I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5915 
To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to 
improve the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
OCTOBER 10, 2023 
Ms. ADAMS (for herself, Ms. BROWN, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. JACKSON 
of Illinois, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Ms. NORTON, Ms. CROCKETT, Mr. 
DAVIS
of Illinois, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. SLOTKIN, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. 
GOTTHEIMER, Mr. MCGOVERN, and Ms. JACKSON LEE) introduced the 
following bill 
OCTOBER 25, 2023 
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization 
Act of 1994 to improve the Office of Urban Agriculture 
and Innovative Production, 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 ‘‘Supporting Urban and 
Innovative Farming Act of 2023’’. 
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SEC. 2. OFFICE OF URBAN AGRICULTURE AND INNOVATIVE 
PRODUCTION. 
Section 222 of the Department of Agriculture Reor-
ganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6923) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) in paragraph (3)(C), by inserting 
‘‘controlled-environment agriculture, such as’’ 
before ‘‘indoor’’; 
(B) in paragraph (4)— 
(i) in subparagraph (F), by striking 
‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(ii) in subparagraph (G), by striking 
the period at the end and inserting a semi-
colon; and 
(iii) by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(H) leveraging the Department and 
State, Tribal, and local agencies to provide 
technical assistance for business incorporation, 
navigating local zoning, and managing farm 
tract numbers for smaller, noncontiguous par-
cels to growers implementing activities de-
scribed in paragraph (3); 
‘‘(I) leveraging the Department and State, 
Tribal, and local agencies to promote conserva-
tion techniques unique to urban agriculture and 
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innovative production, including techniques that 
address stormwater runoff and the impacted 
nature of urban land and the subsurface of the 
land; and 
‘‘(J) assisting urban, innovative, and con-
trolled-environment agriculture producers to 
navigate Federal, State, Tribal, and local poli-
cies and regulations that impact business or op-
erations.’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(5) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Director may 
enter into cooperative agreements with eligible 
entities described in subparagraph (B) to sup-
port the implementation of responsibilities de-
scribed in paragraph (4). 
‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An eligible en-
tity referred to in subparagraph (A) is— 
‘‘(i) a nonprofit organization; 
‘‘(ii) an agricultural cooperative; 
‘‘(iii) an Indian Tribe; or 
‘‘(iv) a producer network or associa-
tion. 
‘‘(C) PRIORITY.—In establishing coopera-
tive agreements under subparagraph (A), the 
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Director shall give priority to cooperative agree-
ments with eligible entities that— 
‘‘(i) serve geographic areas with high 
concentrations of urban or suburban 
farms; 
‘‘(ii) have established relationships 
with, or a history of serving, socially dis-
advantaged populations; 
‘‘(iii) have experience working with in-
dividuals with limited English proficiency; 
or 
‘‘(iv) demonstrate experience pro-
viding urban agriculture technical assist-
ance in their geographic region.’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)— 
(A) in paragraph (5)(B), by striking 
‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2028’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (7)(A), by striking ‘‘the 
date that’’ and all that follows through ‘‘para-
graph (2)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘September 30, 
2028’’; 
(3) by striking subsection (c) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(c) GRANTS.— 
‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION.— 
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‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Director shall 
award competitive grants to support the devel-
opment of urban and innovative agricultural 
production that improves access to local foods 
in areas where access to fresh, healthy food is 
limited, including through community gardens, 
urban farms, rooftop farms, urban agroforestry, 
orchards, outdoor vertical production, green 
walls, indoor farms, controlled-environment ag-
riculture, greenhouses, high-tech vertical tech-
nology, 
hydroponics, 
aeroponics, 
and 
aquaponics. 
‘‘(B) MICROGRANTS.—An eligible entity 
may use funds from a grant under subpara-
graph (A) to provide microgrants to urban and 
innovative producers to support the growth of 
the farm or farm business of the urban and in-
novative producer. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity eligible to 
receive a grant under paragraph (1)(A) is any of the 
following: 
‘‘(A) A nonprofit organization. 
‘‘(B) A unit of local government. 
‘‘(C) A Tribal government. 
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‘‘(D) An agricultural cooperative or other 
agricultural business entity or a producer net-
work or association, including a community- 
supported agriculture network or association. 
‘‘(E) Any school that serves any of grades 
kindergarten through grade 12. 
‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under 
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1), the Director 
shall give priority to applications from eligible enti-
ties that plan to use the grant funds to provide 
microgrants in accordance with subparagraph (B) of 
that paragraph.’’; 
(4) in subsection (d)— 
(A) in the subsection heading, by striking 
‘‘PILOT PROJECTS’’ and inserting ‘‘PROJECTS’’; 
(B) in paragraph (1)(C), in the matter 
preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and in-
serting ‘‘2028’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (2)— 
(i) in subparagraph (A)— 
(I) by striking ‘‘shall carry out 
pilot projects under which the Sec-
retary’’; and 
(II) by inserting ‘‘and construct 
at-scale composting or anaerobic di-
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gestion food waste-to-energy projects’’ 
after ‘‘food waste reduction plans’’; 
(ii) in subparagraph (B)— 
(I) in the subparagraph heading, 
by striking ‘‘PILOT’’; 
(II) in the matter preceding 
clause 
(i), 
by 
inserting 
‘‘Indian 
Tribes,’’ after ‘‘counties,’’; 
(III) by redesignating clauses (vi) 
through (viii) as clauses (vii) through 
(ix), respectively; and 
(IV) by inserting after clause (v) 
the following: 
‘‘(vi) develop food waste-to-energy op-
erations;’’; 
(iii) by redesignating subparagraphs 
(C) through (E) as subparagraphs (D) 
through (F), respectively; 
(iv) by inserting after subparagraph 
(B) the following: 
‘‘(C) LIMITATION.—An entity that receives 
assistance under this paragraph may not use 
that assistance for an anaerobic digester that 
uses manure as the majority of its undigested 
biomass.’’; and 
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(v) by striking ‘‘pilot’’ each place it 
appears; and 
(5) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(e) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of the 
Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use to 
carry out this section— 
‘‘(1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 
‘‘(2) $22,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; 
‘‘(3) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; 
‘‘(4) $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; and 
‘‘(5) $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2028.’’. 
SEC. 3. AGRICULTURE AND FOOD RESEARCH INITIATIVE. 
Section 2(b)(2)(E) of the Competitive, Special, and 
Facilities Research Grants Act (7 U.S.C. 3157(b)(2)(E)) 
is amended— 
(1) in clause (iv), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 
(2) in clause (v), by striking the period at the 
end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(vi) 
hydroponics, 
aquaponics, 
aeroponics, and other production tech-
nologies used in controlled-environment ag-
riculture production.’’. 
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SEC. 4. WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, EDUCATION, AND 
CERTIFICATION. 
Section 1672E(a) of the Food, Agriculture, Con-
servation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925g(a)) is 
amended— 
(1) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at 
the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(9) in collaboration with the Office of Urban 
Agriculture and Innovative Production established 
under section 222 of the Department of Agriculture 
Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6923), advise 
land-grant colleges and universities (as defined in 
section 1404 of the National Agricultural Research, 
Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 
U.S.C. 3103), minority-serving institutions (as de-
scribed in section 371(a) of the Higher Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)), junior or commu-
nity colleges (as that term is defined in section 
312(f) of such Act), and vocational schools with re-
spect to career and technical education, including— 
‘‘(A) workforce development programs; 
‘‘(B) professional credentialing; and 
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‘‘(C) the specialized curricula, developed in 
coordination with the National Institute of 
Food and Agriculture, non-profit organizations, 
and trade associations.’’. 
SEC. 5. DATA COLLECTION ON URBAN, INDOOR, AND 
EMERGING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION. 
Section 1672E of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva-
tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925g) is amend-
ed— 
(1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub-
section (e); 
(2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(d) DATA COLLECTION ON URBAN, INDOOR, AND 
EMERGING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of this subsection 
and biennially thereafter, the Secretary, acting 
through the Director of the National Agricultural 
Statistics Service, shall prepare and transmit to the 
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 
of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of 
the House of Representatives, and make publicly 
available, a report containing data on urban, indoor, 
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and other emerging agricultural production, includ-
ing data on— 
‘‘(A) community gardens and farms lo-
cated in urban areas, suburbs, and urban clus-
ters; 
‘‘(B) rooftop farms, outdoor vertical pro-
duction, and green walls; 
‘‘(C) controlled environment agriculture, 
indoor 
farms, 
greenhouses, 
and 
high-tech 
vertical technology farms; 
‘‘(D) hydroponic, aeroponic, and aquaponic 
farm facilities; 
‘‘(E) other innovations in agricultural pro-
duction, as determined by the Secretary; 
‘‘(F) the locations of the facilities de-
scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (E); and 
‘‘(G) demographic information on the own-
ers and operators of those facilities. 
‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.— 
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
this subsection $14,000,000 for the period of fiscal 
years 2024 through 2028.’’; and 
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(3) in subsection (e) (as so redesignated), by in-
serting ‘‘(other than subsection (d))’’ after ‘‘this sec-
tion’’ each place it appears. 
Æ 
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