Strengthening Organic Agricultural Research (SOAR) Act of 2023

Subjects: Agriculture and Food


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2720 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2720

To direct the agricultural research service to expand organic research, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 19, 2023

Mr. Newhouse (for himself, Ms. Pingree, and Mr. Panetta) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the agricultural research service to expand organic research, 
                        and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Strengthening Organic Agricultural 
Research (SOAR) Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. ORGANIC RESEARCH AND EXTENSION INITIATIVE.

    Section 1672B(f) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade 
Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925b(f)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (1)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (F), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in subparagraph (G), by striking ``and each 
                fiscal year thereafter.'' and inserting a semicolon; 
                and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(H) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2024;
                    ``(I) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2025;
                    ``(J) $80,000,000 for fiscal year 2026;
                    ``(K) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; and
                    ``(L) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2028 and each 
                fiscal year thereafter.''; and
            (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ``2023'' and inserting 
        ``2028''.

SEC. 3. RESEARCHING THE TRANSITION TO ORGANIC.

    Title XVI of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 
1990 (7 U.S.C. 5801 et seq.) is amended by inserting before section 
1667, as added by section 3, the following:

``SEC. 1666. RESEARCHING THE TRANSITION TO ORGANIC PROGRAM.

    ``(a) Competitive Specialized Research and Extension Grants 
Authorized.--The Secretary may make competitive grants to support 
research, education, and extension activities regarding the transition 
of nonorganic production systems into organic production for the 
purposes of--
            ``(1) overcoming social, economic, and management barriers 
        to organic transition;
            ``(2) documenting and understanding the effects of organic 
        practices on ecosystem services, including soil health and 
        fertility, greenhouse gas mitigation and sequestration, water 
        management, biodiversity-related services, and pest management; 
        and
            ``(3) developing improved technologies, methods, models, 
        and metrics to document, describe, and optimize ecosystem 
        services of transitioning agricultural production into organic 
        management.
    ``(b) Grant Types and Process.--Paragraphs (4), (7), (8), and 
(11)(B) of subsection (b) of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities 
Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157) shall apply with respect to the 
making of grants under this section.
    ``(c) Partnerships Encouraged.--Following the completion of a peer 
review process for applications for a grant received under this 
section, the Secretary may provide a priority to any such proposal for 
such a grant that--
            ``(1) is found in the peer review process to be 
        scientifically meritorious;
            ``(2) includes as active partners organic producers that 
        are conducting on-farm research and demostrations (and the 
        organizations that represent such producers); and
            ``(3) actively involves--
                    ``(A) 1890 Institutions (as defined in section 2 of 
                the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education 
                Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601));
                    ``(B) 1994 Institutions (as defined in such section 
                2); and
                    ``(C) Hispanic-serving institutions (as defined in 
                section 1404 of the National Agricultural Research, 
                Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 
                3103)).
    ``(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section--
            ``(1) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 
        2026; and
            ``(2) $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 
        2028.''.

SEC. 4. ORGANIC PRODUCTION AND MARKET DATA INITIATIVES.

    Section 7407 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 
(7 U.S.C. 5925c) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 
                        ``and'' at the end;
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 
                        period at the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                            (iii) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) $10,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 
                2024 to 2028.''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ``2023'' and 
                inserting ``2028''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) Economic Impact Analysis of Organic Farming and 
Certification.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary of Agriculture, acting 
        through the Administrator of the Economic Research Service 
        (referred to in this subsection as the `Secretary'), shall--
                    ``(A) not later than 1 year after the date of the 
                enactment of this subsection, prepare, and submit, a 
                plan to conduct an economic impact analysis of organic 
                agriculture, as defined in section 2103 of the Organic 
                Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6502) to the 
                Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of 
                the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the 
                House of Representatives; and
                    ``(B) not later than 3 years after the date on 
                which the plan is submitted under paragraph (1), submit 
                such economic impact analysis to the Committee on 
                Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and 
                the Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
                Representatives.
            ``(2) Contents.--The analysis under paragraph (1) shall 
        include an analysis of--
                    ``(A) farming and ranching operations of a variety 
                of sizes, with regional differences, and that have a 
                diversity of production practices and methods; and
                    ``(B) the direct and indirect economic impacts of 
                organic agriculture on rural and urban communities, 
                including--
                            ``(i) the vitality of the local economy;
                            ``(ii) the labor market;
                            ``(iii) environmental quality;
                            ``(iv) social dynamics;
                            ``(v) land ownership; and
                            ``(vi) any other information, data, or 
                        analysis the Secretary considers necessary to 
                        make the economic impact analysis 
                        comprehensive, accurate, and useful.''.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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