Improving Coordination of Agriculture Research and Data Act

The Improving Coordination of Agriculture Research and Data Act aims to better connect farm-related climate research, data, and hands-on help. It sets common goals, strengthens technical assistance, and builds a national research plan to help farms and rural communities deal with climate change and reduce emissions. It creates an Agriculture Climate Scientific Research Advisory Committee in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Office of the Chief Scientist to guide what data to collect and which topics to study, like soil health, carbon stored in soils, livestock methane, wetlands, and climate‑smart practices. The committee would find gaps, set a research agenda, review progress every five years, and set shared data standards.

It also creates a Rural Climate Alliance Network, run through USDA Climate Hubs, to connect universities, extension services, Tribes, nonprofits, businesses, USDA agencies, and others. The network would share climate data and provide training and technical help to producers and rural communities, improve disaster response and risk communication, and deliver tools and information in regionally appropriate languages. USDA must report back within one year with the sector’s needs, progress made, budget ideas, a baseline on soil carbon, and a long‑term plan to boost resilience for producers and rural communities, including effects on jobs, production, food security, and family farm succession.

• Who is affected: farmers, ranchers, foresters, aquaculture producers, the food and agriculture industry, nonprofits, researchers, and rural communities.
• What changes: a new advisory committee to steer climate research and data; a national network to coordinate and deliver research, data, and technical help; shared data standards and five‑year reviews; training for support professionals (insurance agents, lenders, suppliers, advisers, USDA staff); information offered in locally appropriate languages.
• When: committee updates and evaluations every five years; USDA report due within one year after enactment.