AG RESEARCH Act

This bill would put major funding into fixing and upgrading farm science labs and equipment at universities and other agricultural research sites. It creates a competitive grant program run by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to build, repair, modernize, or buy equipment for these facilities. In some cases, the federal government could cover up to 100% of a project’s cost, which would help schools that can’t afford big matching funds. To spread the benefits, no more than 20% of the money could go to any single state, and funds should be distributed fairly across regions, school types, areas of study, and facility sizes .

The bill responds to growing repair backlogs at agricultural schools and the large role farming plays in the U.S. economy and jobs. Studies cited in the findings say deferred maintenance needs rose from $8.4 billion to $11.5 billion over recent years, and the total replacement costs are far higher. Agriculture contributed about $1.53 trillion to the economy and supported 22 million U.S. jobs, underscoring why updated labs matter for students, researchers, and farmers who rely on new science and technology .