HR 3470
Agritourism act
Agritourism Act
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Bill overview
This bill establishes an Office of Agritourism within the Department of Agriculture to support and promote agritourism across the United States. Agritourism is defined broadly to include activities like educational farm tours, outdoor recreation, entertainment events, direct sales of farm products, and farm-based accommodations. The goal is to encourage the growth of agritourism businesses and their benefits to rural communities and agricultural enterprises.
Key provisions
- Creates an Office of Agritourism within the Department of Agriculture.
- Defines ‘agritourism’ to encompass a wide range of activities including education, recreation, entertainment, sales, and accommodations.
- Directs the Office of Agritourism to coordinate with other USDA agencies.
- Requires the Office to advise the Secretary on agritourism issues and promote best practices.
- Instructs the Office to provide technical assistance and mentorship to agritourism businesses.
- Calls for the review and improvement of farm enterprise development programs related to agritourism.
- Encourages the coordination of networks of agritourism businesses.
- Authorizes the Secretary to utilize existing authorities to support agritourism initiatives.
Who is affected
- Agricultural businesses
- Rural communities
- Farmers and ranchers
- Tourism industry
- Consumers
Notable changes
Sponsors
Official sponsors from legislative records.
Primary sponsor
Cosponsors
Becca [D-VT-At Large] Balint
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119th CONGRESS — 1st Session
H. R. 3470
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
To establish in the Department of Agriculture an Office of Agritourism, and for other purposes.
This Act may be cited as the Accelerating the Growth of Rural Innovation and Tourism Opportunities to Uphold Rural Industries and Sustainable Marketplaces Act AGRITOURISM Act
or the
.
agritourism provides a range of unique experiences to the public, including—
education, such as school tours, garden and nursery tours, winery tours, historical agricultural exhibits, hops and microbrewery tours, and distillery tours;
outdoor recreation, such as river activities, mountain biking, horseback riding, wildlife viewing and photography, fee fishing and hunting, wagon and sleigh rides, cross-country skiing, game preserves, and clay bird shooting;
entertainment, such as concerts and special events, culinary experiences, festivals, fairs, interaction with farm animals, and weddings;
direct sales, such as on-farm sales, farm stands, agriculture-related crafts and gifts, u-pick operations, u-cut tree farms, wineries, breweries, cideries, distilleries, and cut flowers;
accommodations, such as bed-and-breakfast inns, farm and ranch vacations, yurts, sheep wagons, and guest ranches; and
dining on a farm;
agritourism has financial, educational, and social benefits to communities; and
agritourism continues—
to offer educational opportunities for children and families;
to generate supplemental income for owners of agricultural enterprises, which are often small or family-run businesses;
to spur economic development in rural communities;
to preserve agricultural heritage; and
to help farms diversify.
It is the sense of Congress that, to further realize the benefits of agritourism to communities, the Secretary of Agriculture should incorporate agritourism into the Department of Agriculture comprehensively.
In this section:
The term Director means the Director of the Office of Agritourism described in subsection (c).
The term State means—
the District of Columbia; and
any territory of the United States.
The Secretary shall appoint a senior official to serve as the Director of the Office of Agritourism.
The Director shall encourage and promote, in each State, agritourism activities and agritourism businesses, including—
educational experiences;
outdoor recreation;
entertainment and special events;
direct sales;
accommodations; and
any other activity or business relating to agritourism, as determined by the Secretary.
advise the Secretary on issues relating to agritourism;
ensure that the programs of the Department are updated to address best agritourism practices;
conduct outreach to stakeholders and coordinate external partnerships to share best practices, provide mentorship, and offer technical assistance to agritourism businesses;
facilitate interagency program coordination and develop interagency tools for the promotion of agritourism programs and resources;
review and improve farm enterprise development programs that provide information about financial literacy, business planning, and marketing for agritourism;
coordinate networks of agritourism businesses; and
collaborate with other Federal agencies, as needed.
The Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 is amended by redesignating the first section 225 (7 U.S.C. 6925) (relating to the Food Access Liaison) as section 224A.
Section 296(b) of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
The authority of the Secretary to carry out section 217.