Sec. 201. Farm business planning program
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Subtitle D of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act is amended by inserting after section 365 ( 7 U.S.C. 2008 ) the following: In this section, the term urban farmer means a beginning farmer or rancher that is farming in an urban area, as determined by the Secretary. The Secretary shall, with respect to urban farmers— identify and improve farm business education programs; and provide, and facilitate the provision of, technical assistance. The Secretary shall conduct a review of all farm business planning, education, outreach, and technical assistance programs provided to beginning farmers and ranchers, with a focus on urban farmers, to identify methods— to improve program delivery and outreach; to improve the longevity of new farm enterprises; to increase financial literacy; to provide more ongoing business support; to develop and maintain good agricultural practices and food safety recordkeeping materials; and to examine ways to improve interagency interoperability of administrative and statistical data.
The Secretary shall consult and collaborate with other Federal agencies to review related business development programs for beginning farmers and ranchers. After completing the program review described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— develop and adopt best practices for program delivery and provide the best practices to urban farmers; implement strategies to improve the business planning, budget skills, and financial literacy of urban farmers; and based on the findings of the program review, develop and implement performance metrics across the Department of Agriculture to improve financial success for each farmer— with little or no credit history; or that is unable to qualify for traditional lines of credit.
The Secretary shall establish and administer a voluntary program of farmer-to-farmer assistance and mentorship between— established farmers, ranchers, and agribusiness specialists; and beginning farmers and ranchers. The goals of the program under this subsection shall be— to provide to beginning farmers and ranchers (with a focus on urban farmers) assistance in farm business management practices by improving— agribusiness acumen; marketing operations; the establishment of recordkeeping systems; integrated use of risk management tools; and credit management; to transfer the knowledge and expertise of established agricultural producers and businesses, on an individual basis to beginning farmers and ranchers that desire to participate in an ongoing mentorship and professional development program; or to encourage the development of other farm-to-farm exchange programs for beginning farmers and ranchers for expanded learning and training opportunities.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Urban Agriculture Act of 2016 , 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 that includes— a description of the programs under this section; an outline of intended future performance metrics— to improve the effectiveness of farm business development; to support the collection of additional information on agricultural producer retention; and to increase new market opportunities; and performance metrics that are specific to urban farmers.
Each year during the 5-year period beginning on the date on which the Secretary submits the report described in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall submit to the Committees described in that paragraph an annual progress report on the performance metrics outlined in the report described in paragraph (1). There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2017 through 2021. .
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Sec. 201
Farm business planning program
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