I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 3877 
To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to 
establish an Office of Small Farms, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 6, 2023 
Ms. STRICKLAND (for herself, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. THOMPSON 
of Mississippi, Ms. TOKUDA, Ms. CROCKETT, and Ms. DELBENE) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agri-
culture 
A BILL 
To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization 
Act of 1994 to establish an Office of Small Farms, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Office of Small Farms 
Establishment Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. OFFICE OF SMALL FARMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle B of the Department of 
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6931 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 229. OFFICE OF SMALL FARMS. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF SMALL FARM, RANCH, OR FOR-
EST OPERATION.—In this section, the term ‘small farm, 
ranch, or forest operation’ means a farm, ranch, or forest 
operation that— 
‘‘(1)(A) is less than 180 acres; or 
‘‘(B) meets another acreage-based definition of 
‘small’, as determined by the Secretary, that takes 
into consideration— 
‘‘(i) the State or region in which the farm, 
ranch, or forest operation is located; 
‘‘(ii) the production system of the farm, 
ranch, or forest operation; or 
‘‘(iii) both; and 
‘‘(2) has annual gross cash farm income of less 
than $350,000. 
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish within the farm production and conservation 
mission area the Office of Small Farms. 
‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The Secretary shall appoint a 
Director of the Office of Small Farms (referred to 
in this section as the ‘Director’). A senior official 
within the farm production and conservation mission 
area may be appointed to serve as the Director. 
‘‘(c) DUTIES.—The Director shall— 
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‘‘(9) advise other Federal agencies on how to 
effectively reach and serve small farms, ranches, and 
forest operations. 
‘‘(d) LIAISONS.—The following officials shall appoint, 
from among the officers and employees under the respec-
tive official, a liaison to the Office of Small Farms: 
‘‘(1) The Chief of the Natural Resources Con-
servation Service. 
‘‘(2) The Administrator of the Farm Service 
Agency. 
‘‘(3) The Administrator of the Risk Manage-
ment Agency. 
‘‘(4) The Under Secretary of Agriculture for 
Rural Development. 
‘‘(5) The Director of the National Institute of 
Food and Agriculture. 
‘‘(6) The Administrator of the Agricultural 
Marketing Service. 
‘‘(7) The Administrator of the National Agri-
cultural Statistics Service. 
‘‘(8) The Director of the Office of Partnerships 
and Public Engagement. 
‘‘(9) The heads of such other agencies, advisory 
groups, and offices as the Secretary determines to be 
appropriate, including— 
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‘‘(A) the Office of Urban Agriculture and 
Innovative Production; and 
‘‘(B) the Office of Tribal Relations. 
‘‘(e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated— 
‘‘(1) $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 
through 2028 for the administration of the Office of 
Small Farms; and 
‘‘(2) $10,000,000 for each fiscal year to provide 
technical assistance and grants authorized by this 
section.’’. 
(b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—The Department of 
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 is amended by re-
designating the first section 225 (7 U.S.C. 6925) (relating 
to the Food Access Liaison) as section 224A. 
(c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 296(b) of 
the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 
1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)) is amended by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(11) The authority of the Secretary to carry 
out section 229.’’. 
Æ 
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