H.R. 7562

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7562 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7562

To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to 
establish an Office of Small Farms, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

February 12, 2026

Ms. Strickland (for herself, Ms. Adams, and Mr. McGovern) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to 
establish an Office of Small Farms, 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 ``Office of Small Farms Establishment 
Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. OFFICE OF SMALL FARMS.

(a) In General.--Subtitle B of the Department of Agriculture 
Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6931 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following:

``SEC. 229. OFFICE OF SMALL FARMS.

``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Small farm, ranch, or forest operation.--The term 
`small farm, ranch, or forest operation' means a farm, ranch, 
or forest operation that--
``(A)(i) is less than 180 acres; or
``(ii) meets another acreage-based definition of 
`small', as determined by the Secretary, that takes 
into consideration--
``(I) the State or region in which the 
farm, ranch, or forest operation is located;
``(II) the production system of the farm, 
ranch, or forest operation; or
``(III) both; and
``(B) has an annual gross cash farm income of less 
than $350,000.
``(2) State office.--The term `State office' means--
``(A) a State office of--
``(i) the Farm Service Agency;
``(ii) the Natural Resources Conservation 
Service; or
``(iii) the rural development mission area; 
or
``(B) a regional office of the Risk Management 
Agency.
``(b) Establishment.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish within the 
farm production and conservation mission area the Office of 
Small Farms.
``(2) Director.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall appoint a 
Director of the Office of Small Farms (referred to in 
this section as the `Director').
``(B) Fpac.--A senior official within the farm 
production and conservation mission area may be 
appointed to serve as the Director.
``(c) Duties.--The Director shall--
``(1) coordinate efforts to improve support for small 
farms, ranches, and forest operations across all Department 
agencies and offices;
``(2) review Department programs and policies and identify 
statutory, regulatory, and administrative provisions, policies, 
and guidance that disadvantage small farm, ranch, or forest 
operation participation, and recommend changes to ensure that 
those programs and policies adequately serve small farms, 
ranches, and forest operations;
``(3) develop recommendations for new initiatives, 
including financing mechanisms and technical assistance 
opportunities, to specifically serve small farms, ranches, and 
forest operations relating to production, conservation, 
business planning, land access, and other issues, as determined 
by the Secretary;
``(4) make recommendations to Department agencies and 
offices and other Federal agencies on tracking small farm, 
ranch, or forest operation data, including demographics and 
program participation rates;
``(5) propose research agendas on topics that are of 
special interest to small farms, ranches, and forest 
operations;
``(6) provide or coordinate technical assistance through 
the Department or through cooperative agreements with other 
entities to operators of small farms, ranches, and forest 
operations to assist those operators--
``(A) to access the full complement of available 
Department grant, cost-share, and loan programs;
``(B) to implement activities using assistance 
received under those programs; and
``(C) with farmland preservation, including through 
succession planning;
``(7) implement a program directly or through cooperative 
agreements with other entities to provide grants of not more 
than $25,000 to operators of small farms, ranches, and forest 
operations for--
``(A) equipment and infrastructure repairs and 
upgrades;
``(B) uninsured losses;
``(C) business planning and market development 
assistance;
``(D) conservation practice adoption;
``(E) down payments for land acquisition; and
``(F) such other purposes as the Secretary 
determines to be appropriate;
``(8) operate a hotline through which operators of small 
farms, ranches, and forest operations can anonymously report 
problems that the operators encounter in attempts to access 
Department programs;
``(9) collaborate with other Federal and State agencies on 
how to effectively reach and serve small farms, ranches, and 
forest operations; and
``(10) determine whether to approve a plan submitted by a 
State small farms coordinator under subsection (e)(3)(A)(ii).
``(d) Liaisons.--
``(1) Appointment.--The following officials shall appoint, 
from among the officers and employees under the respective 
official, a liaison to the Office of Small Farms:
``(A) The Chief of the Natural Resources 
Conservation Service.
``(B) The Administrator of the Farm Service Agency.
``(C) The Administrator of the Risk Management 
Agency.
``(D) The Under Secretary of Agriculture for Rural 
Development.
``(E) The Director of the National Institute of 
Food and Agriculture.
``(F) The Administrator of the Agricultural 
Marketing Service.
``(G) The Administrator of the Economic Research 
Service.
``(H) The Administrator of the National 
Agricultural Statistics Service.
``(I) The Director of the Office of Partnerships 
and Public Engagement.
``(J) The heads of such other agencies, offices, 
and advisory groups as the Secretary determines to be 
appropriate, including--
``(i) the Office of Urban Agriculture and 
Innovative Production; and
``(ii) the Office of Tribal Relations.
``(2) Duties.--Each liaison appointed under paragraph (1) 
shall--
``(A) coordinate with the Office of Small Farms and 
the other liaisons appointed under that paragraph to 
develop and implement new strategies for outreach to 
and education for small farms, ranches, and forest 
operations; and
``(B) coordinate within the agency, office, mission 
area, or advisory group of the liaison on issues and 
outreach relating to small farms, ranches, and forest 
operations.
``(e) State Small Farms Coordinators.--
``(1) In general.--
``(A) Designation.--
``(i) In general.--The Director, in 
consultation with State food and agriculture 
councils and directors of State offices, shall 
designate in each State a State small farms 
coordinator from among the employees of State 
offices.
``(ii) Employees.--The employee of a State 
office designated to be a State small farms 
coordinator may be the same employee designated 
to be the State beginning farmer and rancher 
coordinator under section 7404(c) of the Farm 
Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 
U.S.C. 6934a(c)).
``(B) Requirements.--To be designated as a State 
small farms coordinator, an employee shall--
``(i) be familiar with issues relating to 
small farms, ranches, and forest operations; 
and
``(ii) have the ability to coordinate with 
other Federal departments and agencies.
``(2) Training.--The Secretary shall develop a training 
plan to provide to each State small farms coordinator knowledge 
of programs and services available from the Department for 
small farms, ranches, and forest operations, taking into 
consideration the needs of all types of production methods.
``(3) Duties.--
``(A) In general.--A State small farms 
coordinator--
``(i) shall coordinate technical assistance 
at the State level to assist small farms, 
ranches, and forest operations in accessing 
programs of the Department;
``(ii) shall develop and submit to the 
Director for approval a State plan to improve 
the coordination, delivery, and efficacy of 
programs of the Department to small farms, 
ranches, and forest operations, taking into 
consideration the needs of all types of 
production methods, at each county and area 
office in the State;
``(iii) shall oversee implementation of an 
approved State plan described in clause (ii);
``(iv) may facilitate interagency and 
interdepartmental collaboration on issues 
relating to small farms, ranches, and forest 
operations at the State or regional level;
``(v) shall work with outreach coordinators 
in the State offices to ensure appropriate 
information about technical assistance is 
available at outreach events and activities;
``(vi) shall coordinate partnerships and 
joint outreach efforts with other organizations 
and government agencies serving small farms, 
ranches, and forest operations; and
``(vii) may provide grants under subsection 
(c)(7), in accordance with criteria established 
by the Director.
``(B) Individual duties.--Not less than 50 percent 
of the duties of an employee designated to be a State 
small farms coordinator shall be the duties described 
in subparagraph (A) or other duties relating to small 
farms, ranches, and forest operations.
``(f) Report to Congress.--Annually, 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--
``(1) the efforts of the Secretary to enhance participation 
by small farms, ranches, and forest operations in agricultural 
programs; and
``(2) the results achieved to enhance such participation 
for each such agricultural program.
``(g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated--
``(1) $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 
2031 for the administration of the Office of Small Farms; and
``(2) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2027 through 
2031 to provide technical assistance and grants authorized by 
this section.''.
(b) Technical Amendment.--The Department of Agriculture 
Reorganization Act of 1994 is amended by redesignating the first 
section 225 (7 U.S.C. 6925) (relating to the Food Access Liaison) as 
section 224A.
(c) Conforming Amendment.--Section 296(b) of the Department of 
Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
``(11) The authority of the Secretary to carry out section 
229.''.
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