I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 6408 

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

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 13, 2022 

Ms. WEXTON (for herself and Mr. NEWHOUSE) 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 referred to 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 THE CONGRESS. 

9 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 


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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, and hops and micro-brewery 

6 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. 

3 (3) Agritourism continues to— 

4 (A) offer educational opportunities for chil5 dren and families; 

6 (B) generate supplemental income for own7 ers of agricultural enterprises, which are often 

8 small or family-run businesses; 

9 (C) spur economic development in rural 

10 communities; 

11 (D) preserve agricultural heritage; and 

12 (E) help farms diversify. 

13 (b) SENSE OF THE CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

14 the Congress that, to further realize the benefits of 

15 agritourism to communities, the Secretary of Agriculture 

16 should incorporate agritourism into the Department of 

17 Agriculture comprehensively. 

18 SEC. 3. OFFICE OF AGRITOURISM. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Crop Insurance Re20 form and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act 

21 of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6901–6921) is amended by adding at 

22 the end the following: 

23 ‘‘SEC. 310. OFFICE OF AGRITOURISM. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish in 

25 the Department an Office of Agritourism. 


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1 ‘‘(b) DIRECTOR.—The Secretary shall appoint a sen2 ior official to serve as the Director of the Office of 

3 Agritourism (referred to in this section as the ‘Director’). 

4 ‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Office of Agritourism shall en5 courage and promote agritourism activities and 

6 agritourism businesses, including— 

7 ‘‘(1) educational experiences; 

8 ‘‘(2) outdoor recreation; 

9 ‘‘(3) entertainment and special events; 

10 ‘‘(4) direct sales; 

11 ‘‘(5) accommodations; and 

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

13 agritourism, as determined by the Secretary. 

14 ‘‘(d) MEANS OF ACHIEVING.—In carrying out sub15 section (c), the Director shall— 

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

17 of the Department; 

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

19 agritourism; 

20 ‘‘(3) ensure that the programs of the Depart21 ment are updated to address best agritourism prac22 tices; 

23 ‘‘(4) conduct outreach to stakeholders and co24 ordinate external partnerships to share best pracVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:36 Jan 20, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H6408.IH H6408

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1 tices, provide mentorship, and offer technical assist2 ance to agritourism businesses; 

3 ‘‘(5) facilitate interagency program coordination 

4 and develop interagency tools for the promotion of 

5 agritourism programs and resources; 

6 ‘‘(6) review and improve farm enterprise devel7 opment programs that provide information about fi8 nancial literacy, business planning, and marketing 

9 for agritourism; 

10 ‘‘(7) coordinate networks of agritourism busi11 nesses; and 

12 ‘‘(8) collaborate with other Federal agencies as 

13 needed.’’. 

14 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

15 for such Act is amended by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: 

‘‘Sec. 310. Office of Agritourism’’. 

Æ 


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