Centers of Excellence

Section 1673 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5926) is amended— (1) by striking subsections (a) through (c) and inserting the following: (a) Centers of Excellence (1) In general The Secretary of Agriculture shall recognize at least one center of excellence for each of the areas of focus described in paragraph (2) for the purpose of carrying out research, extension, and education programs. (2) Areas of Focus A center of excellence recognized under this subsection may engage in research, extension, and education programs focused on the following: (A) Aquaculture Developing and applying aquaculture methods, including through the propagation and rearing of economically and ecologically valuable aquatic and marine species. (B) Beginning farmers and ranchers Training beginning farmers and ranchers, including training on farm and agribusiness management, mentoring and technical assistance, and access to capital. (C) Biosecurity and cybersecurity Agricultural biosecurity and cybersecurity efforts to defend the food supply of the United States from— (i) a biosecurity or cybersecurity attack; or (ii) other global catastrophic and existential threats, as defined in section 7302 of the Global Catastrophic Risk Management Act of 2022 (6 U.S.C. 821). (D) Biosystems and agricultural engineering Biosystems and agricultural engineering, including precision agriculture technologies and mechanization and automation technologies for specialty crops. (E) Biotechnology Development of animal and plant biotechnologies that will increase agricultural productivity. (F) Crop production, protection, and resilience Crop production and protection, including the development, manufacture, and use of fertilizer, crop protection tools, and adjuvants in increasing productivity and protecting crops from damaging pests and diseases. (G) Digital agriculture Developing, evaluating, and deploying digital agriculture, including artificial intelligence and remote sensing systems. (H) Farm business and financial management Farm business and financial management activities, including marketing plans, production diversification, and cash forward contracting. (I) Food quality Improving food quality, including research on the uptake of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances in food, the presence of microplastics in biosolids, and the efficacy and feasibility of reducing levels of inorganic arsenic, lead, cadmium, or mercury in food. (J) Foreign animal disease Foreign animal diseases, including the ecology and etiology of emerging diseases, control methods, and implementation strategies to enhance preparedness and response efforts to protect the livestock and poultry industry. (K) Forestry Forest productivity and forest health, including invasive species control, biochar and pyrolysis development and commercialization, reforestation and restoration of damaged landscapes, and new wood-based materials. (3) Host Institutions (A) In general An institution eligible to host or co-host a center of excellence recognized under this subsection means— (i) a 1862 Institution, as defined in section 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601); (ii) a 1890 Institution, as defined in section 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601); (iii) a 1994 Institution, as defined in section 532 of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note); (iv) a non-land-grant college of agriculture, as defined in section 1404 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103); (v) a Hispanic-serving agricultural college or university, as defined in section 1404 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103); and (vi) a college or school of veterinary medicine accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association. (B) Distribution To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure the geographic diversity of institutions selected to host or co-host a center of excellence recognized under this subsection. (C) Limitation An institution may host or co-host only one center of excellence recognized under this subsection during any given period. (D) Duties A institution selected to host or co-host a center of excellence recognized under this subsection shall partner with the Agricultural Research Service, other Federal agencies, State governments, other institutions of higher education (as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)), agricultural industry groups, or other relevant entities to— (i) reduce duplicative efforts and focus on filling gaps across research, extension, and education programs by enhancing coordination and improving cost-effectiveness; (ii) leverage available resources by using public-private partnerships; (iii) implement training and educational initiatives to increase awareness and effectively disseminate solutions to target audiences through extension activities; (iv) increase economic returns to rural communities by identifying, attracting, and directing funds to high-priority agricultural issues; (v) rapidly respond to emerging issues that threaten any sector of the agricultural industry of the United States; (vi) focus on workforce development for employers to recruit and retain high-quality employees in rural areas; and (vii) engage in assistance for administrative management and education regarding potentially valuable intellectual property derived from federally supported research, extension, and education programs. (4) Duration The term of an award under this subsection shall be for a five-year period and may be renewed for not more than one additional five-year period. (5) Construction Prohibited Funds made available under this subsection shall not be used for— (A) the construction of a new building or facility; or (B) the acquisition, expansion, remodeling, or alteration of an existing building or facility (including site grading and improvement and architect fees). (6) Report Not later than one year after the date of enactment of the American Agricultural Security Research Act of 2025, and every year thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report describing— (A) the projects initiated in the preceding year by each center of excellence recognized under this subsection; (B) the amount of funding for each such project and the funding source; (C) the institutions participating in each such project and their shares of the overall funding for each project; (D) the level of cost-sharing for each such project; (E) any technology transfer and intellectual property management actions taken by each such center of excellence, including the number of relevant invention disclosures, any provisional patents filed, any non-provisional patents filed and issued, the number of licenses executed, and any start-up companies registered; and (F) any additional information deemed necessary by the Secretary. (7) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to carry out this subsection.; (2) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (b); and (3) in subsection (b), as so redesignated— (A) in paragraph (1)— (i) by striking The Secretary and inserting In addition to the centers of excellence recognized under subsection (a), the Secretary; and (ii) by striking 3 and inserting 8; (B) in paragraph (2)— (i) in subparagraph (A)— (I) in the subparagraph heading, by striking and workforce development and inserting, workforce development, and rural studies; and (II) by inserting economics, psychology, rural sociology, data sciences, after mathematics,; (ii) in subparagraph (E), by inserting and developing nature-based solutions to improve the composition of soil organic compounds, including carbon, that are beneficial to soil quality and the environment before the period at the end; and (iii) by adding at the end the following: (G) Forest health and conservation A center of excellence established under paragraph (1) may focus on forest health, sustainable forest management, agroforestry, enhancing forest resilience to catastrophic wildfire, supporting rural infrastructure, and urban and community forestry programs to promote healthy forest ecosystems and resilient communities. (H) Food safety, bioprocessing, and value-added agriculture A center of excellence established under paragraph (1) may focus on food safety, bioprocessing, value-added agriculture enterprise development, and innovative food and agriculture product development.; and (C) in paragraph (3), by striking 2023 and inserting 2029.