,,ii #aahth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #ahji ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,june #f1 #bjbc,mr4 ,booker introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,department of ,agriculture ,reorganization ,act of #aiid to establish an ,office of ,small ,farms1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,office of ,small ,farms ,establishment ,act of #bjbc4 #b4 ,office of ,small ,farms 7a7 ,in general ,subtitle ,b of the ,department of ,agriculture ,reorganization ,act of #aiid 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #fica et seq47 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #bbi4 ,office of ,small ,farms 7a7 ,definition of small farm1 ranch1 or forest operation ,in this section1 the term small farm1 ranch1 or forest operation means a farm1 ranch1 or forest operation that-- 7#a7 7,a7 is less than #ahj acres2 or 7,b7 meets another acreage-based definition of small1 as determined by the ,secretary1 that takes into consideration-- 7i7 the ,state or region in which the farm1 ranch1 or forest operation is located2 7ii7 the production system of the farm1 ranch1 or forest operation2 or 7iii7 both2 and 7#b7 has an annual gross cash farm income of less than #cej1jjj4 7b7 ,establishment 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall establish within the farm production and conservation mission area the ,office of ,small ,farms4 7#b7 ,director ,the ,secretary shall appoint a ,director of the ,office of ,small ,farms 7referred to in this section as the ,director74 ,a senior official within the farm production and conservation mission area may be appointed to serve as the ,director4 7c7 ,duties ,the ,director shall-- 7#a7 coordinate efforts to improve support for small farms1 ranches1 and forest operations across all ,department agencies and offices2 7#b7 review ,department programs and policies and identify statutory1 regulatory1 and administrative provisions1 policies1 and guidance that disadvantage small farm1 ranch1 or forest operation participation1 and recommend changes to ensure that those programs and policies adequately serve small farms1 ranches1 and forest operations2 7#c7 develop recommendations for new initiatives1 including financing mechanisms and technical assistance opportunities1 to specifically serve small farms1 ranches1 and forest operations relating to production1 conservation1 business planning1 land access1 and other issues1 as determined by the ,secretary2 7#d7 make recommendations to ,department agencies and offices and other ,federal agencies on tracking small farm1 ranch1 or forest operation data1 including demographics and program participation rates2 7#e7 propose research agendas on topics that are of special interest to small farms1 ranches1 and forest operations2 7#f7 provide or coordinate technical assistance through the ,department or through cooperative agreements with other entities to operators of small farms1 ranches1 and forest operations to enable those operators to access the full complement of ,department grant1 cost-share1 and loan programs2 7#g7 implement program directly or through cooperative agreements with other entities to provide grants of not more than #be1jjj to operators of small farms1 ranches1 and forest operations for-- 7,a7 equipment and infrastructure repairs and upgrades2 7,b7 uninsured losses2 7,c7 business planning and market development assistance2 7,d7 conservation practice adoption2 7,e7 down payments for land acquisition2 and 7,f7 such other purposes as the ,secretary determines to be appropriate2 7#h7 operate a hotline through which operators of small farms1 ranches1 and forest operations can anonymously report problems that the operators encounter in attempts to access ,department programs2 and 7#i7 advise other ,federal agencies on how to effectively reach and serve small farms1 ranches1 and forest operations4 7d7 ,liaisons ,the following officials shall appoint1 from among the officers and employees under the respective official1 a liaison to the ,office of ,small ,farms3 7#a7 ,the ,chief of the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service4 7#b7 ,the ,administrator of the ,farm ,service ,agency4 7#c7 ,the ,administrator of the ,risk ,management ,agency4 7#d7 ,the ,under ,secretary of ,agriculture for ,rural ,development4 7#e7 ,the ,director of the ,national ,institute of ,food and ,agriculture4 7#f7 ,the ,administrator of the ,agricultural ,marketing ,service4 7#g7 ,the ,administrator of the ,national ,agricultural ,statistics ,service4 7#h7 ,the ,director of the ,office of ,partnerships and ,public ,engagement4 7#i7 ,the heads of such other agencies1 offices1 and advisory groups as the ,secretary determines to be appropriate1 including-- 7,a7 the ,office of ,urban ,agriculture and ,innovative ,production2 and 7,b7 the ,office of ,tribal ,relations4 7e7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there are authorized to be appropriated-- 7#a7 #ae1jjj1jjj for each of fiscal years #bjbc through #bjbh for the administration of the ,office of ,small ,farms2 and 7#b7 #aj1jjj1jjj for each fiscal year to provide technical assistance and grants authorized by this section4 4 7b7 ,technical amendment ,the ,department of ,agriculture ,reorganization ,act of #aiid is amended by redesignating the first section #bbe 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #fibe7 7relating to the ,food ,access ,liaison7 as section #bbd;,a4 7c7 ,conforming amendment ,section #bif7;b7 of the ,department of ,agriculture ,reorganization ,act of #aiid 7#g ,u4,s4,c4 #gjad7;b77 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#aa7 ,the authority of the ,secretary to carry out section #bbi4 4