrepre19 neurial support through partnerships among en20 trepreneurs, local business communities, all lev21 els of government, nonprofit organizations, col22 leges and universities, and other sectors; and 

23 ‘‘(D) providing technical assistance for the 

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1 mitted for purposes of carrying out an activity 

2 referred to in subparagraphs (A), (B), or (C). 

3 ‘‘(2) ENTERPRISE FACILITATORS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the 

5 initiative established under paragraph (1), the 

6 Secretary shall establish in the National Insti7 tute of Food and Agriculture the position of en8 terprise facilitator (referred to in this sub9 section as an ‘enterprise facilitator’) to perform 

10 the duties specified in subparagraph (C). 

11 ‘‘(B) PRIORITY.—In allocating funds made 

12 available to carry out this subsection, the Sec13 retary shall give priority to enterprise 

14 facilitators located in areas that— 

15 ‘‘(i) have high participation rates for 

16 the supplemental nutrition assistance pro17 gram established under the Food and Nu18 trition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et 

19 seq.); and 

20 ‘‘(ii) are rural areas (as defined in 

21 section 343(13) of the Consolidated Farm 

22 and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

23 1991(13))). 

24 ‘‘(C) DUTIES.—An enterprise facilitator 

25 shall, to the maximum extent practicable— 


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1 ‘‘(i) identify and organize local and 

2 regional food producers and entrepreneurs 

3 into entities that are able to deliver local 

4 and regional food into local markets; 

5 ‘‘(ii) develop partnerships with local 

6 and regional organizations and institutions 

7 to train entrepreneurs and facilitate new 

8 enterprises, including partnerships eligible 

9 for or that have received a grant under 

10 paragraph (3); 

11 ‘‘(iii) assist local and regional agricul12 tural producers and processors, including 

13 new producers and processors, with mar14 keting and distribution of local and re15 gional food products; 

16 ‘‘(iv) identify and work to remove bar17 riers to the movement of local and regional 

18 food products into the marketplace; 

19 ‘‘(v) work with local expanded food 

20 and nutrition education programs, schools 

21 and other local institutions, and individuals 

22 to assist in the development of food aggre23 gation, processing, distribution, and stor24 age skills in the locality or region involved; 


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1 ‘‘(vi) provide technical assistance in 

2 the preparation of grant and loan applica3 tions submitted for purposes of carrying 

4 out an activity referred to in paragraph 

5 (1); and 

6 ‘‘(vii) work with private sources of 

7 funding and other Federal and State agen8 cies to acquire funds for such purposes 

9 through grants and loans. 

10 ‘‘(3) GRANTS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) AUTHORITY.—In carrying out the ini12 tiative established under paragraph (1), the 

13 Secretary shall award grants to eligible entities, 

14 on a competitive basis, to provide training or 

15 technical assistance for purposes of building 

16 sustainable local and regional food systems. 

17 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBILITY.—An eligible entity 

18 under this paragraph is a collaborative State, 

19 tribal, local, or regionally based network or 

20 partnership of public or private entities, includ21 ing a network or partnership of— 

22 ‘‘(i) colleges and universities, includ23 ing cooperative extension colleges and uni24 versities; 

25 ‘‘(ii) nonprofit organizations; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) Federal, State, local, and tribal 

2 governmental entities; or 

3 ‘‘(iv) any other appropriate entities, 

4 as determined by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(C) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity 

6 seeking a grant under this paragraph shall sub7 mit to the Secretary an application in such time 

8 and in such manner and containing such infor9 mation as the Secretary may require, including 

10 information on any project the entity intends to 

11 carry out using grant funds. 

12 ‘‘(D) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants 

13 under this paragraph, the Secretary shall give 

14 priority to applications submitted by eligible en15 tities that are led by or include non-profit com16 munity-based organizations with expertise in 

17 providing training or technical assistance to 

18 local and regional food producers. 

19 ‘‘(E) CONSIDERATION OF PROJECTS.—In 

20 awarding grants under this paragraph, the Sec21 retary shall consider, with respect to a project 

22 included in an application submitted under sub23 paragraph (C)— 

24 ‘‘(i) the relevance of the project to the 

25 initiative established under paragraph (1); 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the appropriateness of the design 

2 of the project; 

3 ‘‘(iii) the likelihood of achieving the 

4 objectives of the project; 

5 ‘‘(iv) the inclusion of entrepreneurs 

6 and community leaders in the project; 

7 ‘‘(v) the availability of enterprise 

8 facilitators to assist with the project; 

9 ‘‘(vi) adequacy of plans for outreach, 

10 evaluation, reporting, and communication; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(vii) the national or regional applica13 bility of the findings and outcomes of the 

14 project. 

15 ‘‘(F) TERM.—The term of a grant pro16 vided under this paragraph shall be not more 

17 than three years.’’. 

18 SEC. 403. CONVENTIONAL BREEDING INITIATIVE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 251(e) of the Department 

20 of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 

21 6971(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

22 new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(6) CONVENTIONAL PLANT AND ANIMAL

24 BREEDING SPECIAL INITIATIVE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary 

2 shall establish a special initiative within the Re3 search, Education, and Extension Office to co4 ordinate research activities at the Department 

5 relating to conventional plant and animal breed6 ing. 

7 ‘‘(B) WORKING GROUP.—In carrying out 

8 the special initiative established under subpara9 graph (A), the Under Secretary shall establish 

10 a working group that reports to the Under Sec11 retary, to be comprised of individuals who are 

12 responsible for the management or administra13 tion of public breeding programs in the Depart14 ment from each of the following agencies within 

15 the Department: 

16 ‘‘(i) The National Institute of Food 

17 and Agriculture. 

18 ‘‘(ii) The Agricultural Research Serv19 ice. 

20 ‘‘(iii) The Economic Research Service. 

21 ‘‘(iv) The National Agricultural Sta22 tistics Service. 

23 ‘‘(C) DUTIES OF WORKING GROUP.—The 

24 working group shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) coordinate conventional plant and 

2 animal breeding research being conducted 

3 at or funded by an agency described in 

4 subparagraph (B); 

5 ‘‘(ii) carry out ongoing analysis and 

6 tracking activities for public grants to en7 sure that a diverse range of crop and ani8 mal breeding needs are being met in a 

9 timely and transparent manner; 

10 ‘‘(iii) coordinate and collaborate with 

11 the National Genetics Resource Advisory 

12 Council established pursuant to section 

13 1632 of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva14 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 

15 5841); 

16 ‘‘(iv) maximize the delivery of public 

17 cultivars and public breeds and ensure the 

18 efficient coordination of the activities of 

19 the working group and the activities of 

20 each of— 

21 ‘‘(I) the Agricultural Research 

22 Service; 

23 ‘‘(II) the National Institute of 

24 Food and Agriculture; 


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1 ‘‘(III) the National Genetic Re2 sources Advisory Council; 

3 ‘‘(IV) genetic resource conserva4 tion centers; 

5 ‘‘(V) land-grant colleges and uni6 versities (as defined in section 1404 of 

7 the National Agricultural Research, 

8 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 

9 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)); 

10 ‘‘(VI) nongovernmental organiza11 tions with interests or expertise in 

12 conventional breeding; and 

13 ‘‘(VII) public and private conven14 tional plant and animal breeders; and 

15 ‘‘(v) evaluate conventional public plant 

16 and animal breeding activities and out17 comes to make recommendations to the 

18 Under Secretary on the adequacy of 

19 human and financial resources needed to 

20 ensure that the next generation of public 

21 breeders and agricultural breeders are pre22 pared to meet the challenges of the future. 

23 ‘‘(D) ADVISORY BOARD.—The Under Sec24 retary shall establish an advisory board whose 

25 primary duty will be to make recommendations 


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1 to the working group established under sub2 paragraph (B) on matters related to the duties 

3 specified in subparagraph (C). The advisory 

4 board shall be comprised of individuals with ex5 pertise in conventional plant and animal breed6 ing including representatives from each of the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(i) The Agricultural Research Serv9 ice. 

10 ‘‘(ii) The National Institute of Food 

11 and Agriculture. 

12 ‘‘(iii) Private foundations and non13 profit organizations that have expertise in 

14 conventional plant and animal breeding. 

15 ‘‘(iv) Private agricultural research and 

16 technology transfer firms. 

17 ‘‘(v) Land-grant colleges and univer18 sities. 

19 ‘‘(E) DEFINITIONS.—The terms ‘conven20 tional breeding’, ‘public cultivar’, and ‘public 

21 breed’ have the meaning given such terms in 

22 paragraph (11) of subsection (b) of the of the 

23 Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research 

24 Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 450i(b)).’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 296(b) of 

2 the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 

3 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)), as amended by section 109(b), 

4 is further amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (7) (as amended by such sec6 tion 109(b)), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

7 (2) in paragraph (8), (as amended by such sec8 tion 109(b)), by striking the period at the end and 

9 inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

11 paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(9) the authority of the Secretary to establish 

13 a conventional plant and animal breeding special ini14 tiative under section 251(e).’’. 

15 SEC. 404. NATIONAL GENETICS RESOURCES PROGRAM. 

16 Section 1632(d) of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva17 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5841(d)) is amend18 ed— 

19 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ after 

20 the semicolon at the end; 

21 (2) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para22 graph (7); and 

23 (3) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol24 lowing new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(6) establish a national strategic germplasm 

2 assessment and use plan to meet food security goals 

3 for the future; and’’. 

4 TITLE V—HORTICULTURE 

5 SEC. 501. FARMERS MARKET AND LOCAL FOOD PRO6 MOTION PROGRAM. 

7 Section 6 of the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Mar8 keting Act of 1976 (7 U.S.C. 3005) is amended— 

9 (1) in the section heading, by adding ‘‘AND

10 LOCAL FOOD’’ after ‘‘MARKET’’; 

11 (2) in subsection (a)— 

12 (A) by inserting ‘‘and Local Food’’ after 

13 ‘‘Market’’; 

14 (B) by striking ‘‘farmers’ markets and to 

15 promote’’; and 

16 (C) by inserting ‘‘and local food capacity 

17 development’’ before the period at the end; 

18 (3) in subsection (b), by striking paragraph (1) 

19 and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The purposes of the Pro21 gram are to increase domestic consumption of and 

22 access to locally and regionally produced agricultural 

23 products by developing, improving, expanding, and 

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1 ance to, or assisting in the development, improve2 ment and expansion of— 

3 ‘‘(A) domestic farmers’ markets, roadside 

4 stands, community-supported agriculture pro5 grams, agritourism activities, and other direct 

6 producer-to-consumer market opportunities; and 

7 ‘‘(B) local and regional food enterprises 

8 that are not direct producer-to-consumer mar9 kets but process, distribute, aggregate, store, 

10 and market locally or regionally produced food 

11 products.’’; 

12 (4) in subsection (c)(1)— 

13 (A) by inserting ‘‘or other agricultural 

14 business entity’’ after ‘‘cooperative’’; and 

15 (B) by inserting ‘‘, including a community 

16 supported agriculture network or association’’ 

17 after ‘‘association’’; 

18 (5) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub19 section (f); 

20 (6) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol21 lowing new subsection: 

22 ‘‘(e) PRIORITIES.—In providing grants under the 

23 Program, priority shall be given to applications that in24 clude projects that— 

25 ‘‘(1) benefit underserved communities; 


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1 ‘‘(2) develop market opportunities for small and 

2 mid-sized farm and ranch operations; and 

3 ‘‘(3) include a strategic plan to maximize the 

4 use of funds to build capacity for local and regional 

5 food systems in a community.’’; and 

6 (7) in subsection (f) (as redesignated by para7 graph (5))— 

8 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

9 (i) in the heading, by striking ‘‘FIS10 CAL YEARS 2008 THROUGH 2012’’ and in11 serting ‘‘COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORA12 TION FUNDING FOR FISCAL YEARS 2008

13 THROUGH 2012 AND 2014 THROUGH 2018’’; 

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

15 ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the end; 

16 (iii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

17 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

18 and’’; and 

19 (iv) by adding at the end the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(D) $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

22 2014 through 2018.’’; 

23 (B) by striking paragraphs (2) and (4); 

24 (C) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 

25 paragraph (4); 


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1 (D) by inserting after paragraph (1) the 

2 following new paragraphs: 

3 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In 

4 addition to funds made available under paragraph 

5 (1), there is authorized to be appropriated to carry 

6 out this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

7 2013 through 2018. 

8 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds made 

10 available to carry out the Program for each fis11 cal year, to the maximum extent practicable, 50 

12 percent shall be used for the purposes described 

13 in subsection (b)(1)(A) and 50 percent shall be 

14 used for the purposes described in subsection 

15 (b)(1)(B). 

16 ‘‘(B) COST SHARE.—To be eligible to re17 ceive a grant for a project described in sub18 section (b)(1)(B), a recipient shall provide a 

19 match in the form of cash or in-kind contribu20 tions in an amount equal to 25 percent of the 

21 total cost of the project.’’; and 

22 (E) by adding at the end the following new 

23 paragraphs: 

24 ‘‘(5) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more 

25 than 10 percent of the total amount made available 


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1 to carry out this section for a fiscal year may be 

2 used for administrative expenses. 

3 ‘‘(6) LIMITATIONS.—An eligible entity may not 

4 use a grant or other assistance provided under the 

5 Program for the purchase, construction, or rehabili6 tation of a building or structure.’’. 

7 SEC. 502. SPECIALTY CROP BLOCK GRANTS. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 of the Specialty Crops 

9 Competitiveness Act of 2004 (7 U.S.C. 1621 note) is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and 

12 (3) as paragraphs (2), (3), and (4), respectively; and 

13 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2), as redes14 ignated by paragraph (1) of this subsection, the fol15 lowing new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(1) The term ‘locally or regionally produced 

17 food’ has the meaning given the term ‘locally or re18 gionally produced agricultural food products’ in sec19 tion 310B(g)(9)(A)(i) of the Consolidated Farm and 

20 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

21 1932(g)(9)(A)(i)).’’. 

22 (b) AVAILABILITY AND PURPOSES OF GRANTS.— 

23 Subsection (a) of section 101 of such Act is amended— 

24 (1) in the heading, by striking ‘‘PURPOSE’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘PURPOSES’’; 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘2005 through 2012’’ and in2 serting ‘‘2013 through 2018’’; and 

3 (3) by striking ‘‘solely to enhance’’ and all that 

4 follows and inserting ‘‘to increase the consumption 

5 and availability of specialty crops, including those 

6 that are locally or regionally produced, and to in7 crease the profitability, ecological sustainability, and 

8 competitiveness of specialty crop production.’’. 

9 (c) PREFERENCE.—Such section 101 is further 

10 amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating subsections (g), (h), (i), 

12 and (j) as subsections (i), (j), (k), and (m), respec13 tively; and 

14 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol15 lowing new subsection: 

16 ‘‘(g) PREFERENCE.—In using grant funds provided 

17 under this section, the State receiving the grant shall give 

18 a preference to proposals that demonstrate ability to have 

19 direct positive impact on— 

20 ‘‘(1) farm profitability and sustainability; 

21 ‘‘(2) improved distribution capacity for locally 

22 or regionally produced foods; or 

23 ‘‘(3) increased domestic consumption and af24 fordability of edible specialty crops, particularly in 

25 low-income communities; and’’. 


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1 (d) TRANSPARENCY.—Such section 101 is further 

2 amended by inserting after subsection (g), as added by 

3 subsection (c) of this section, the following new subsection: 

4 ‘‘(h) TRANSPARENCY.—Each State receiving a grant 

5 under this section shall, in a timely manner, publish on 

6 an Internet website summary information about all grants 

7 received under this section and reports on the implementa8 tion of projects funded by such grants.’’. 

9 (e) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Such section 101 is fur10 ther amended by inserting after subsection (k), as redesig11 nated by subsection (e)(1) of this section, the following 

12 new subsection: 

13 ‘‘(l) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—The Secretary shall 

14 consider expansion of the grant program under this sec15 tion to include traditional foods of federally recognized In16 dian tribes and other minority communities and may pub17 lish appropriate guidance to States receiving grants under 

18 this section regarding any such expansion.’’. 

19 SEC. 503. STUDY ON LOCAL FOOD PRODUCTION AND PRO20 GRAM EVALUATION. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

22 (1) collect data on the production and mar23 keting of locally or regionally produced agricultural 

24 food products; 


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1 (2) facilitate interagency collaboration and data 

2 sharing on programs related to local and regional 

3 food systems; and 

4 (3) monitor the effectiveness of programs de5 signed to expand or facilitate local food systems. 

6 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out this section, 

7 the Secretary shall— 

8 (1) collect and distribute comprehensive report9 ing of prices of locally or regionally produced agri10 cultural food products; 

11 (2) conduct surveys and analysis and publish 

12 reports relating to the production, handling, dis13 tribution, retail sales, and trend studies (including 

14 consumer purchasing patterns) of or on locally or re15 gionally produced agricultural food products; 

16 (3) evaluate the effectiveness of existing pro17 grams in growing local and regional food systems, 

18 including— 

19 (A) the impact of local food systems on job 

20 creation and economic development; 

21 (B) the level of participation in the Farm22 ers’ Market and Local Food Promotion Pro23 gram established under section 6 of the Farm24 er-to-Consumer Direct Marketing Act of 1976 

25 (7 U.S.C. 3005), including the percentage of 


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1 projects funded in comparison to applicants and 

2 the types of eligible entities receiving funds; 

3 (C) the ability for participants to leverage 

4 private capital and a synopsis of the places 

5 from which non-Federal funds are derived; and 

6 (D) any additional resources required to 

7 aid in the development or expansion of local 

8 and regional food systems; 

9 (4) expand the Agricultural Resource Manage10 ment Survey to include questions on locally or re11 gionally produced agricultural food products; 

12 (5) seek to establish or expand private-public 

13 partnerships to facilitate, to the maximum extent 

14 practicable, the collection of data on locally or re15 gionally produced agricultural food products, includ16 ing the development of a nationally coordinated and 

17 regionally balanced evaluation of the redevelopment 

18 of locally or regionally produced food systems; 

19 (6) form an interagency work group that in20 cludes representatives from— 

21 (A) the Agricultural Marketing Service; 

22 (B) the Agricultural Research Service; 

23 (C) the Economic Research Service; 

24 (D) the Food and Nutrition Service; 


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1 (E) the Food Safety and Inspection Serv2 ice; 

3 (F) the National Agricultural Statistics 

4 Service; 

5 (G) the National Institute of Food and Ag6 riculture; and 

7 (H) other agencies that are involved in 

8 data collection and research on locally or re9 gionally produced agricultural food products; 

10 and 

11 (7) authorize the National Agricultural Statis12 tics Service to create and administer— 

13 (A) a follow up survey to the Census of 

14 Agriculture to collect detailed data on producers 

15 who indicated that the producers sell to mar16 kets for locally or regionally produced agricul17 tural food products; and 

18 (B) a survey for the purpose of collecting 

19 market data, including sales by product type 

20 and supply chain or sourcing data, from all ven21 dors, including retail and wholesale vendors, of 

22 locally and regionally produced agricultural food 

23 products. 

24 (c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

25 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter until 


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1 September 30, 2018, the Secretary shall submit to the 

2 Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives 

3 and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For4 estry of the Senate a report describing the progress that 

5 has been made in implementing this section and identi6 fying any additional needs related to developing local and 

7 regional food systems. 

8 (d) FUNDING.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds of the Com10 modity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use 

11 to carry out this section $5,000,000, to remain 

12 available until expended. 

13 (2) ADDITIONAL FUNDING.—In addition to the 

14 funds made available under (1), there are authorized 

15 to be appropriated to carry out this section 

16 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2014 through 

17 2018, to remain available until expended. 

18 TITLE VI—CROP INSURANCE 

19 SEC. 601. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 522(c) of the Federal 

21 Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1522(c)) is amended— 

22 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking 

23 ‘‘CONTRACTING’’; 

24 (2) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 

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1 tracts to carry out research and development to’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘may conduct activities or enter into 

3 contracts to carry out research and development to 

4 maintain or improve existing policies or develop new 

5 policies to’’; 

6 (3) in paragraph (2)— 

7 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

8 ‘‘conduct research and development or’’ after 

9 ‘‘The Corporation may’’; and 

10 (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in11 serting the following new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(B) CONSULTATION.—Before conducting 

13 research and development or entering into a 

14 contract under subparagraph (A), the Corpora15 tion shall follow the consultation requirements 

16 described in section 508(h)(4)(E).’’; 

17 (4) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘after expert 

18 review in accordance with section 505(e) and proce19 dures of the Board’’ after ‘‘approved by the Board’’; 

20 and 

21 (5) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘a pasture, 

22 range, and forage program’’ and inserting ‘‘policies 

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1 ghum, sorghum for biomass, specialty crops, sugar2 cane, and dedicated energy crops’’. 

3 (b) FUNDING.—Section 522(e) of the Federal Crop 

4 Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1522(e)) is amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

6 (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking 

7 ‘‘CONTRACTING’’ and inserting ‘‘CONDUCTING

8 AND CONTRACTING FOR RESEARCH AND DEVEL9 OPMENT’’; 

10 (B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

11 ‘‘conduct research and development and’’ after 

12 ‘‘the Corporation may use to’’; and 

13 (C) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

14 ‘‘conduct research and development and’’ after 

15 ‘‘for the fiscal year to’’; 

16 (2) in paragraph (3), in the matter preceding 

17 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘to provide either re18 imbursement payments or contract payments’’; and 

19 (3) by striking paragraph (4). 

20 SEC. 602. WHOLE FARM RISK MANAGEMENT INSURANCE. 

21 Section 522(c) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

22 U.S.C. 1522(c)) is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(18) WHOLE FARM DIVERSIFIED RISK MAN25 AGEMENT INSURANCE PLAN.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Corporation shall 

2 conduct activities or enter into contracts to 

3 carry out research and development to develop 

4 a whole farm risk management insurance plan, 

5 with a liability limitation of $1,500,000, that 

6 allows a diversified crop or livestock producer 

7 the option to qualify for an indemnity if actual 

8 gross farm revenue is below 85 percent of the 

9 average gross farm revenue or the expected 

10 gross farm revenue that can reasonably be ex11 pected of the producer, as determined by the 

12 Corporation. 

13 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE PRODUCERS.—The Cor14 poration shall permit producers (including di15 rect-to-consumer marketers, and producers 

16 servicing local and regional and farm identity17 preserved markets) who produce multiple agri18 cultural commodities, including specialty crops, 

19 industrial crops, livestock, and aquaculture 

20 products, to participate in the plan in lieu of 

21 any other plan under this subtitle. 

22 ‘‘(C) DIVERSIFICATION.—The Corporation 

23 may provide diversification-based additional 

24 coverage payment rates, premium discounts, or 

25 other enhanced benefits in recognition of the 


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1 risk management benefits of crop and livestock 

2 diversification strategies for producers that 

3 grow multiple crops or that may have income 

4 from the production of livestock that uses a 

5 crop grown on the farm. 

6 ‘‘(D) MARKET READINESS.—The Corpora7 tion may include coverage for the value of any 

8 packing, packaging, or any other similar on9 farm activity the Corporation determines to be 

10 the minimum required in order to remove the 

11 commodity from the field. 

12 ‘‘(E) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 

13 after the date of enactment of this paragraph, 

14 the Corporation shall submit to the Committee 

15 on Agriculture of the House of Representatives 

16 and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

17 and Forestry of the Senate a report that de18 scribes the results and feasibility of the re19 search and development conducted under this 

20 paragraph, including an analysis of potential 

21 adverse market distortions.’’. 


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1 SEC. 603. APPROVAL OF COSTS FOR RESEARCH AND DE2 VELOPMENT. 

3 Section 522(b)(2) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

4 (7 U.S.C. 1522(b)(2)) is amended by striking subpara5 graph (E) and inserting the following new subparagraph: 

6 ‘‘(E) APPROVAL.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Board may 

8 approve up to 50 percent of the projected 

9 total research and development costs to be 

10 paid in advance to an applicant, in accord11 ance with the procedures developed by the 

12 Board for the making of the payments, if, 

13 after consideration of the reviewer reports 

14 described in subparagraph (D) and such 

15 other information as the Board determines 

16 appropriate, the Board determines that— 

17 ‘‘(I) the concept, in good faith, 

18 will likely result in a viable and mar19 ketable policy consistent with section 

20 508(h); 

21 ‘‘(II) at the sole discretion of the 

22 Board, the concept, if developed into a 

23 policy and approved by the Board, 

24 would provide crop insurance cov25 erage— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) in a significantly im2 proved form or that addresses a 

3 unique need of agricultural pro4 ducers; 

5 ‘‘(bb) to a crop or region not 

6 traditionally served by the Fed7 eral crop insurance program; or 

8 ‘‘(cc) in a form that ad9 dresses a recognized flaw or 

10 problem in the program; 

11 ‘‘(III) the applicant agrees to 

12 provide such reports as the Corpora13 tion determines are necessary to mon14 itor the development effort; 

15 ‘‘(IV) the proposed budget and 

16 timetable are reasonable, as deter17 mined by the Board; and 

18 ‘‘(V) the concept proposal meets 

19 any other requirements that the 

20 Board determines appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(ii) WAIVER.—The Board may waive 

22 the 50-percent limitation and, upon re23 quest of the submitter after the submitter 

24 has begun research and development activi25 ties, the Board may approve an additional 


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1 25 percent advance payment to the sub2 mitter for research and development costs, 

3 if, at the sole discretion of the Board, the 

4 Board determines that— 

5 ‘‘(I) the intended policy or plan 

6 of insurance developed by the sub7 mitter will provide coverage for a re8 gion or crop that is underserved by 

9 the Federal crop insurance program, 

10 including specialty crops; and 

11 ‘‘(II) the submitter is making 

12 satisfactory progress towards devel13 oping a viable and marketable policy 

14 or plan of insurance consistent with 

15 section 508(h).’’. 

16 SEC. 604. CROP INSURANCE FOR ORGANIC CROPS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 508(c)(6) of the Federal 

18 Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(c)(6)) is amended by 

19 adding at the end the following new subparagraph: 

20 ‘‘(D) ORGANIC CROPS.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—As soon as pos22 sible, but not later than the 2015 reinsur23 ance year, the Corporation shall offer pro24 ducers of organic crops price elections for 

25 all organic crops produced in compliance 


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1 with standards issued by the Department 

2 of Agriculture under the national organic 

3 program established under the Organic 

4 Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 

5 6501 et seq.) that reflect the actual retail 

6 or wholesale prices, as appropriate, re7 ceived by producers for organic crops, as 

8 determined by the Secretary using all rel9 evant sources of information. 

10 ‘‘(ii) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Corpora11 tion shall submit to the Committee on Ag12 riculture of the House of Representatives 

13 and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri14 tion, and Forestry of the Senate an annual 

15 report on progress made in developing and 

16 improving Federal crop insurance for or17 ganic crops, including— 

18 ‘‘(I) the numbers and varieties of 

19 organic crops insured; 

20 ‘‘(II) the progress of imple21 menting the price elections required 

22 under this subparagraph, including 

23 the rate at which additional price elec24 tions are adopted for organic crops; 


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1 ‘‘(III) the development of new in2 surance approaches relevant to or3 ganic producers; and 

4 ‘‘(IV) any recommendations the 

5 Corporation considers appropriate to 

6 improve Federal crop insurance cov7 erage for organic crops.’’. 

8 (b) REMOVAL FROM LIST OF RESEARCH AND DE9 VELOPMENT ACTIVITIES.—Section 522(c) of the Federal 

10 Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1522(c)) is amended by 

11 striking paragraph (10). 

12 SEC. 605. NATIONWIDE EXPANSION OF AGRICULTURAL 

13 MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM AND 

14 INCLUSION OF ORGANIC CERTIFICATION 

15 COST SHARE ASSISTANCE. 

16 Subsection (b) of section 524 of the Federal Crop In17 surance Act (7 U.S.C. 1524) is amended to read as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(b) AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE, 

20 RISK MANAGEMENT EDUCATION, AND ORGANIC CERTIFI21 CATION COST SHARE ASSISTANCE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY FOR PROVISION OF ASSIST23 ANCE.—The Secretary shall provide assistance under 

24 this section as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Provision of organic certification cost 

2 share assistance pursuant to section 10606 of 

3 the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 

4 2002 (7 U.S.C. 6523). 

5 ‘‘(B) Activities to support risk manage6 ment education and community outreach part7 nerships pursuant to section 522(d), includ8 ing— 

9 ‘‘(i) entering into futures or hedging; 

10 ‘‘(ii) entering into agricultural trade 

11 options as a hedging transaction to reduce 

12 production, price, or revenue risk; or 

13 ‘‘(iii) conducting any other activity re14 lating to an activity described in clause (i) 

15 or (ii), including farm financial 

16 benchmarking, as determined by the Sec17 retary. 

18 ‘‘(C) Provision of agricultural management 

19 assistance grants to producers in States in 

20 which there has been traditionally, and con21 tinues to be, a low level of Federal crop insur22 ance participation and availability, and pro23 ducers underserved by the Federal crop insur24 ance program, as determined by the Secretary, 

25 for the purposes of— 


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1 ‘‘(i) constructing or improving— 

2 ‘‘(I) watershed management 

3 structures; or 

4 ‘‘(II) irrigation structures; 

5 ‘‘(ii) planting trees to form 

6 windbreaks or to improve water quality; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(iii) mitigating financial risk through 

9 production or marketing diversification or 

10 resource conservation practices, includ11 ing— 

12 ‘‘(I) soil erosion control; 

13 ‘‘(II) integrated pest manage14 ment; 

15 ‘‘(III) organic farming; or 

16 ‘‘(IV) to develop and implement a 

17 plan to create marketing opportunities 

18 for the producer, including through 

19 value-added processing. 

20 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT LIMITATION.—The total amount 

21 of payments made to a person (as defined in section 

22 1001(5) of the Food Security Act (7 U.S.C. 

23 1308(5))) (as in existence before the amendment 

24 made by section 1603(b) of the Food, Conservation, 

25 and Energy Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–246; 122 


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1 Stat. 1730)) under paragraph (1) for any year may 

2 not exceed $50,000. 

3 ‘‘(3) FUNDING.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

5 carry out this subsection through the Com6 modity Credit Corporation. 

7 ‘‘(B) FUNDING.—The Commodity Credit 

8 Corporation shall make available to carry out 

9 this subsection— 

10 ‘‘(i) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2013; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(ii) $23,000,000 for each of fiscal 

13 years 2014 through 2018. 

14 ‘‘(C) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—Of the 

15 amount made available to carry out this sub16 section for a fiscal year, the Commodity Credit 

17 Corporation shall use not less than— 

18 ‘‘(i) 50 percent to carry out para19 graph (1)(A); 

20 ‘‘(ii) 26 percent to carry out para21 graph (1)(B); and 

22 ‘‘(iii) 24 percent to carry out para23 graph (1)(C).’’. 


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1 TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS 

2 SEC. 701. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

3 (a) MEAT PRODUCTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Federal Meat 

5 Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 683 et seq.) is amended 

6 by adding at the end the following new sections: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 502. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab9 lish in the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the De10 partment of Agriculture a technical assistance division to 

11 coordinate the initiatives of any other appropriate agency 

12 of the Department of Agriculture to provide, with respect 

13 to compliance with this Act— 

14 ‘‘(1) outreach, education, and training to very 

15 small or certain small establishments; and 

16 ‘‘(2) grants to appropriate State agencies, edu17 cational institutions, or non-governmental organiza18 tions, or networks or partnerships of such agencies, 

19 such institutions, or such organizations, to provide 

20 outreach, technical assistance, education, and train21 ing to very small or certain small establishments. 

22 ‘‘(b) PERSONNEL.—The technical assistance division 

23 shall be comprised of individuals that, as determined by 

24 the Secretary— 


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1 ‘‘(1) are of a quantity sufficient to carry out 

2 the duties of the technical assistance division; and 

3 ‘‘(2) possess appropriate qualifications and ex4 pertise relating to the duties of the technical assist5 ance division. 

6 ‘‘(c) CERTAIN SMALL ESTABLISHMENT DEFINED.— 

7 In this section, the term ‘certain small establishment’ 

8 means an establishment that meets the requirements for 

9 establishments described in section 332.3 of title 9, Code 

10 of Federal Regulations (issued pursuant to section 501), 

11 as in effect on the date of the enactment of the Local 

12 Farms, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013.’’. 

13 (2) TRANSFER OF DIVISION.—Not later than 

14 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

15 the Secretary shall transfer the functions, personnel, 

16 and assets of the technical division established under 

17 section 501(f) of the Federal Meat Inspection Act 

18 (21 U.S.C. 683 et seq.) (as in effect on the day be19 fore the date of the enactment of this Act) to the 

20 technical division required to be established under 

21 section 502 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act, as 

22 added by paragraph (1). 

23 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 501 

24 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 683 

25 et seq.) is amended— 


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1 (A) in subsection (b)(3)(B)(ii), by striking 

2 ‘‘subsection (j)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (i)’’; 

3 (B) in subsection (e)(i), by striking ‘‘sub4 section (j)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (i)’’; 

5 (C) by striking subsection (f); and 

6 (D) by redesignating subsections (g) 

7 through (j) as subsections (f) through (i), re8 spectively. 

9 (b) POULTRY PRODUCTS.—The Poultry Products In10 spection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.) is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following new section: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 32. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The technical assistance division 

14 of the Food Safety and Inspection Service established 

15 under section 502 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act 

16 shall coordinate the initiatives of any other appropriate 

17 agency of the Department of Agriculture to provide, with 

18 respect to compliance with this Act— 

19 ‘‘(1) outreach, education, and training to very 

20 small or certain small establishments; and 

21 ‘‘(2) grants to appropriate State agencies, edu22 cational institutions, or non-governmental organiza23 tions, or networks or partnerships of such agencies, 

24 such institutions, or such organizations, to provide 


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1 outreach, technical assistance, education, and train2 ing to very small or certain small establishments. 

3 ‘‘(b) CERTAIN SMALL ESTABLISHMENT DEFINED.— 

4 In this section, the term ‘certain small establishment’ 

5 means an establishment that meets the requirements for 

6 establishments described in section 381.513 of title 9, 

7 Code of Federal Regulations (issued pursuant to section 

8 31), as in effect on the date of the enactment of the Local 

9 Farms, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013.’’. 

10 SEC. 702. GUIDANCE. 

11 (a) MEAT PRODUCTS.—Title V of the Federal Meat 

12 Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 683 et seq.), as amended by 

13 section 701, is further amended by adding at the end the 

14 following new section: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 503. GUIDANCE. 

16 ‘‘(a) ISSUANCE.—The Secretary, acting through the 

17 Food Safety and Inspection Service, shall issue guidance 

18 to very small or certain small establishments (as defined 

19 in section 502(c)) on how to comply with the requirements 

20 of this Act. 

21 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The guidance issued under sub22 section (a) shall be appropriate for— 

23 ‘‘(1) slaughter and processing facilities that are 

24 subject to Federal or State inspection under this 

25 Act, or provide custom slaughter or processing; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) mobile slaughter and processing facili2 ties.’’. 

3 (b) POULTRY PRODUCTS.—The Poultry Products In4 spection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.), as amended by sec5 tion 701, is further amended by adding at the end the 

6 following new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 33. GUIDANCE. 

8 ‘‘(a) ISSUANCE.—The Secretary, acting through the 

9 Food Safety and Inspection Service, shall issue guidance 

10 to very small or certain small establishments (as defined 

11 in section 32(b)) on how to comply with the requirements 

12 of this Act. 

13 ‘‘(b) CONTENTS.—The guidance issued under sub14 section (a) shall be appropriate for— 

15 ‘‘(1) slaughter and processing facilities that are 

16 subject to Federal or State inspection under this 

17 Act, or provide custom slaughter or processing; 

18 ‘‘(2) on-farm slaughter and processing of poul19 try that is exempt under section 15(c)(1); and 

20 ‘‘(3) mobile slaughter and processing facili21 ties.’’. 

22 (c) INITIAL GUIDANCE.—Not later than two years 

23 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

24 shall issue guidance under section 503(a) of the Federal 

25 Meat Inspection Act, as added by subsection (a), and secVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:04 Apr 10, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00088 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S679.IS S679

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1 tion 33 of the Poultry Products Inspection Act, as added 

2 by subsection (b). 

3 SEC. 703. LABELS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION ON LABEL 

4 CONTENT. 

5 (a) MEAT PRODUCTS.—Title I of the Federal Meat 

6 Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is amended by add7 ing at the end the following new section: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 26. LABELS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION ON LABEL 

9 CONTENT. 

10 ‘‘The Secretary shall establish a guidebook and 

11 website to provide improved public access to user-friendly 

12 information on meat product label content and format and 

13 the approval process for meat product labels.’’. 

14 (b) POULTRY PRODUCTS.—The Poultry Products In15 spection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.), as amended by sec16 tion 702 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the 

17 end the following new section: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 34. LABELS AND PUBLIC INFORMATION ON LABEL 

19 CONTENT. 

20 ‘‘The Secretary shall establish a guidebook and 

21 website to provide improved public access to user-friendly 

22 information on poultry product label content and format 

23 and the approval process for poultry product labels.’’. 

24 (c) APPLICABILITY DATE.—Not later than one year 

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 


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1 shall establish the guidebook and website required under 

2 section 26 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act, as added 

3 by subsection (a), and section 34 of the Poultry Products 

4 Inspection Act, as added by subsection (b). 

5 SEC. 704. MEAT AND POULTRY PROCESSING REPORT. 

6 (a) REPORT.—Not later than two years after the date 

7 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture 

8 shall submit to Congress a report on steps that can be 

9 taken to assist very small or certain small establishments 

10 to ensure that such establishments produce meat and 

11 poultry products that meet the requirements under the 

12 Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) and 

13 the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et 

14 seq.). 

15 (b) STAKEHOLDER GROUP.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec18 retary shall convene a group of stakeholders to ad19 vise the Secretary on— 

20 (A) proposed guidance on facilities require21 ments, process controls and pathogen preven22 tion in very small or certain small establish23 ments; 


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1 (B) improving the user-friendliness of in2 formation contained in meat and poultry labels; 

3 and 

4 (C) the report required under paragraph 

5 (a). 

6 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The stakeholders group 

7 convened under paragraph (1) shall include persons 

8 with expertise on problems that very small or certain 

9 small establishments that are processing facilities, 

10 including mobile processing facilities, may have in 

11 meeting the requirements of the Federal Meat In12 spection Act and the Poultry Products Inspection 

13 Act, including— 

14 (A) small scale livestock and poultry grow15 ers; 

16 (B) operators of small scale slaughtering 

17 and processing facilities; 

18 (C) representatives of farming organiza19 tions whose membership includes small scale 

20 livestock and poultry producers; 

21 (D) representatives of established con22 sumer organizations; 

23 (E) Federal and industry employees, in24 cluding a representative of employees of the 

25 Food Safety and Inspection Service that are 


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1 represented by a labor organization (as defined 

2 in section 7103(a)(4) of title 5, United States 

3 Code) and a representative of employees of the 

4 industries regulated by the Food Safety and In5 spection Service that are represented by a labor 

6 organization (as defined in section 2(5) of the 

7 National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 

8 152(5))); and 

9 (F) representatives from appropriate Fed10 eral and State agencies, educational institu11 tions, other non-governmental organizations, or 

12 networks or partnerships of such agencies, such 

13 institutions, and such organizations. 

14 (3) TERMINATION.—The Secretary shall termi15 nate the stakeholder group upon completion of the 

16 guidance and the report referred to in paragraph 

17 (1). 

18 (c) CERTAIN SMALL ESTABLISHMENT DEFINED.—In 

19 this section, the term ‘‘certain small establishment’’ 

20 means— 

21 (1) with respect to an establishment that is 

22 subject to the requirements of the Federal Meat In23 spection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), a certain small 

24 establishment as defined in section 502(c) of such 

25 Act; or 


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1 (2) with respect to an establishment that is 

2 subject to the requirements of the Poultry Products 

3 Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.), a certain 

4 small establishment as defined in section 32(b) of 

5 such Act. 

Æ 


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