S. 5526
Agricultural Act of 2026
Sponsor: John Boozman · 0 cosponsors
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Text of the bill
I Commodities
A Commodity Policy
B Dairy
C Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Assistance
D Administration
II Conservation
A Conservation Reserve Program
B Environmental Quality Incentives Program
C Conservation Stewardship Program
D Funding and administration
E Agricultural Conservation Easement Program
F Regional Conservation Partnership Program
G Forest Conservation Easement Program
H Other Conservation programs
III Trade
A Food for Peace Act
B Agricultural Trade Act of 1978
C Other agricultural trade laws
D Reports
IV Nutrition
A Supplemental nutrition assistance program
B Commodity distribution programs
C Miscellaneous
V Credit
A Farm Credit System
B Farm ownership and operating loans
C Administrative provisions
VI Rural Development
A Rural Electrification Act of 1936
I Rural broadband access
II Additional amendments
B Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act
C Miscellaneous
I Rural care economy
II Other miscellaneous provisions
VII Research, Extension, and Related Matters
A National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977
B Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990
C Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998
(a) In general. Section 412 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7632) is amended—
(1) in subsection (f)(3), by striking subsection (d) and (j) and inserting subsections (d), (j), and (k);
(2) in subsection (g)—
(A) in paragraph (3), by adding at the end the following:
(C) Waiver. The Secretary may waive the matching funds requirement under subparagraph (A).
; and
(B) in paragraph (4), by striking the Initiative and inserting this section;
(3) by redesignating subsections (j) and (k) as subsections (k) and (l), respectively;
(4) by inserting after subsection (i) the following:
(j) Specialty crop mechanization and automation research and development program
(1) Establishment and purpose. The Secretary shall establish a competitive research and extension grant program to increase the competitiveness of specialty crops in the United States through the advancement and acceleration of mechanization and automation, under which the Secretary awards competitive grants to eligible entities—
(A) to create or improve cost-effective mechanization, automation, and other innovations and technologies—
(i) to reduce the manual labor requirements of a specialty crop grower;
(ii) to improve specialty crop farmworker safety and health or working conditions; or
(iii) to increase the efficiency of specialty crop—
(I) production;
(II) resource management;
(III) harvesting;
(IV) processing;
(V) postharvest technologies; or
(VI) packaging;
(B) to increase the adoption of specialty crop mechanization, automation, and other innovations and technologies by—
(i) emphasizing adoption drivers, which may include connectivity, autonomy, reliability, durability, in-field validation, and cost-effectiveness; or
(ii) investing in and developing human capital to increase the capacity of the specialty crop sector to work with new technologies; or
(C) to accelerate specialty crop mechanization and automation through—
(i) prototype development;
(ii) in-field trial testing;
(iii) ongoing industry engagement; or
(iv) rapid commercialization.
(2) Priority. In awarding grants under this subsection, the Secretary shall give priority to proposals for projects that—
(A) address the training or retraining of farmworkers to operate, repair, program, or otherwise maintain mechanization and automation solutions involved in the project; and
(B) include explicit mechanisms to communicate the results of the project to producers and the public.
(3) Applicability. Subsections (a), (c) through (g), (i), and (l) shall apply to the program established under this subsection.
(5) in subsection (k) (as so redesignated)—
(A) by striking paragraph (5); and
(B) by redesignating paragraph (6) as paragraph (5); and
(6) in subsection (l) (as so redesignated)—
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking subparagraphs (C) and (D) and inserting the following:
(C) Allocation
(i) In general. Of the funds made available under subparagraph (B) for each of fiscal years 2027 through 2031, the Secretary shall allocate $30,000,000 for the specialty crop mechanization and automation research and development program established under subsection (j).
(ii) Reallocation. Any funds allocated under clause (i) that remain unobligated on the date that is 1 year after the last day of the fiscal year in which those funds are first made available shall be reallocated for the Initiative.
; and
(B) in paragraph (2)—
(i) in the paragraph heading, by striking 2023 and inserting 2031; and
(ii) by striking 2023 and inserting 2031.
(b) Technical and conforming amendments
(1) Section 1408A of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3123a) (as amended by section 7102(a)) is amended—
(A) in subsection (a)(2)(A), by striking (j)(3) and inserting (k)(3);
(B) in subsection (c)(5), by striking specialty crop research initiative and inserting programs; and
(C) in subsection (g), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking (j) and inserting (k).
(2) Section 251(f)(1)(D)(x) of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6971(f)(1)(D)(x)) is amended by striking specialty crop research initiative under section 412 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 and inserting programs under section 412 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7632).
(3) Section 12605(c) of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (7 U.S.C. 7632 note; Public Law 115–334) is amended—
(A) by striking 412(j) and inserting 412(k); and
(B) by striking 7632(j)) and inserting 7632(k)).
D Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008
I Agricultural security
II Miscellaneous provisions
E Other Matters
VIII Forestry
A Forest data modernization
B Forest health and management
I Forest Service management
II State and private partnerships
III Timber innovation
C Forest conservation
D Land designations
E White oak resilience
F Other matters
IX Energy
X Horticulture
A Horticulture marketing and information
B Regulatory reform
XI Crop insurance
XII Miscellaneous
A Livestock
B National security
C Fertilizer
D United States grain standards reauthorization
E Year-Round E15 and RFS reform
F Other miscellaneous provisions