Women in Agriculture Act
The Women in Agriculture Act would amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to create a new official position within the USDA called the Women Farmers and Ranchers Liaison. The Liaison would provide information and assistance to women farmers and ranchers about available programs, advocate for women in interactions with USDA staff, and work to promote women in leadership within USDA. The role would also require regular public reporting on how USDA grants, loans, and cost-share programs are used by woman-owned agricultural operations, and would authorize contracts with research centers, universities, or nonprofits to support research, education, and mentoring for women farmers and ranchers. The bill also expands high-priority research to include ergonomically designed farming equipment for women and adds a childcare priority for rural development loan and grant programs. The act envisions staff support for the Liaison and formalizes the Secretary’s authority to implement these changes. In short, the bill aims to improve access to USDA programs for women in farming, increase transparency about funding to women-owned operations, and address practical needs specific to women farmers (ergonomics and childcare) through targeted research and funding priorities.
Key Points
- 1Establishes the Women Farmers and Ranchers Liaison within USDA, to be secured within 120 days of enactment, with duties including information dissemination, application assistance, advocacy, leadership promotion within USDA, and consultation with the Equity Commission and other federal agencies as needed; and requires an annual public report on program funding and participation by woman-owned operations.
- 2Annual reporting requirements, to Congress and publicly, covering: totals and percentages of grants/loans/loan guarantees/cost-share funds to woman-owned operations, share of funding by program, percentage of applications from women-owned operations, and the distribution of women across GS pay levels by office.
- 3Authorization for the Liaison to contract with a research center (ARS), higher education institutions, or nonprofit organizations to conduct research, develop educational materials, run training and mentoring programs, and provide internships for women farmers and ranchers.
- 4Secretarial staff support for the Liaison and a codified authority to carry out these amendments.
- 5Expansion of high-priority research and extension areas to include ergonomically designed agriculture equipment and machinery for use by women.
- 6Child Care Priority: rural development loan and grant programs would give priority to applicants proposing to address childcare availability, quality, or cost in agricultural or rural communities.