Urban Ag home | Table of contents
The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, a/k/a “the Farm Bill,” is an omnibus piece of federal legislation covering agriculture, conservation, rural development, research, and food assistance. It has been continuously reauthorized approximately every five years since 1933. What’s in the Farm Bill directly affects how U.S. agriculture operates for the next five years. The 2018 Farm Bill officially recognizes urban farmers—from those with community gardens to those operating multimillion-dollar vertical farms—with the creation of both a new office at the USDA and a research, education, and extension initiative. Specifically, the bill creates the USDA Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production. Congress created the office “to encourage and promote urban, indoor, and other emerging agricultural production practices.” The bill:
The Farm Bill also establishes the Urban, Indoor, and Other Emerging Agriculture Production Research, Education, and Extension Initiative. This Initiative does the following:
USDA’s website with info. about the Farm Bill is at https://www.farmers.gov/farmbill.
Back to top
Previous page: What’s federalism got to do with it?
Next page: Tips on how to work with regulators and permitters