[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3217 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3217

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 4, 1999

 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. 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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