I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7110 
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to provide for prize competitions 
relating to specialty crop mechanization, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 30, 2018 
Mr. PANETTA (for himself and Mr. VALADAO) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to provide for prize 
competitions relating to specialty crop mechanization, 
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 ‘‘Specialty Crop Mecha-
nization Prize Challenge of 2018’’. 
SEC. 2. SPECIALTY CROP MECHANIZATION CHALLENGES. 
(a) AUTHORITY.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture 
shall establish a program to be known as ‘‘Specialty Crop 
Mechanization Challenges’’ for carrying out prize competi-
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tions described under subsection (c) pursuant to section 
24 of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 
1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719) relating to the mechanization of 
specialty crop production. 
(b) PRIZE COMMITTEES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall assem-
ble a prize committee with respect to each prize 
competition that shall define the scope and detail of, 
and provide the requirements for, the prize competi-
tions under this section. Such committee shall be 
composed of— 
(A) representatives of the specialty crop in-
dustry, with at least a plurality of committee 
members from sectors of the specialty crop in-
dustry that are labor-intensive and lack ade-
quate mechanization technology; 
(B) members from the Federal agency, de-
partment, or office that most appropriately cor-
responds with the topic of the prize competi-
tion; and 
(C) representatives of any other entities, as 
determined appropriate by the Secretary, in-
cluding State and local governments and insti-
tutions of higher education. 
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(2) INCENTIVE FOR PRIZE COMPETITION.—The 
prize committee for each prize competition shall de-
termine the incentive for the prize competition. In 
determining the incentive, the committee shall con-
sider— 
(A) a cash prize; 
(B) access to Government facilities, a coop-
erative research and development agreement, or 
other method; and 
(C) any other incentive provided for by 
law. 
(3) JUDGING CRITERIA.—The prize committee 
for each prize competition shall establish judging cri-
teria for the competition that shall include, at a min-
imum— 
(A) potential for the solution to become a 
commercial product or service to further the 
public good; 
(B) consideration of how likely the solution 
is to lead to subsequent research, development, 
or manufacturing in the United States; 
(C) the degree to which the solution will 
alleviate stresses on the agricultural workforce 
and allow them to work more efficiently; 
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(D) the degree to which the solution will 
alleviate burdens on agricultural producers, 
shippers, and packers facing labor shortages; 
and 
(E) the degree to which the solution will 
reduce losses of fresh fruit and vegetables due 
to lack of available workers to manage and har-
vest crops. 
(4) CONSIDERATION.—In carrying out this sec-
tion, the committee shall take into consideration the 
best practices provided for in the challenges and 
prizes toolkit made publicly available on December 
15, 2016, by the General Services Administration. 
(c) PRIZE COMPETITIONS.—In carrying out the pro-
gram, the Secretary shall provide for prize competitions, 
including at least one prize competition on each of the fol-
lowing: 
(1) PLANTING.—Solutions to automate or al-
leviate stresses on the workforce during the planting 
of specialty crops including, but not limited to, the 
planting of seeds, seedlings, and plants being trans-
ferred from nurseries or greenhouses to the field. 
(2) CROP
MANAGEMENT.—Solutions to auto-
mate or alleviate stresses on the workforce when 
conducting tasks associated with the management of 
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specialty crops including, but not limited to, weed-
ing, pest management, and the application of crop 
protectants. 
(3) HARVESTING.—Solutions to automate or al-
leviate stresses on the workforce related to the har-
vesting of specialty crops. 
(4) PACKAGING.—Solutions to automate or al-
leviate stresses on the workforce when processing 
and preparing specialty crops for distribution. 
(d) ACCEPTANCE OF FUNDS.—In addition to such 
sums as may be appropriated or otherwise made available 
to the Secretary to award prizes under this section, the 
Secretary may accept funds from other Federal agencies, 
private sector entities, institutions of higher education, 
and State and local governments to award prizes under 
this section. The Secretary may not give any special con-
sideration relating to the selection of awards under the 
prize competition to any private sector entity or individual 
in return for a donation to the Secretary or prize com-
mittee. 
(e) ELIGIBILITY.—Notwithstanding section 24(g)(3) 
of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 
1980 (15 U.S.C. 3719(g)(3)), for a group to be eligible 
for an award under this section, at least one member of 
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such group shall be a citizen or permanent resident of the 
United States. 
(f) COMPLETION
OF PRIZE COMPETITIONS.—The 
prize competitions carried out under this section shall be 
completed not later than the date that is 5 years after 
the program is established under subsection (a). 
(g) GAO REPORT.—Not later than the date of com-
pletion under subsection (f), the Comptroller General of 
the United States shall submit to Congress a report on 
the impact and the effectiveness of the program carried 
out under this section. 
(h) SPECIALTY CROP DEFINED.—In this section, the 
term ‘‘specialty crop’’ has the meaning given the term in 
section 3(1) of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act 
of 2004 (7 U.S.C. 1621 note). 
(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 to carry out 
this Act, to remain available until expended. 
Æ 
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