Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Supporting Urban and Innovative Farming Act of 2026”.
Supporting Urban and Innovative Farming Act of 2026
A BILL
To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to improve the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production
Section 222 of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6923) is amended—
in subsection (a)(3)—
in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting “production” after “emerging agricultural”;
in subparagraph (D)—
by inserting “controlled-environment agriculture, including” before “hydroponic”; and
by striking “and” at the end;
by redesignating subparagraph (E) as subparagraph (H); and
by inserting after subparagraph (D) the following:
“(E) using the resources of the Department and of State, Tribal, and local agencies to provide technical assistance for business incorporation, navigating local zoning, and managing farm tract numbers for smaller, noncontiguous parcels to growers implementing activities described in this paragraph;
“(F) using the resources of the Department and of State, Tribal, and local agencies to promote conservation techniques unique to urban agriculture and innovative production, including techniques that address stormwater runoff and the impacted nature of urban land and the subsurface of the land;
“(G) assisting urban and innovative producers in navigating Federal, State, Tribal, and local policies and regulations that impact business or operations; and”
in subsection (b)—
in paragraph (5)(B), by striking “2023” and inserting “2030”; and
in paragraph (7)(A), by striking “the date that is 5 years after the date on which the members are appointed under paragraph (2)(B)” and inserting “September 30, 2030”;
by striking subsection (c) and inserting the following:
“(c) Grants and cooperative agreements
“(1) Grants
“(A) In general—The Director shall award competitive grants to support the development of urban and innovative agricultural production and technical or financial assistance to producers.
“(B) Subgrants—An eligible entity may use funds from a grant under subparagraph (A) to provide subgrants to urban and innovative producers to support the growth of the farm or farm business of the urban and innovative producers.
“(C) Priority—In awarding competitive grants under this paragraph, the Director shall prioritize projects that improve access to local foods in areas where access to fresh, healthy food is limited.
“(D) Eligible entities—An entity eligible to receive a grant under subparagraph (A) is—
“(i) a nonprofit organization;
“(ii) a unit of local government;
“(iii) a Tribal organization;
“(iv) an agricultural cooperative or other agricultural business entity or a producer network or association; or
“(v) a school that serves any of grades kindergarten through grade 12.
“(2) Cooperative agreements
“(A) In general—The Director may enter into cooperative agreements with eligible entities to support the development of urban and innovative agricultural production.
“(B) Eligible entities—An entity eligible to enter into a cooperative agreement under subparagraph (A) is—
“(i) a nonprofit organization;
“(ii) a unit of local government;
“(iii) a Tribal organization; or
“(iv) an agricultural cooperative or a producer network or association.”
in subsection (d)—
in the subsection heading, by striking “Pilot projects” and inserting “Projects”;
in paragraph (1)—
in subparagraph (A), by striking “Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall establish a pilot program for not fewer than 5 years that” and inserting “The Secretary shall carry out a program that”; and
in subparagraph (C)—
in the matter preceding clause (i), by striking “2023” and inserting “2030”; and
in clause (i), by striking “pilot”; and
in paragraph (2)—
in subparagraph (A)—
by striking “pilot”;
by striking “local or municipal” and inserting “local, municipal, Tribal, State, or United States territory”; and
by inserting “or territories” after “States”;
in subparagraph (B)—
in the subparagraph heading, by striking “pilot”; and
in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting “Tribal governments, States, United States territories,” after “local governments,”; and
in subparagraph (C), by striking “pilot” each place it appears; and
by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:
“(e) Funding
“(1) Mandatory funding—Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out this section $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2026 and each fiscal year thereafter.
“(2) Authorization of appropriations—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.”
Sec. 3 Agriculture and Food Research Initiative
Section 2(b)(2)(E) of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities Research Grants Act (7 U.S.C. 3157(b)(2)(E)) is amended—
in clause (iv), by striking “and” at the end;
in clause (v), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; and”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(vi) hydroponics, aquaponics, aeroponics, and other production technologies used in controlled-environment agriculture production.”
Sec. 4 Data collection
Section 7212(b) of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–334; 132 Stat. 4812) is amended—
in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A)—
by striking “Not later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act, the” and inserting “The”; and
by striking “the census of agriculture conducted in the calendar year 2017” and inserting “each census of agriculture”; and
in paragraph (2), by striking “$14,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2019 through 2021” and inserting “$18,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030, to remain available until expended”.