SEC. 2. MECHANIZATION AND AUTOMATION FOR SPE-
CIALTY CROPS. 
The Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education 
Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601 et seq.) is amended 
by inserting at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 412A. MECHANIZATION AND AUTOMATION FOR SPE-
CIALTY CROPS. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish within the Department a stand-alone competitive re-
search and extension grant program to increase the com-
petitiveness of specialty crops in the United States 
through the advancement and acceleration of the mecha-
nization and automation, including— 
‘‘(1) Projects that create or improve cost-effec-
tive technologies to reduce a specialty crop grower’s 
manual labor requirements and increase the effi-
ciency of crop production, resource management, 
harvesting, processing, post-harvest technologies, 
and packaging through mechanization, automation, 
and other innovations and technologies. 
‘‘(2) Projects that increase adoption of mecha-
nization and automation technologies by: 
‘‘(A) Emphasizing adoption drivers that 
could 
include 
but 
are 
not 
limited 
to 
connectivity, autonomy, reliability, durability, 
in-field validation, and cost-effectiveness. 
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‘‘(B) Investing and developing human cap-
ital to increase the specialty crop sector’s capac-
ity to work with new technologies, and to man-
age a more tech-focused farm workforce. 
‘‘(3) Projects that accelerate automation and 
mechanization through prototype development, in- 
field trial testing, ongoing industry engagement, and 
rapid commercialization. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The Secretary may carry 
out the section through eligible entities described in sub-
section (c). 
‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES DESCRIBED.—Eligible enti-
ties described in this subsection are— 
‘‘(1) Federal agencies; 
‘‘(2) national laboratories; 
‘‘(3) colleges or universities; 
‘‘(4) research institutions or organizations; 
‘‘(5) private organizations or corporations; 
‘‘(6) State agricultural experiment stations; 
‘‘(7) individuals; 
‘‘(8) organizations representing specialty crop 
growers; or 
‘‘(9) groups consisting of 2 or more entities de-
scribed in paragraphs (1) through (8). 
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‘‘(d) REVIEW OF PROPOSALS.—In carrying out this 
section, the Secretary shall award competitive grants on 
the basis of— 
‘‘(1) a scientific peer review conducted by a 
panel of subject matter experts from Federal agen-
cies, non-Federal entities, and the specialty crop in-
dustry; and 
‘‘(2) a review and ranking for merit, relevance, 
and impact conducted by a panel of specialty crop 
industry representatives for the specific specialty 
crop. 
‘‘(e) CONSULTATION.—Each fiscal year, before con-
ducting the scientific peer review described in paragraph 
(1) of subsection (d) and the merit and relevancy review 
described in paragraph (2) of such subsection, the Sec-
retary shall consult with the specialty crops committee re-
garding such reviews. The committee shall provide the 
Secretary— 
‘‘(1) in the first fiscal year in which that con-
sultation occurs, any recommendations for con-
ducting such reviews in such fiscal year; and 
‘‘(2) in any subsequent fiscal year in which 
such consultation occurs— 
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‘‘(A) an assessment of the procedures and 
objectives used by the Secretary for such re-
views in the previous fiscal year; 
‘‘(B) any recommendations for such re-
views for the current fiscal year; and 
‘‘(C) any comments on grants awarded 
under subsection (d) during the previous fiscal 
year. 
‘‘(f) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to the 
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For-
estry of the Senate a report on— 
‘‘(1) the results of the consultations with the 
specialty crops committee conducted under sub-
section (e); 
‘‘(2) the specialty crops committee’s rec-
ommendations, if any, provided to the Secretary dur-
ing such consultations; and 
‘‘(3) the specialty crops committee’s review of 
the grants awarded under subsection (d) in the pre-
vious fiscal year. 
‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—With respect to grants 
awarded under this section, the Secretary shall seek 
and accept proposals for grants. 
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‘‘(2) TERM.—The term of a grant under this 
section may not exceed 10 years. 
‘‘(3) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An entity receiving a 
grant under this section shall provide non-Fed-
eral matching funds (including funds from an 
agricultural commodity promotion, research, 
and information program) equal to not less 
than 15 percent of the amount of the grant. 
‘‘(B) 
IN-KIND
SUPPORT.—Non-Federal 
matching funds described in subparagraph (A) 
may include in-kind support. 
‘‘(C) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive 
the matching requirement under subparagraph 
(A). 
‘‘(4) OTHER CONDITIONS.—The Secretary may 
set such other conditions on the award of a grant 
under the program under subsection (a) as the Sec-
retary determines to be appropriate. 
‘‘(h) PRIORITIES.—In making grants under the pro-
gram under subsection (a), the Secretary shall provide a 
higher priority to projects that— 
‘‘(1) include proposals that address the training 
or retraining of farm workers to operate, repair, pro-
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gram or otherwise maintain resulting automation so-
lutions; and 
‘‘(2) include explicit mechanisms to commu-
nicate results to producers and the public. 
‘‘(i) BUILDINGS
AND
FACILITIES.—Funds made 
available under this section shall not be used for the con-
struction of a new building or facility or the acquisition, 
expansion, remodeling, or alteration of an existing build-
ing or facility (including site grading and improvement, 
and architect fees). 
‘‘(j) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) SPECIALTY
CROP.—The term ‘specialty 
crop’ has the meaning given that term in section 3 
of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 
(7 U.S.C. 1621 note; Public Law 108–465). 
‘‘(2) SPECIALTY CROPS COMMITTEE.—The term 
‘specialty crops committee’ means the committee es-
tablished under section 1408A of the National Agri-
cultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy 
Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3123a). 
‘‘(3) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 
the Specialty Crop Mechanization and Automation 
Research and Development Program established in 
subsection (a). 
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