Young, Fischer introduce bill to advance agriculture education at community colleges

U.S. Sens. Todd Young (R-IN) and Deb Fischer (R-NE) recently offered a bipartisan bill that would fund agriculture workforce training, education, and research programs at America’s community colleges.

“Community colleges serve a key role in rural areas across Indiana,” Sen. Young said. “By providing curriculum geared toward improving finance and accounting skills integral to farm management, community colleges help ensure family farms have the tools to meet challenges in the future.”

The Community College Agriculture Advancement Act of 2023, S. 1740, which U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) sponsored on May 18 with five original cosponsors, including Sen. Young, Sen. Fischer, and U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), would ensure that community colleges are able to access federal grants to bolster agricultural programs, according to a bill summary provided by the lawmakers.

“Through their research into cutting-edge precision ag technologies or workforce development programs, community colleges are a vital part of Nebraska’s agricultural economy,” Sen. Fischer said. “Our legislation would ensure community colleges get the federal resources they deserve to expand their successful educational and workforce training initiatives in the community. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues on more bipartisan opportunities within this year’s Farm Bill.”

If enacted, S. 1740 would amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to allow community colleges to access grant money for agriculture programs and establish a competitive USDA grant program wherein the nation’s nearly 1,100 community colleges could apply for money to fund workforce training, education, research, and outreach programs in agriculture.

Specifically, a community college that receives a program grant could use the funding to compete for funds from federal grants and other sources to carry out educational, research, and outreach activities; disseminate information relating to agriculture, renewable resources, and other relevant communities; and encourage collaboration involving community colleges, land grant universities, and other higher education institutions, among other uses, the summary says.

“Despite strong funding for higher education agriculture programs, community colleges aren’t seeing their fair share,” said Sen. Hickenlooper. “This bill closes that gap to help community colleges train future farmers and build the agricultural workforce we need.”