S. 1947: Local FARMS Act

115th Congress · introduced 2017-10-05 · Agriculture and Food · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2017-10-05 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

Local FARMS Act

Plain summary

Local Food And Regional Market Supply Act or the Local FARMS Act This bill consolidates, modifies, and authorizes several Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs to expand regional or local food markets and implement food safety practices. The bill authorizes and provides mandatory funding for a new Agricultural Market Development Program that is administered by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) and consolidates: the Farmers' Market and Local Food Promotion Program, Value-Added Producer Grants, regional food chain coordination, and public-private partnerships to plan and develop regional food systems. The bill modifies the Food Safety Outreach Program to move the program to the AMS, provide mandatory funding, and expand the project priorities. The bill also: establishes a national food safety cost-share program; reauthorizes the National Organic Certification Cost-Share Program; authorizes rural development grants and loans to be used for meat, dairy, and poultry processing infrastructure; allows institutions participating in the school food programs to use locally grown, locally raised, or locally caught as a product specification; authorizes grants for produce prescription programs for low-income individuals and households; and reauthorizes the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program and expands eligibility to include low-income veterans. The bill modifies the Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program to: (1) require the majority of funds to be reserved for national or regional programs involving multiple states, and (2) expand the purposes of the program to include food waste reduction.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

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What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

Local FARMS Act

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH] · 2 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Susan M. Collins (R-ME), Tina Smith (D-MN)

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-115s1947.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/115/s>

Record fed-us-cong115-s1947 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong115 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong115