Farmer to Farmer Education Act of 2025
The Farmer to Farmer Education Act of 2025 would expand how the federal government provides technical assistance to farmers, ranchers, and forest owners by creating and funding farmer-to-farmer networks. It adds a new section to the Food Security Act of 1985 that authorizes the USDA Secretary to enter cooperative agreements with eligible organizations to help build, connect, and sustain networks where farmers share information, mentorship, and site-specific conservation practices. The goal is to make technical assistance more accessible and tailored to different farming models and scales, particularly for historically underserved groups and people in high-poverty areas. The act authorizes subawards to support events and activities that grow these networks and ensures language access where needed. It requires reporting on activities, outcomes, and funding, and it directs funding to come from the NRCS conservation operations budget. Overall, it shifts some technical assistance toward grassroots, farmer-led networks and establishes accountability and measurement requirements.
Key Points
- 1Defines and creates a farmer-to-farmer network as an affiliation or association of farmers that shares information, technical assistance, or other mutually beneficial support, and authorizes federal support for its development and operation.
- 2Establishes a new subsection (j) under the existing conservation provision to provide assistance for farmer-to-farmer networks, with purposes including capacity building, mentorship, goal setting for long-term adoption of science-based, site-specific conservation practices, and accessible technical assistance.
- 3Authorizes cooperative agreements with eligible entities (including nonprofits, farmer-to-farmer networks, tribes, local governments, colleges/universities, states, and other Secretary-designated entities) and prioritizes entities that serve historically underserved farmers or operate in high-poverty areas.
- 4Requires providers of assistance to farmer-to-farmer networks to perform at least two specified actions (e.g., facilitate access, mentor matchmaking, coordinate training, maintain networks’ lists, administer subawards) and to offer language-appropriate support where needed; includes annual reporting on activities and subawards.
- 5Allows subawards to fund events and activities that build network capacity and compensate participants at market rates; details eligible subawardees and Secretary-approved requirements for subaward administration, including cooperation with NRCS leadership.
- 6Mandates reporting to Congress within four years on funding, activities, outcomes (including adoption outcomes where feasible), and potential outreach incorporation into broader conservation efforts; funding to be drawn as necessary from NRCS conservation operations appropriations.