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Creates a competitive grant program at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to help agricultural research facilities repair, modernize, or acquire buildings and equipment needed for research. The program is funded by a mix of mandatory and discretionary federal funds and is supported for fiscal years 2025 through 2030. Grants are awarded competitively under rules set by the statute, include limits on how much funding a single State may receive, and rest on congressional findings about agriculture’s economic importance and a large backlog of deferred maintenance at schools of agriculture and related research facilities.
In 2019, agriculture and related industries contributed $1,109,000,000,000 (5.2% of GDP) and provided 22,200,000 jobs (10.9% of employment) in the United States.
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture provides more than $1,700,000,000 in research funding each year to schools of agriculture.
A 2015 study found deferred maintenance needs at 91 schools of agriculture totaled $8,400,000,000 with a total replacement cost of $29,000,000,000; a 2021 study found deferred maintenance increased to $11,500,000,000 with a replacement cost of $38,100,000,000.
Congress finds infrastructure investments are needed at schools of agriculture to keep U.S. agricultural research globally competitive.
Amends Section 3(d) of the Research Facilities Act to add that proposals must be reviewed in consultation with representatives of National Institute of Food and Agriculture peer review panels.
Modifies subsection (d) of the Review process section to add a new required action to review proposals in consultation with NIFA peer review panels and renumbers existing paragraphs.
Rewrites Section 4 to define the purpose and establish a competitive grant program within NIFA, specify allowable uses, allow a Secretarial waiver for up to 100% Federal share, set requirements for equitable distribution and project limits, and require procedures for submission and peer-review-informed selection.
Primary direct recipients will be agricultural research facilities and institutions (including colleges and universities with schools of agriculture) that can apply for competitive grants to fix, upgrade, or acquire research buildings and equipment. Those institutions will gain resources to reduce deferred maintenance, modernize labs and field facilities, and expand research capacity. Students, faculty, and researchers benefit through improved facilities and equipment that support education and scientific work.
Rural and agricultural communities and farmers may benefit indirectly through improved applied research, extension services, and adoption of innovations developed in better-equipped research settings. State governments may be affected by the State funding cap: larger States or institutions there might face limits on total federal grant awards and could need to prioritize projects. NIFA and USDA will take on program administration responsibilities and associated implementation costs. Competition for limited grant dollars may leave some facilities without funding; administrative burdens for application and compliance will fall on applicants and recipients.
Budgetary impact: the program depends on specified mandatory and discretionary funding for 2025–2030; the actual distribution and scale of benefit depend on annual appropriation actions and agency implementation rules.
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Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Introduced May 21, 2025 by Kim Schrier · Last progress May 21, 2025
AG RESEARCH Act
Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Introduced in House