# What This Bill Does

When farmers and ranchers face disasters like hurricanes, droughts, or tornadoes, they often need help figuring out what government assistance they're eligible for and how to apply. This bill creates a training program to make sure the government employees who help them actually know what they're doing. Right now, Farm Service Agency employees who get sent out to help farmers after disasters might not have consistent training on what assistance is available or how to properly guide farmers through the process. This bill fixes that by requiring the Department of Agriculture to set up a formal training program for these employees.

Here's what the training program would cover: employees would learn how to reach out to affected farmers and ranchers, explain what disaster relief programs exist, and guide them through getting help. The training would also be tailored to specific types of disasters—so when a hurricane hits, employees get trained on hurricane-specific needs and available programs; when there's a drought, they get drought-specific training. The government would have to start this program within six months and make sure all relevant Farm Service Agency employees get trained at least once a year. Training can happen in person or online, depending on what works best.

The bill also includes accountability measures. Employees who complete training would fill out surveys about whether the training was helpful, and farmers who receive assistance would be asked to evaluate whether the help they got was appropriate and effective. The Department of Agriculture would have to report to Congress annually about how many employees were trained, what the feedback was, and whether farmers felt they got good assistance. This is designed to ensure that when disaster strikes, farmers aren't left confused about what help is available or dealing with unprepared government staff.

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a disaster response training program to train certain Farm Service Agency employees to provide outreach and technical assistance to farmers and ranchers affected by a natural disaster, and for other purposes.