[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1769 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1769
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to expand the provision of
farmer-led technical assistance, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 14, 2025
Mr. Lujan (for himself and Mr. Moran) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture,
Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to expand the provision of
farmer-led technical assistance, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Farmer to Farmer Education Act of
2025''.
SEC. 2. DELIVERY OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
Section 1242 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842) is
amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) by redesignating paragraph (2) as paragraph
(3); and
(B) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following:
``(2) Farmer-to-farmer network.--The term `farmer-to-farmer
network' means any affiliation or association of farmers that
share information, technical assistance, or any other type of
mutually beneficial support.'';
(2) in subsection (f)(1), by inserting ``and for the
purpose of carrying out subsection (j)'' before the period at
the end; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(j) Provision of Assistance to Farmer-to-Farmer Networks.--
``(1) Purposes.--The purposes of this subsection are--
``(A) to build capacity for farmer-to-farmer
networks, connect farmers with mentors or group
learning opportunities, and support goal setting to
increase long-term adoption of consistent, science-
based, site-specific practices designed to achieve
conservation objectives on land active in agricultural,
forestry, or related uses;
``(B) to increase the provision of technical
assistance that meets the specific needs of, and is
accessible to, farmers, ranchers, and forest owners
using different farming models, practices, and scales;
``(C) to establish and steward farmer-to-farmer
networks; and
``(D) to establish reporting requirements for
activities carried out under this subsection.
``(2) Cooperative agreements.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary may enter into
cooperative agreements with eligible entities to carry
out the purposes described in paragraph (1).
``(B) Eligible entities.--An entity eligible to
enter into a cooperative agreement with the Secretary
under subparagraph (A) is--
``(i) a nonprofit entity described in
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section
501(a) of that Code;
``(ii) a farmer-to-farmer network;
``(iii) an Indian Tribe or a Tribal
organization (as those terms are defined in
section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304));
``(iv) a unit of local government
(including a conservation district and a
conservation district association);
``(v) an institution of higher education;
``(vi) a State; and
``(vii) any other entity designated by the
Secretary.
``(C) Prioritization.--In selecting eligible
entities with which to enter into cooperative
agreements under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall
give priority to eligible entities that seek to meet
the specific needs of, and are accessible to--
``(i) historically underserved farmers,
ranchers, and forest owners, including limited-
resource farmers, ranchers, and forest owners
(as determined by the Secretary); or
``(ii) farmers, ranchers, and forest owners
operating in high-poverty areas (as determined
by the Secretary).
``(3) Responsibilities of providers of assistance to
farmer-to-farmer networks.--
``(A) In general.--If an eligible entity provides
assistance to establish a farmer-to-farmer network
using assistance provided through a cooperative
agreement under paragraph (2), the eligible entity
shall be responsible for not less than 2 of the
following actions:
``(i) Facilitating and increasing farmer
access to farmer-to-farmer networks.
``(ii) Facilitating mentor and mentee
matchmaking among farmers.
``(iii) Coordinating training and resources
to build the skills of farmer-to-farmer network
leaders and participants for effective
education, grassroots-based learning, and
cross-training with respect to the facilitation
of, information about, and other skills with
respect to building effective farmer-to-farmer
networks.
``(iv) Maintaining and promulgating a list
of relevant entities, associations, and
individuals that are supporting, or have an
interest in supporting, farmer-to-farmer
networks.
``(v) Administering subawards to increase
farmer access to farmer-to-farmer assistance in
accordance with paragraph (4).
``(vi) Other actions determined appropriate
by the Secretary.
``(B) Language assistance.--If an eligible entity
provides assistance described in subparagraph (A) to a
non-English speaking farmer, rancher, or forest owner,
the eligible entity shall, to the greatest extent
practicable, provide that assistance in the native
language of the farmer, rancher, or forest owner.
``(C) Reporting.--An eligible entity that enters
into a cooperative agreement under paragraph (2) shall
annually submit to the Secretary a report describing--
``(i) the conservation activities carried
out under the cooperative agreement; and
``(ii) any subawards administered pursuant
to subparagraph (A)(v).
``(4) Subawards.--
``(A) In general.--If an eligible entity awards a
subaward pursuant to paragraph (3)(A)(v) to an eligible
subawardee described in subparagraph (B), the eligible
subawardee shall use that award--
``(i) to plan and conduct events, and
identify and develop innovative activities, to
support building capacity for farmer-to-farmer
networks, connecting farmers with mentors or
group learning opportunities, and supporting
goal setting to increase long-term adoption of
consistent, science-based, site-specific
conservation objectives on land active in
agricultural, forestry, or related uses; and
``(ii) to compensate participants in the
events and activities described in clause (i)
at market rates.
``(B) Eligible subawardees.--An entity eligible for
a subaward under paragraph (3)(A)(v) is--
``(i) a nonprofit entity described in
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986 and exempt from taxation under section
501(a) of that Code;
``(ii) a farmer-to-farmer network;
``(iii) an Indian Tribe or a Tribal
organization (as those terms are defined in
section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304));
``(iv) a unit of local government
(including a conservation district and a
conservation district association);
``(v) an institution of higher education;
``(vi) an individual; and
``(vii) any other entity designated by the
Secretary.
``(C) Requirements.--The Secretary, in conjunction
with the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation
Service, shall establish any necessary additional
requirements for subawards under paragraph (3)(A)(v).
``(5) Reporting.--Not later than 4 years after the date of
enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the
Senate a report describing the status of activities funded
under this subsection, including--
``(A) funding awarded;
``(B) the results of the activities, including, if
feasible, conservation practice adoption outcomes; and
``(C) if applicable, outreach activities the
Secretary has considered incorporating into other
conservation technical assistance efforts as a result
of the program established under this subsection.
``(6) Funding.--The Secretary shall use to carry out this
subsection such sums as are necessary from annual
appropriations for conservation operations of the Natural
Resources Conservation Service.''.
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