H.R. 8533

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8533 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8533

To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to expand the provision of 
farmer-led technical assistance, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

April 27, 2026

Mr. Vasquez introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

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 
2026''.

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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