Sponsors
This bill directs federal grants to expand agricultural education and paid work-based learning—strengthening pipelines into farm and food-sector jobs—but increases federal spending and may leave some smaller programs or immediate student supports constrained while requiring a rapid implementation timeline.
Students at eligible institutions gain new grant-funded hands-on opportunities—paid internships, apprenticeships, and training—that improve job readiness for agricultural careers.
Eligible colleges and community colleges receive grant funding to expand agricultural programs and build workforce pipelines, increasing institutional capacity to train future farm and food-sector workers.
Faculty professional development funding and incentives for employer–institution partnerships help align curricula with industry needs, reducing skill gaps and improving worker retention and competitiveness in agriculture.
Taxpayers may face increased federal spending because the section creates new grant activity without specifying an appropriation amount or offset.
Smaller or non-eligible institutions and local training providers may be excluded from grant eligibility, limiting access for some community colleges, small programs, and the students they serve.
A required minimum 5% set-aside for recruitment and faculty development could reduce the pool of funds available for direct student wage supports, equipment, or hands-on training resources.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a NIFA grant program to fund agriculture workforce training run by eligible education institutions with industry partners and requires ≥5% of funds for program delivery.
Introduced September 4, 2025 by Tina Smith · Last progress September 4, 2025
Creates a new grant program at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, run by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), to fund agriculture workforce training programs. Eligible colleges, universities, community colleges, and similar institutions can get grants to run internships, apprenticeships, experience-based curricula, workshops, and other training in partnership with industry and nonprofit partners. The law requires grantees to spend at least 5% of each grant on program delivery activities like recruitment and faculty development, and directs the Secretary to implement the program by January 31, 2026.