Oregon Research Bounty Act of 2024

Bill: 118-s-4182
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
Introduced: 2024-04-18
Policy area: Agriculture and Food
Latest action: action_date: 2024-04-18
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4182 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 18, 2024 Mr. Merkley (for himself and Mr. Wyden ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry A BILL To authorize appropriations for certain agricultural research of the Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Oregon Research Bounty Act of 2024 . 2. Purpose The purpose of this Act is to permanently authorize certain programs of the Agricultural Research Service. 3. Definition of Secretary In this Act, the term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture. 4. Agricultural research (a) In general The Secretary shall carry out each of the research activities required by this section by making grants or entering into cooperative agreements. (b) Smoke exposure (1) Purpose The purpose of this subsection is to support research to address the impacts of wildfire smoke on wine grape production. (2) Research The Secretary shall carry out research to assist growers and processors of wine grapes by— (A) establishing science-based threshold levels of smoke compounds that cause smoke-tainted grapes; (B) identifying the compounds responsible for smoke taint in grapes; (C) developing mitigation methods to reduce or eliminate smoke taint in grapes; and (D) identifying compounds that can act as a barrier between grapes and smoke compounds. (3) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for each fiscal year. (c) Resilient dryland farming (1) Research The Secretary shall carry out research on resilient dryland farming of cereal grains, with a focus on— (A) improving yield and quality parameters; (B) developing cropping systems capable of tolerating drought, heat, and diseases; and (C) quantifying economic and environmental benefits from dryland crop production systems. (2) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for each fiscal year. (d) Small fruits (1) Purpose The purpose of this subsection is to support research to promote sustainable and organic production of berry and grape crops with the goal of reducing pesticide use and improving quality and yield. (2) Research The Secretary shall carry out research to improve the ability, with respect to berry and grape crops— (A) to forecast pest and disease spread; (B) to implement precision management strategies; and (C) to improve the overall quality of fruit. (3) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for each fiscal year. (e) Rangeland precision livestock management (1) Purpose The purpose of this subsection is to develop precision livestock management strategies and tools to promote economically efficient and environmentally responsive livestock production systems for the Western rangeland. (2) Activities The Secretary shall— (A) for the purpose of optimizing the health and productivity of Western rangeland-based livestock and the Western rangeland ecosystem, develop— (i) precision nutrition strategies for rangeland-based livestock; and (ii) technology-based rangeland and livestock management strategies; and (B) transfer new knowledge and technology strategies into data-informed tools and decision guidance for Western livestock and rangeland managers. (3) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for each fiscal year. (f) Pacific shellfish genetics (1) Finding Congress finds that there exist— (A) an economic importance of shellfish aquaculture for rural and coastal communities on the Pacific coast; and (B) the need for resilient, healthy genetic shellfish stocks that can withstand the changing ocean and coastal conditions in the Pacific coastal region and new shellfish disease threats. (2) Program The Secretary shall carry out a shellfish genetics and breeding program— (A) to develop genetically improved shellfish stock; (B) to promote enhanced disease resiliency of shellfish; (C) to modernize shellfish production technologies; and (D) to transfer technology and improved stocks to shellfish farmers in Pacific States. (3) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for each fiscal year. (g) Hemp production systems (1) Finding Congress finds that there is an emerging market potential for United States hemp and hemp-based products for a variety of uses. (2) Research The Secretary shall carry out, in accordance with Federal and State laws, regionally focused research, development, stakeholder engagement, and technology transfer activities to improve agronomic and agro-economic understanding of effectively integrating hemp into existing agricultural cropping, processing, and marketing systems. (3) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for each fiscal year. (h) Rangeland research (1) Finding Congress finds that there is a demonstrated potential for cooperative partnerships to address complex sagebrush steppe ecosystem challenges in the Great Basin region. (2) Research The Secretary shall support a regional, multi-institutional cooperative partnership to advance collaborative science-based conservation research, extension, and education to address time-sensitive and shared rangeland challenges affecting sustainable agricultural productivity, rural communities, and ecosystem health. (3) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for each fiscal year. (i) Sudden oak death (1) Finding Congress finds that the European strain 1 and the North American strain 1 of the sudden oak death pathogen are major threats to western Douglas-fir and tanoak forests, resulting in quarantine restrictions that threaten United States forests and export markets for log shipments and lily bulbs. (2) Research The Secretary shall carry out research to improve— (A) understanding of the European strain 1 and North American strain 1 of the sudden oak death pathogen; and (B) treatment methods to inform control and management techniques for those strains in wildlands. (3) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for each fiscal year. (j) Forest products research (1) Findings Congress finds that— (A) the forest products sector plays an important role in the United States economy; and (B) the creation of new and improved value-added products and renewable energy from the United States wood supply is critical to the sustainability of the United States economy. (2) Research The Secretary, in coordination with the Forest Products Laboratory of the Forest Service, shall carry out research on— (A) wood product quality improvement; (B) improvement in forest products evaluation standards and valuation techniques; and (C) advances in forest production innovation, development, and testing. (3) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for each fiscal year. (k) Hops research (1) Research The Secretary shall carry out research relating to hop production. (2) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for each fiscal year. (l) Soil carbon research (1) Finding Congress finds that there is a need for research into current and future dryland production practices in cereal grain cropping systems to increase profitability, conserve soil, enhance soil water storage, promote sequestration of carbon and soil health, and reduce reliance on herbicides. (2) Research The Secretary shall carry out research focused on— (A) improving yields; (B) assessing the level of carbon sequestration through existing practices; (C) developing new cropping systems capable of tolerating drought, heat, and diseases by improving soil health; (D) improving sequestration of carbon; (E) forecasting pest and disease spread; (F) implementing precision management strategies; and (G) identifying opportunities for increasing sustainability of dryland crop production. (3) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for each fiscal year. (m) Tree fruit post-Harvest research (1) Finding Congress finds that the tree fruit industry faces significant economic vulnerability from variations in post-harvest quality control. (2) Research The Secretary shall carry out research relating to cherry and pear fruit physiology and pathology necessary to promote enhanced quality and resiliency from endemic and emerging diseases. (3) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this subsection $5,000,000 for each fiscal year.