II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2758 

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

of 1998 to establish a national food safety training, education, extension, 

outreach, and technical assistance program for agricultural producers, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 9, 2009 

Ms. STABENOW (for herself, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. SANDERS, 

Mrs. BOXER, Mr. BINGAMAN, and Mr. LEAHY) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, 

Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 to establish a national food 

safety training, education, extension, outreach, and technical assistance program for agricultural producers, and 

for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Growing Safe Food 

5 Act of 2009’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. NATIONAL FOOD SAFETY TRAINING, EDUCATION, 

2 EXTENSION, OUTREACH, AND TECHNICAL AS3 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title IV of the Agricultural Re5 search, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 is 

6 amended by inserting after section 404 (7 U.S.C. 7624) 

7 the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 405. NATIONAL FOOD SAFETY TRAINING, EDUCATION, 

9 EXTENSION, OUTREACH, AND TECHNICAL AS10 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

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

12 ‘‘(1) AGRICULTURAL PRODUCER GROUP.—The 

13 term ‘agricultural producer group’ means a group— 

14 ‘‘(A) the mission of which includes working 

15 on behalf of agricultural producers, grower16 shippers, packers, distributors, and processors; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(B) a majority of the membership and 

19 board of directors of which are agricultural pro20 ducers, grower-shippers, packers, distributors, 

21 and processors. 

22 ‘‘(2) BEGINNING FARMER.—The term ‘begin23 ning farmer’ means a farmer who, as determined by 

24 the Secretary— 

25 ‘‘(A) has not operated a farm or who has 

26 operated a farm for not more than 10 years; 


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1 ‘‘(B) materially and substantially partici2 pates in the operation of the farm; and 

3 ‘‘(C) provides substantial day-to-day labor 

4 and management of the farm. 

5 ‘‘(3) CONSERVATION SYSTEMS.—The term ‘con6 servation systems’ means conservation practices, ac7 tivities, and management measures that are based 

8 on local resource conditions and the standards and 

9 guidelines contained in the Natural Resources Con10 servation Service field office technical guides. 

11 ‘‘(4) MARKET VALUE OF AGRICULTURAL PROD12 UCTS.—The term ‘market value of agricultural prod13 ucts’ means gross income derived from— 

14 ‘‘(A) the production of agricultural com15 modities and unfinished raw forestry products; 

16 ‘‘(B) the production of livestock and prod17 ucts produced by, or derived from, livestock; 

18 ‘‘(C) the production of farm-based renew19 able energy; 

20 ‘‘(D) the processing, packing, storing, and 

21 transporting of farm and forestry commodities, 

22 including renewable energy; 

23 ‘‘(E) the feeding, rearing, or finishing of 

24 livestock (exclusive of the cost or other basis of 

25 livestock purchased for resale); and 


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1 ‘‘(F) any other similar market activity re2 lated to farming or forestry, as determined by 

3 the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(5) NATIONAL INTEGRATED FOOD SAFETY INI5 TIATIVE.—The term ‘national integrated food safety 

6 initiative’ means the integrated research, education, 

7 and extension competitive grants program carried 

8 out under section 406. 

9 ‘‘(6) SMALL AND MEDIUM-SIZED FARM.—The 

10 term ‘small and medium-sized farm’ means a farm 

11 on which the market value of agricultural products, 

12 averaged over the most recent 3-year period for 

13 which data are available (including the market value 

14 generated by all of the individuals or legal entities 

15 that operate or have an ownership interest in the 

16 farm) does not exceed $1,000,000. 

17 ‘‘(7) SMALL FOOD PROCESSORS.—The term 

18 ‘small food processor’ has the meaning given the 

19 term by the Secretary. 

20 ‘‘(8) SMALL FRUIT AND VEGETABLE MERCHANT

21 WHOLESALER.—The term ‘small fruit and vegetable 

22 merchant wholesaler’ has the meaning given the 

23 term by the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(9) SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMER.—The 

25 term ‘socially disadvantaged farmer’ has the same 


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1 meaning given the term ‘socially disadvantaged 

2 farmer or rancher’ in section 355(e) of the Consoli3 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

4 2003(e)) with respect to a farmer. 

5 ‘‘(10) SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE.—The term 

6 ‘sustainable agriculture’ has the meaning given the 

7 term in section 1404 of the National Agricultural 

8 Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 

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

10 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab12 lish a competitive grant program to provide food 

13 safety training, education, extension, outreach, and 

14 technical assistance to— 

15 ‘‘(A) owners and operators of farms; 

16 ‘‘(B) small food processors; and 

17 ‘‘(C) small fruit and vegetable merchant 

18 wholesalers. 

19 ‘‘(2) APPLICABILITY.—Food safety training, 

20 education, extension, outreach, and technical assist21 ance provided under this section shall relate only to 

22 foods under the authority of the Commissioner of 

23 Food and Drugs and not to foods under the author24 ity of the Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(3) INTEGRATED APPROACH.—To the max2 imum extent practicable, the Secretary shall carry 

3 out the program under this section in a manner that 

4 integrates food safety standards and guidance with 

5 sustainable agriculture and conservation systems. 

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

7 section, the Secretary shall give priority to projects 

8 that target small and medium-sized farms, small 

9 processors, and small fresh fruit and vegetable mer10 chant wholesalers. 

11 ‘‘(5) COORDINATION.— 

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

13 coordinate implementation of the program 

14 under this section with the national integrated 

15 food safety initiative. 

16 ‘‘(B) INTERACTION.—The Secretary 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(i) in carrying out the program 

19 under this section, take into consideration 

20 applied research, education, and extension 

21 results obtained from the national inte22 grated food safety initiative; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) in determining the applied re24 search agenda for the national integrated 

25 food safety initiative, take into considerVerDate Nov 24 2008 00:56 Nov 10, 2009 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2758.IS S2758

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1 ation the needs articulated by the user 

2 community served by projects funded by 

3 the program under this section. 

4 ‘‘(c) GRANTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this sec6 tion, the Secretary shall make competitive grants to 

7 support training, education, extension, outreach, and 

8 technical assistance projects to increase under9 standing and implementation of food safety stand10 ards, guidance, and protocols developed under chap11 ter IV of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 

12 (21 U.S.C. 341 et seq.), including, as appropriate to 

13 the targeted customer group— 

14 ‘‘(A) good agricultural practices; 

15 ‘‘(B) good handling practices; 

16 ‘‘(C) good manufacturing practices; 

17 ‘‘(D) produce safety standards; 

18 ‘‘(E) risk analysis and preventative control 

19 mechanisms, 

20 ‘‘(F) sanitation standard operating proce21 dures; 

22 ‘‘(G) safe packaging and storage systems; 

23 ‘‘(H) recordkeeping for product sourcing 

24 and sales, including traceability standards if 

25 relevant; 


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1 ‘‘(I) food safety audits and certification; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(J) other similar activities, as determined 

4 by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(2) ENCOURAGED FEATURES.—The Secretary 

6 shall encourage projects carried out using grant 

7 funds under this section to include features that pro8 vide training, education, extension, outreach, and 

9 technical assistance in sustainable agriculture and 

10 conservation systems. 

11 ‘‘(3) ORGANIC AGRICULTURE.—The Secretary 

12 may make grants under this section to projects that 

13 target farms that have, or are transitioning to, cer14 tified organic production under the national organic 

15 program established under the Organic Foods Pro16 duction Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.). 

17 ‘‘(4) MAXIMUM TERM AND SIZE OF GRANT.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A grant under this 

19 section shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) have a term that is not more than 

21 3 years; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) be in an amount that is not more 

23 than $600,000 each year. 


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1 ‘‘(B) CONSECUTIVE GRANTS.—An eligible 

2 recipient may receive consecutive grants under 

3 this section. 

4 ‘‘(d) GRANT ELIGIBILITY.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a grant 

6 under this section, the recipient shall be— 

7 ‘‘(A) a State cooperative extension service; 

8 ‘‘(B) a Federal, State, local, or tribal agen9 cy; 

10 ‘‘(C) a nonprofit community-based or non11 governmental organization; 

12 ‘‘(D) an institution of higher education (as 

13 defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Edu14 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))) or a 

15 foundation maintained by an institution of 

16 higher education; 

17 ‘‘(E) an agricultural producer group; 

18 ‘‘(F) a collaboration of 2 of more eligible 

19 recipients described in this subsection; or 

20 ‘‘(G) such other appropriate recipient, as 

21 determined by the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(2) MULTISTATE PARTNERSHIPS.—Grants 

23 under this section may be made for projects involv24 ing more than 1 State. 

25 ‘‘(e) PROJECT EVALUATION CRITERIA.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In making grants under 

2 this section, the Secretary shall evaluate proposals 

3 based on the extent to which the proposed project— 

4 ‘‘(A) demonstrates relevancy, technical 

5 merit, and achievability; 

6 ‘‘(B) demonstrates knowledge of the goals 

7 and requirements of chapter IV of the Federal 

8 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 341 

9 et seq.) that are directly relevant to the pro10 posed project; 

11 ‘‘(C) benefits small and medium-sized 

12 farms, small processors, and small fresh fruit 

13 and vegetable merchant wholesalers; 

14 ‘‘(D) reaches beginning farmers, socially 

15 disadvantaged farmers, and underserved geo16 graphic areas; 

17 ‘‘(E) demonstrates a successful track 

18 record in training and outreach programs with 

19 the community to be served; 

20 ‘‘(F) includes adequate outreach plans; 

21 ‘‘(G) demonstrates a capacity to reach a 

22 large percentage of eligible participants in the 

23 targeted customer group; 


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1 ‘‘(H) includes adequate plans for a 

2 participatory evaluation process and outcome3 based reporting; 

4 ‘‘(I) leverages cash and in-kind contribu5 tions from State, local, and private sources; 

6 ‘‘(J) includes substantive, funded collabo7 rations between eligible recipients, including 

8 nonprofit community-based or nongovernmental 

9 organizations and agricultural producer groups; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(K) maximizes other appropriate factors, 

12 as determined by the Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(2) REGIONAL BALANCE.—In making grants 

14 under this section, the Secretary shall, to the max15 imum extent practicable, ensure— 

16 ‘‘(A) geographic diversity; and 

17 ‘‘(B) diversity of types of agricultural pro18 duction. 

19 ‘‘(f) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER PROGRAMS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Sec21 retary shall coordinate implementation of the pro22 gram under this section with the Secretary of Health 

23 and Human Services with respect to food safety 

24 standards, guidance, and protocols developed under 


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1 chapter IV of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 

2 Act (21 U.S.C. 341 et seq.). 

3 ‘‘(2) CONSISTENCY.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Projects funded by 

5 this program shall be consistent with— 

6 ‘‘(i) sustainable agriculture; 

7 ‘‘(ii) conservation practices (as de8 fined in section 1240A of the Food Secu9 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–1)); 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(iii) conservation activities (as de12 fined in section 1238D of that Act (16 

13 U.S.C. 3838d)). 

14 ‘‘(B) ORGANIC STANDARDS.—With respect 

15 to certified organic production, projects funded 

16 under this section shall be consistent with the 

17 national organic program established under the 

18 Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 

19 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.). 

20 ‘‘(g) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary 

21 shall require grant recipients to submit— 

22 ‘‘(1) annual reports; and 

23 ‘‘(2) at the completion of the grant period, an 

24 evaluation of the project funded under this section. 


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1 ‘‘(h) CURRICULUM AND TRAINING MATERIAL CLEAR2 INGHOUSE.—The Secretary may enter into a cooperative 

3 agreement with any entity eligible to receive a grant under 

4 this section for the purpose of establishing a nationwide 

5 online clearinghouse of information relating to the on-farm 

6 production, harvesting, packing, transporting, and proc7 essing of safe food that makes available educational cur8 ricula and training materials and programs that further 

9 the purposes of this section. 

10 ‘‘(i) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may use 

12 funds made available under subsection (k) to provide 

13 technical assistance to grant recipients to further 

14 the purposes of this section. 

15 ‘‘(2) TYPES.—Technical assistance under para16 graph (1) may— 

17 ‘‘(A) be in the form of a train-the-trainer 

18 program; and 

19 ‘‘(B) include or be provided by food safety 

20 extension teams of the National Institute of 

21 Food and Agriculture. 

22 ‘‘(j) BEST PRACTICES FOR STATE PROGRAMS.— 

23 Based on evaluations of projects funded under this sec24 tion, the Secretary shall recommend on an iterative basis 

25 a set of best practices and models for food safety training 


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1 programs for agricultural producers and small food proc2 essors. 

3 ‘‘(k) AUTHORIZATION FOR APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

4 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

5 $50,000,000 for each fiscal year, of which— 

6 ‘‘(1) not more than 3 percent may be used for 

7 a curriculum and training materials clearinghouse 

8 under subsection (h); 

9 ‘‘(2) not more than 10 percent may be used for 

10 technical assistance under subsection (i); and 

11 ‘‘(3) not more than 4 percent may be used for 

12 administrative costs incurred by the Secretary in 

13 carrying out this section.’’. 

14 (b) INTEGRATED RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EX15 TENSION COMPETITIVE GRANTS PROGRAM.—Section 

16 406(c) of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Edu17 cation Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7626(c)) is amend18 ed— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘Grants under’’ and inserting 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Grants under’’; and 

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

23 ‘‘(3) EMPHASIS.—In carrying out the food safe24 ty initiative under this section, the Secretary shall 

25 emphasize integrated projects that address priority 


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1 research, education, and extension needs relevant to 

2 implementing this Act and other applicable agricul3 tural research laws, including projects that— 

4 ‘‘(A) aid in the development and repeated 

5 improvement of food safety standards, guid6 ance, and protocols, including produce stand7 ards and guidance; 

8 ‘‘(B) analyze on an iterative basis the most 

9 critical points of risk in the food system for 

10 fresh produce and other raw agricultural com11 modities; 

12 ‘‘(C)(i) determine conservation and bio13 diversity standards and practices that positively 

14 address food safety concerns; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) develop education and decision sup16 port tools to assist landowners with those 

17 standards and practices; 

18 ‘‘(D) investigate methods to reduce the im19 pact of animals of significant risk on contami20 nation of food; 

21 ‘‘(E) identify low-cost, effective food safety 

22 practices for highly diversified agricultural op23 erations; 


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1 ‘‘(F) develop decision support tools to aid 

2 in the effective implementation of whole-farm 

3 food safety plans; and 

4 ‘‘(G) address other similar topics, as deter5 mined by the Secretary.’’. 

Æ 


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