To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to authorize grants for eligible institutions to carry out agriculture workforce training programs, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMs. Smith introduced the following bill; which was read twice …
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill creates a new federal grant program to help agricultural colleges, community colleges, and technical schools partner with farming companies and industry groups to train students for careers in agriculture. The program, run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, funds internships, apprenticeships, and hands-on training programs. Schools must implement the program by January 31, 2026.
Who Benefits and How
Land-grant universities, agricultural colleges, community colleges, and technical schools with agriculture programs receive new federal grant funding to develop workforce training partnerships. Agriculture companies, farming operations, food processors, and industry associations benefit by getting access to a pipeline of trained workers through subsidized training programs—costs they would otherwise pay themselves. Students in agriculture programs gain access to paid internships, apprenticeships, and enhanced job training opportunities that improve their employability. Agriculture workforce nonprofits can participate as industry partners and receive grant-funded collaboration opportunities.
Who Bears the Burden and How
The USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture faces increased administrative work to design, launch, and manage this new competitive grant program by the January 2026 deadline. Taxpayers fund the grant program through federal appropriations, though the bill does not specify the total dollar amount. Schools receiving grants must spend at least 5% of grant funds on recruiting students and training faculty, which represents an administrative requirement.
Key Provisions
- Authorizes USDA to award competitive grants to educational institutions (including land-grant universities, community colleges, Hispanic-serving agricultural colleges, and career/technical schools) to develop agriculture workforce training programs
- Requires partnerships between schools and "targeted industry partners" (agriculture companies, trade associations, registered apprenticeship programs, or nonprofits focused on agriculture employment)
- Defines eligible training as internships, apprenticeships, experience-based curricula, and technical skills workshops
- Mandates that schools use at least 5% of grant money for student recruitment and faculty professional development
- Sets implementation deadline of January 31, 2026 for the Secretary of Agriculture to launch the program
- Amends the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to add this new grant authority under Section 2501(d)
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Authorizes grant program for agricultural workforce training through partnerships between educational institutions and agriculture industry
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Create industry-education partnerships to address agriculture workforce shortages and improve training/retention"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Land-grant universities and agricultural colleges (receive grant funding)
- Community colleges and technical schools with agriculture programs (receive grant funding)
- Agriculture industry companies and associations (gain access to trained workforce)
- Students in agriculture programs (gain internships, apprenticeships, practical training)
Likely Burden Bearers
- USDA/National Institute of Food and Agriculture (administrative burden to manage grant program)
- Taxpayers (funding for grants, though amount not specified in bill)
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_director"
- → Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A training program developed by an eligible institution in collaboration with a targeted industry partner through which students receive training including internships, apprenticeships, experience-based curricula, and educational programs/workshops to promote technical skills
Various types of educational institutions including 1862/1890/1994 land-grant institutions, non-land-grant colleges of agriculture, Hispanic-serving agricultural colleges, centers of excellence, community colleges offering agriculture programs, and area career and technical education schools offering agriculture programs
Agriculture industry members (companies or associations), registered agriculture apprenticeship programs, or nonprofits helping individuals gain agriculture employment
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology