,,ii  #aaeth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #bhac  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #aj1      
#bjah,mr4 ,murphy 7for himself and ,mr4 
,casey7 introduced the following bill2  
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1
 and ,forestry  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend the
 ,agricultural ,adjustment ,act to      
assist small cheese producers4  #a4     
,short title ,this ,act may be cited as 
the ,local ,cheese ,promotion and ,dairy
 ,support ,act of #bjah4  #b4           
,assistance for small cheese producers  
,the ,agricultural ,adjustment ,act 7#g 
,u4,s4,c4 #fja et seq471 reenacted with 
amendments by the ,agricultural         
,marketing ,agreement ,act of #aicg1 is 
amended by adding at the end the        
following3  #bd4 ,assistance for small  
cheese producers  7a7 ,definitions ,in  
this section3 7#a7 ,eligible institution
 ,the term eligible institution means-- 
7,a7 a land-grant college or university 
7as defined in section #adjd of the     

,national ,agricultural ,research1      
,extension1 and ,teaching ,policy ,act  
of #aigg 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #cajc772  7,b7 a 
local office of the ,national ,institute
 of ,food and ,agriculture or other     
regional office of the ,department of   
,agriculture2  7,c7 a group of regional 
experts 7as determined by the           
,secretary7 that advises beginning      
farmers or ranchers 7as defined under   
section #cdc7;a7 of the ,consolidated   
,farm and ,rural ,development ,act 7#g  
,u4,s4,c4 #aiia7;a7772 or  7,d7 a       
nonprofit organization4  7#b7 ,secretary
 ,the term ,secretary means the         
,secretary of ,agriculture4  7#c7 ,small
 cheese producer ,the term small cheese 
producer has the meaning given the term 
by the ,secretary4  7b7 ,grant program  
7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall  
establish a program under which the     
,secretary shall make competitive grants
 to1 as determined by the ,secretary--  
7,a7 eligible small cheese producers2   
and  7,b7 cooperative groups of small   

cheese producers4  7#b7 ,preference ,in 
making grants under this subsection1 the
 ,secretary shall give preference to    
small cheese producers that use locally 
or regionally sourced product to produce
 cheese4  7#c7 ,use of funds ,the       
recipient of a grant under this         
subsection may use grant funds-- 7,a7 to
 purchase equipment or renovate and make
 repairs to production facilities2  7,b7
 to develop a business plan or perform a
 feasibility study to grow the business 
of the small cheese producer2  7,c7 to  
promote and market cheese2  7,d7 to     
participate in accounting and financial 
literacy education and training or      
purchase necessary software2  7,e7 to   
upgrade facilities to meet food safety  
standards2  7,f7 to participate in food 
safety training2 and  7,g7 to           
participate in relevant job training1   
such as training in-- 7i7 cheese-making 
quality2 or  7ii7 the production of a   
variety of cheese that the recipient has
 not produced before4  7c7 ,cheese      

production education and promotion pilot
 project  7#a7 ,in general ,the         
,secretary shall not use more than #aj  
percent of the funds made available to  
carry out this section to establish at  
one or more eligible institutions a     
pilot project that will--  7,a7 develop1
 or support an existing1 regional       
cheese-making resource center with the  
technical assistance and electronic     
resource capabilities to provide small  
cheese producers with financial1        
marketing1 food safety1 and production  
assistance2  7,b7 support a group of    
experienced cheese producers or subject 
matter experts 7as determined by the    
,secretary7 to advise beginning cheese  
producers2 and  7,c7 establish1 or grow 
an existing1 national cheese-making     
resource center to act as a             
clearinghouse for best practices        
applicable to small cheese producers4   
7#b7 ,requirements ,to be eligible to   
receive funding to establish a pilot    
project described in paragraph 7#a71 an 

eligible institution shall demonstrate  
to the ,secretary--  7,a7 the capacity  
and technical expertise to provide the  
services described in that paragraph2   
7,b7 the support of the eligible        
institution in the agricultural         
community2 and  7,c7 the availability of
 resources 7in cash or in kind7 of      
definite value to achieve the goal and  
sustain the mission of the pilot        
project4  7d7 ,authorization of         
appropriations ,there is authorized to  
be appropriated to carry out this       
section #e1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal   
years #bjai through #bjbc1 to remain    
available until expended4  4