# Community College Agriculture Advancement Act of 2023

This bill creates a new federal grant program to help community colleges strengthen and expand their agriculture and natural resources programs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture would distribute competitive grants to community colleges and groups of community colleges that want to improve their ability to train students for jobs in agriculture and related fields.

The money can be used in several practical ways. Community colleges could buy equipment and tools needed for hands-on training, help their teachers develop new skills and knowledge, or create apprenticeships and work-based learning opportunities where students gain real experience working with local farms and agricultural businesses. Colleges could also use funding to offer new classes on farm business management topics like accounting and finance, helping students prepare for the business side of agriculture. The bill gives extra priority to colleges that partner with local agricultural companies to provide students with actual work experience.

The bill also creates a special designation for "centers of excellence" in agriculture advancement—essentially recognizing and funding the best community college agriculture programs so they can share what they're doing well with other schools across their region or the country. The federal government would evaluate how well this program works and report back to Congress within three years. The bill authorizes up to $20 million per year for this grant program from 2024 through 2029, though Congress would need to actually approve and allocate that money in the budget.

For students interested in agriculture careers, this means more community colleges would likely have better equipment, more experienced instructors, and stronger connections to actual job opportunities. For rural communities and the agriculture industry, it could help develop a better-trained workforce to fill jobs that are often hard to fill.

Community College Agriculture Advancement Act of 2023

Kelly, Trent

Community College Agriculture Advancement Act of 2023 This bill authorizes the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make competitive grants to assist eligible entities in maintaining and expanding their capacity to conduct workforce training, education, research, and outreach activities related to agriculture and similar disciplines. An eligible entity includes a junior or community college, or a consortium or alliance of two-year public colleges, supporting agriculture advancement. In awarding grants, USDA must give priority to entities coordinating with a local agriculture industry operator to provide experiential training and other opportunities for students. Grant funds may be used to expand and maintain the capacity of the eligible entity, including through the purchase or other acquisition of equipment and other infrastructure, the professional growth and development of faculty, and the development of apprenticeships and other work-based learning opportunities. An eligible entity may submit to USDA an application for designation and funding as a Center of Excellence for Agriculture Advancement. Funding received as a result of such a designation must be used to demonstrate agriculture best practices and to provide leadership in capacity building at a regional or national level.