[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4113 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4113

To assist the efforts of farmers and cooperatives seeking to engage in 
             value-added processing of agricultural goods.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 23, 1998

 Mr. Baldacci introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                        Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To assist the efforts of farmers and cooperatives seeking to engage in 
             value-added processing of agricultural goods.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. EXTENSION PROGRAMS FOR SMALL- AND MEDIUM-SIZED FARM 
              OPERATIONS.

    Section 502(d) of the Rural Development Act of 1972 (7 U.S.C. 
2662(d)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``(1)'' before ``Small farm extension''; 
        and
            (2) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(2) To ensure the continued viability of small- and medium-sized 
farm operations, extension programs should emphasize market development 
education and technical assistance for operators of small- and medium-
sized farms in addition to production assistance. Such extension 
efforts should be directed at exploring new marketing avenues for such 
farms, such as direct farm-to-consumer markets, local value-added 
processing, and farmer-owned cooperatives, and at developing 
entrepreneurial training and development in natural resource-based 
industries.''.

SEC. 2. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.

    Section 793(c)(1) of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform 
Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 2204f(c)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
                    ``(E) Technical assistance.--The Secretary may use 
                the funds in the Account to provide technical 
                assistance related to any rural development activity 
                for which funds may be provided from the Account under 
                this paragraph.''.

SEC. 3. PRIORITY FOR FARMER-OWNED VALUE-ADDED PROCESSING FACILITIES.

    Section 310B of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 
U.S.C. 1932) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
subsection:
    ``(h) Priority for Farmer-Owned Value-Added Processing 
Facilities.--In approving applications for loans and grants authorized 
under this section, section 306(a)(11), and other applicable provisions 
of this title (as determined by the Secretary), the Secretary shall 
give a high priority to applications for projects that encourage 
farmer-owned value-added processing facilities.''.
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