[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9968 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 9968

 To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to submit to Congress a report 
  on barriers to participation in Department of Agriculture programs 
 faced by certified organic farms and farms that may be interested in 
      transitioning to organic production, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 27, 2026

 Mr. Ogles (for himself and Ms. Brown) introduced the following bill; 
           which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to submit to Congress a report 
  on barriers to participation in Department of Agriculture programs 
 faced by certified organic farms and farms that may be interested in 
      transitioning to organic production, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Opening Programs to Organic Farms 
Act''.

SEC. 2. STUDY ON BARRIERS TO PARTICIPATION IN DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
              PROGRAMS FACED BY CERTIFIED ORGANIC FARMS AND FARMS 
              INTERESTED IN TRANSITIONING TO ORGANIC PRODUCTION.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
        ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
                    (A) Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
                Forestry of the Senate; and
                    (B) Committee on Agriculture of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) Certified organic farm.--The term ``certified organic 
        farm'' has the meaning given the term in section 2103 of the 
        Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6502).
            (3) Department.--The term ``Department'' means the 
        Department of Agriculture.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate committees of 
Congress, and make publicly available on the website of the Department, 
a report on barriers to participation in Department programs faced by 
certified organic farms and farms that may be interested in 
transitioning to organic production.
    (c) Contents.--The report required under subsection (b) shall 
include the following:
            (1) Program review.--An assessment of barriers to 
        participation in Department programs faced by certified organic 
        farms and farms that may be interested in transitioning to 
        organic production, including barriers in programs relating to 
        conservation, credit, disaster assistance, risk management, 
        export promotion, market development, technical assistance, 
        rural development, data collection, procurement, and organic 
        certification cost-share.
            (2) Participation data.--To the extent practicable, data on 
        application rates, approval rates, denial rates, funding 
        levels, geographic distribution, farm size, production type, 
        and reasons for denial or nonparticipation by certified organic 
        farms and farms that may be interested in transitioning to 
        organic production.
            (3) Specific barriers.--An assessment of barriers relating 
        to program eligibility, payment rates, ranking criteria, 
        application forms, recordkeeping requirements, crop insurance 
        price elections, disaster assistance valuation, conservation 
        practice standards, certification documentation, supply-chain 
        infrastructure, organic literacy among Department staff, and 
        the availability of organic-specific data.
            (4) Staff training and technical assistance.--An assessment 
        of the need for organic-specific training, guidance, and 
        technical assistance for Department field staff, including 
        staff of the Farm Service Agency, the Natural Resources 
        Conservation Service, the Risk Management Agency, Rural 
        Development, the Foreign Agricultural Service, and other 
        relevant agencies and offices.
            (5) Administrative actions.--A description of 
        administrative actions that the Secretary intends to take to 
        remove barriers identified in the report.
            (6) Statutory recommendations.--Any recommendations for 
        statutory changes needed to remove barriers identified in the 
        report.
    (d) Annual Updates.--For each of the first 3 years following 
submission of the report required under subsection (b), the Secretary 
shall submit to the appropriate committees of Congress, and make 
publicly available on the website of the Department, an annual update 
to that report that describes--
            (1) any progress made to remove barriers identified in that 
        report;
            (2) any administrative actions completed or underway;
            (3) any remaining barriers to participation in Department 
        programs faced by certified organic farms and farms that may be 
        interested in transitioning to organic production; and
            (4) any additional recommendations for statutory changes.
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