{"bill":{"id":"119-hr-8533","congress":119,"type":"HR","number":8533,"title":"Farmer to Farmer Education Act of 2026","originChamber":"House","introducedDate":"2026-04-27","sponsors":[{"bioguideId":"V000136","fullName":"Rep. Vasquez, Gabe [D-NM-2]","party":"D","state":"NM","district":2}],"cosponsorsCount":0,"latestAction":{"actionDate":"2026-04-27","text":"Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture."},"policyArea":"Agriculture and Food","subjects":[],"actions":[{"date":"2026-04-27","text":"Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.","type":"IntroReferral","chamber":"House floor actions","hasVote":false},{"date":"2026-04-27","text":"Introduced in House","type":"IntroReferral","chamber":"Library of Congress","hasVote":false},{"date":"2026-04-27","text":"Introduced in House","type":"IntroReferral","chamber":"Library of Congress","hasVote":false}],"summary":"<p><strong>Farmer to Farmer Education Act of 2026</strong></p><p>This bill expands the authority of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide technical assistance for farmer-to-farmer networks.&nbsp;USDA must use annual appropriations provided for Natural Resources Conservation Service conservation operations to implement this program.</p><p>A<em> farmer-to-farmer network</em> means any affiliation or association of farmers that share information, technical assistance, or any other type of mutually beneficial support.</p><p>Under the bill, USDA may enter into cooperative agreements with eligible entities to (1) provide assistance to farmer-to-farmer networks to build network capacity, connect farmers with mentors or group learning opportunities, and support goal setting; (2) increase technical assistance for farmers, ranchers, and forest owners who use different farming models, practices, and scales; (3)&nbsp;establish and steward the networks; and (4) establish reporting requirements for these activities.</p><p>Those eligible for the program include nonprofit entities, farmer-to-farmer networks, tribal entities, local governments, institutions of higher education, and states. USDA must prioritize&nbsp;agreements with entities that seek to meet the specific needs of certain farmers, ranchers, and forest owners who are historically underserved or operating in high-poverty areas.</p><p>The bill also provides for subawards to plan and conduct events, as well as to identify and develop innovative activities, in order to increase farmer access to farmer-to-farmer assistance.</p>","updateDate":"2026-05-15T13:26:42Z"},"markets":[],"stateBills":[],"meta":{"sources":["congress.gov"],"latencyMs":102,"ts":"2026-05-29T23:22:32.925Z"},"nextActions":{"inspect":[],"related":[{"description":"Search related legislation","method":"GET","url":"https://simplefunctions.dev/api/public/query-gov?q=Farmer%20to%20Farmer%20Education%20Act%20of%202026"}]}}