Sec. 7208. Centers of excellence

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Section 1673 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 ( 7 U.S.C. 5926 ) is amended— by striking subsections (a), (b), and

(c)and inserting the following: The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish at least one center of excellence for the purpose of carrying out research, extension, or education activities for each of the areas of focus described in paragraph (3). Institutions eligible to host or co-host a center of excellence established under this subsection include— 1862 Institutions, as defined in section 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 ( 7 U.S.C. 7601 ); 1890 Institutions, as defined in section 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 ( 7 U.S.C. 7601 ); 1994 Institutions, as defined in section 532 of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 ( 7 U.S.C. 301 note); non-land-grant colleges of agriculture, as defined in section 1404 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 ( 7 U.S.C. 3103 ); Hispanic-serving agricultural colleges or universities, as defined in section 1404 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 ( 7 U.S.C. 3103 ); and accredited schools of veterinary medicine. To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure the geographic diversity of institutions selected to host or co-host a center of excellence established under this subsection. An institution may host or co-host only one center of excellence under this subsection at a time. The institution or institutions selected to host or co-host a center of excellence established under this subsection shall partner with the Agricultural Research Service, other Federal agencies, State governments, other institutions of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1001 )), agricultural industry groups, or other relevant entities to— reduce duplicative efforts and focus on filling gaps across research, extension, or education activities by enhancing coordination and improving cost-effectiveness; leverage available resources by using public-private partnerships; implement training and educational initiatives to increase awareness and effectively disseminate solutions to target audiences through extension activities; increase the economic returns to rural communities by identifying, attracting, and directing funds to high-priority agricultural issues; rapidly respond to emerging issues that threaten any sector of the United States agricultural industry; focus on workforce development for employers to recruit and retain high-quality employees in rural areas; and engage in assistance for administrative management and education regarding potentially valuable intellectual property derived from federally-supported research, extension, or education activities. A center of excellence established under this subsection may engage in research, extension, or education activities focused on developing and applying aquaculture methods, including through the propagation and rearing of economically and ecologically valuable aquatic and marine species. A center of excellence established under this subsection may engage in research, extension or education activities focused on training beginning farmers and ranchers, including farm and agribusiness management, mentoring and technical assistance, and access to capital. A center of excellence established under this subsection may engage in research, extension, or education activities focused on agricultural biosecurity and cybersecurity efforts to defend the United States food supply from any attacks. A center of excellence established under this subsection may engage in research, extension, or education activities focused on biosystems and agricultural engineering, including precision agriculture technologies and mechanization and automation technologies for specialty crops. A center of excellence established under this subsection may engage in research, extension, or education activities focused on development of animal and plant biotechnologies that will increase agricultural productivity. A center of excellence established under this subsection may engage in research, extension, or education activities focused on crop production and protection, including the development, manufacture, and use of fertilizer, crop protection tools, and adjuvants in increasing productivity and protecting crops from damaging pests and diseases. A center of excellence established under this subsection may engage in research, extension, or education activities focused on developing, evaluating, and deploying digital agriculture, including artificial intelligence and remote sensing systems. A center of excellence established under this subsection may engage in research, extension, or education activities focused on farm business and financial management activities, including marketing plans, production diversification, and cash forward contracting. A center of excellence established under this subsection may engage in research, extension, or education activities focused on improving food quality, including research on the uptake of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in food, the presence of microplastics in biosolids, and the efficacy and feasibility of reducing levels of inorganic arsenic, lead, cadmium, or mercury in food. A center of excellence established under this subsection may engage in research, extension, or education activities focused on foreign animal diseases, including the ecology and etiology of emerging diseases, control methods, and implementation strategies to enhance preparedness and response efforts to protect the livestock and poultry industry. A center of excellence established under this subsection may engage in research, extension, or education activities focused on forest productivity and forest health, including invasive species control, biochar and pyrolysis development and commercialization, reforestation and restoration of damaged landscapes, and new wood-based materials. A center of excellence established under this subsection may engage in research, extension, or education activities focused on the control and eradication of invasive species that pose a persistent and growing threat to United States agricultural production, forest resources, global food security, and rural economies. A center of excellence established under this subsection may engage in research, extension, or education activities focused on issues impacting livestock (including equines) and poultry production in the United States, including economic research to understand policy implications for producers. A center of excellence established under this subsection may engage in research, extension, or education activities focused on developing additional veterinarians, including large animal veterinarians, to address the veterinarian shortage in rural areas. A center of excellence established under this subsection may engage in research, extension, or education activities focused on water quality and quantity efforts, including drought, water management, natural resource benefits, and the health and resilience of the water supply in the United States. The term of an award under this subsection shall be for a five-year period, and may be renewed for not more than one additional five-year period. Funds made available under this subsection shall not be used for the construction of a new building or facility or the acquisition, expansion, remodeling, or alteration of an existing building or facility (including site grading and improvement, and architect fees). Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this subsection, and every year thereafter, 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 projects initiated by each center of excellence established under this subsection in the preceding year; the amount of funding for each such project and the funding source; the institutions participating in each such project and their shares of the overall funding for each project; the level of cost sharing for each such project; any technology transfer and intellectual property management actions taken by each such center of excellence, such as the number of relevant invention disclosures, any provisional patents filed, any non-provisional patents filed and issued, the number of licenses executed, and any start-up companies registered; and any additional information deemed necessary. ; by redesignating subsection

(d)as subsection (b); in subsection (b), as so redesignated— in paragraph (1)— by striking The Secretary and inserting In addition to the centers of excellence established under subsection (a), the Secretary ; and by striking not less than 3 centers of excellence and inserting not less than 8 centers of excellence ; in paragraph (2)— in subparagraph (A)— in the subparagraph heading, by striking and inserting and workforce development , ; and workforce development, and rural studies by inserting economics, psychology, rural sociology, data sciences, after mathematics, ; in subparagraph (E), by inserting and nature-based solutions to improve the composition of soil organic compounds, including carbon, that are beneficial to soil quality and the environment before the period at the end; and by adding at the end the following: A center of excellence established under paragraph

(1)may focus on forest health, sustainable forest management, agroforestry, enhancing forest resilience to catastrophic wildfire, supporting rural infrastructure, and urban and community forestry programs to promote healthy forest ecosystems and resilient communities. A center of excellence established under paragraph

(1)may focus on food safety, bioprocessing, value-added agriculture enterprise development, and innovative food and agriculture product development. ; and in paragraph (3), by striking 2023 and inserting 2031 .

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7 USC 5926
7 USC 7601
7 USC 301
7 USC 3103
20 USC 1001

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Sec. 7208

Centers of excellence

Cite7 USC 5926

Cite7 USC 7601

Cite7 USC 301

Cite7 USC 3103

Cite20 USC 1001

Cites 5Cited by 0 across 0 sources