118 HR 5915 IH: Supporting Urban and Innovative Farming Act of 2023
U.S. House of Representatives
2023-10-25
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I
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5915
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.
1.

Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Supporting Urban and Innovative Farming Act of 2023”.
2.

Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production
Section 222 of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization 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 semicolon; and
(iii)
by adding at the end the following:
“(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 parcels to growers implementing activities described in paragraph (3);
(I)
leveraging the Department and State, Tribal, and local agencies to promote conservation techniques unique to urban agriculture and 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 controlled-environment agriculture producers to navigate Federal, State, Tribal, and local policies and regulations that impact business or operations.” ; 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 support the implementation of responsibilities described in paragraph (4).
(B)

Eligible entities
An eligible entity referred to in subparagraph (A) is—
(i)
a nonprofit organization;
(ii)
an agricultural cooperative;
(iii)
an Indian Tribe; or
(iv)
a producer network or association.
(C)

Priority
In establishing cooperative agreements under subparagraph (A), the Director shall give priority to cooperative agreements 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 disadvantaged populations;
(iii)
have experience working with individuals with limited English proficiency; or
(iv)
demonstrate experience providing urban agriculture technical assistance 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 “paragraph (2)(B)” and inserting “September 30, 2028”;
(3)
by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
“(c)

Grants
(1)

Authorization
(A)

In general
The Director shall award competitive grants to support the development 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 agriculture, greenhouses, high-tech vertical technology, hydroponics, aeroponics, and aquaponics.
(B)

Microgrants
An eligible entity may use funds from a grant under subparagraph (A) to provide microgrants to urban and innovative producers to support the growth of the farm or farm business of the urban and innovative 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.
(D)
An agricultural cooperative or other agricultural business entity or a producer network 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 entities 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 inserting “2028”; and
(C)
in paragraph (2)—
(i)
in subparagraph (A)—
(I)
by striking “shall carry out pilot projects under which the Secretary”; and
(II)
by inserting “and construct at-scale composting or anaerobic digestion 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 operations;”;
(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
(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.”.
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 technologies used in controlled-environment agriculture production.”.
4.

Workforce Development, Education, and Certification
Section 1672E(a) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 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 described in section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a)), junior or community colleges (as that term is defined in section 312(f) of such Act), and vocational schools with respect to career and technical education, including—
(A)
workforce development programs;
(B)
professional credentialing; and
(C)
the specialized curricula, developed in coordination with the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, non-profit organizations, and trade associations.”.
5.

Data Collection on Urban, Indoor, and Emerging Agricultural Production
Section 1672E of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925g) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e);
(2)
by inserting after subsection (c) the following:
“(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, and other emerging agricultural production, including data on—
(A)
community gardens and farms located in urban areas, suburbs, and urban clusters;
(B)
rooftop farms, outdoor vertical production, 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 production, as determined by the Secretary;
(F)
the locations of the facilities described in subparagraphs (A) through (E); and
(G)
demographic information on the owners 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
(3)
in subsection (e) (as so redesignated), by inserting “(other than subsection (d))” after “this section” each place it appears.