I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5203 

To establish in the Department of Agriculture an Office of Agritourism, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 11, 2023 

Ms. WEXTON (for herself, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. VALADAO, Mr. HARDER of California, and Mr. ROUZER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To establish in the Department of Agriculture an Office 

of Agritourism, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Accelerating the 

5 Growth of Rural Innovation and Tourism Opportunities 

6 to Uphold Rural Industries and Sustainable Marketplaces 

7 Act’’ or the ‘‘AGRITOURISM Act’’. 

8 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

9 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) agritourism provides a range of unique ex2 periences to the public, including— 

3 (A) education, such as school tours, garden 

4 and nursery tours, winery tours, historical agri5 cultural exhibits, hops and microbrewery tours, 

6 and distillery tours; 

7 (B) outdoor recreation, such as river ac8 tivities, mountain biking, horseback riding, 

9 wildlife viewing and photography, fee fishing 

10 and hunting, wagon and sleigh rides, cross11 country skiing, game preserves, and clay bird 

12 shooting; 

13 (C) entertainment, such as concerts and 

14 special events, culinary experiences, festivals, 

15 fairs, interaction with farm animals, and wed16 dings; 

17 (D) direct sales, such as on-farm sales, 

18 farm stands, agriculture-related crafts and 

19 gifts, u-pick operations, u-cut tree farms, 

20 wineries, breweries, cideries, distilleries, and cut 

21 flowers; 

22 (E) accommodations, such as bed-and23 breakfast inns, farm and ranch vacations, yurts, 

24 sheep wagons, and guest ranches; and 

25 (F) dining on a farm; 


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1 (2) agritourism has financial, educational, and 

2 social benefits to communities; and 

3 (3) agritourism continues— 

4 (A) to offer educational opportunities for 

5 children and families; 

6 (B) to generate supplemental income for 

7 owners of agricultural enterprises, which are 

8 often small or family-run businesses; 

9 (C) to spur economic development in rural 

10 communities; 

11 (D) to preserve agricultural heritage; and 

12 (E) to help farms diversify. 

13 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con14 gress that, to further realize the benefits of agritourism 

15 to communities, the Secretary of Agriculture should incor16 porate agritourism into the Department of Agriculture 

17 comprehensively. 

18 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF AGRITOURISM. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Agriculture 

20 Reorganization Act of 1994 is amended by inserting after 

21 section 216 (7 U.S.C. 6916) the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 217. OFFICE OF AGRITOURISM. 

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


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1 ‘‘(1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘Director’ means 

2 the Director of the Office of Agritourism described 

3 in subsection (c). 

4 ‘‘(2) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) each of the several States of the 

6 United States; 

7 ‘‘(B) the District of Columbia; and 

8 ‘‘(C) any territory of the United States. 

9 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab10 lish in the Department an Office of Agritourism. 

11 ‘‘(c) DIRECTOR.—The Secretary shall appoint a sen12 ior official to serve as the Director of the Office of 

13 Agritourism. 

14 ‘‘(d) DUTIES.—The Director shall encourage and 

15 promote, in each State, agritourism activities and 

16 agritourism businesses, including— 

17 ‘‘(1) educational experiences; 

18 ‘‘(2) outdoor recreation; 

19 ‘‘(3) entertainment and special events; 

20 ‘‘(4) direct sales; 

21 ‘‘(5) accommodations; and 

22 ‘‘(6) any other activity or business relating to 

23 agritourism, as determined by the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(e) MEANS OF ACHIEVING.—In carrying out sub25 section (d), the Director shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) coordinate with the agencies and officials 

2 of the Department; 

3 ‘‘(2) advise the Secretary on issues relating to 

4 agritourism; 

5 ‘‘(3) ensure that the programs of the Depart6 ment are updated to address best agritourism prac7 tices; 

8 ‘‘(4) conduct outreach to stakeholders and co9 ordinate external partnerships to share best prac10 tices, provide mentorship, and offer technical assist11 ance to agritourism businesses; 

12 ‘‘(5) facilitate interagency program coordination 

13 and develop interagency tools for the promotion of 

14 agritourism programs and resources; 

15 ‘‘(6) review and improve farm enterprise devel16 opment programs that provide information about fi17 nancial literacy, business planning, and marketing 

18 for agritourism; 

19 ‘‘(7) coordinate networks of agritourism busi20 nesses; and 

21 ‘‘(8) collaborate with other Federal agencies, as 

22 needed.’’. 

23 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The Department of 

24 Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 is amended by reVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:25 Aug 22, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5203.IH H5203

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1 designating the first section 225 (7 U.S.C. 6925) (relating 

2 to the Food Access Liaison) as section 224A. 

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 296(b) of 

4 the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 

5 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following: 

7 ‘‘(11) The authority of the Secretary to carry 

8 out section 217.’’. 

Æ 


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