S. 3392

119 S3392 IS: Accelerating the Growth of Rural Innovation and Tourism Opportunities to Uphold Rural Industries and Sustainable Marketplaces Act
 U.S. Senate
 2025-12-09
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 II  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  S. 3392  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   December 9, 2025   Mr. Wyden  (for himself,  Mr. Budd ,  Mr. Merkley ,  Mr. Tillis ,  Mr. Welch ,  Mr. Bennet ,  Ms. Baldwin ,  Mrs. Gillibrand ,  Mr. Heinrich ,  Mrs. Murray ,  Ms. Rosen ,  Mr. Blumenthal ,  Ms. Lummis , and  Mrs. Capito ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the  Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry    A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to designate an Agritourism Advisor, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Accelerating the Growth of Rural Innovation and Tourism Opportunities to Uphold Rural Industries and Sustainable Marketplaces Act   or the   AGRITOURISM Act  .
2.
Findings; sense of Congress
(a)
Findings
Congress finds that—
(1)
agritourism provides a range of unique experiences to the public, including—
(A)
education, such as school tours, garden and nursery tours, winery tours, historical agricultural exhibits, hops and microbrewery tours, and distillery tours;
(B)
outdoor recreation, such as river activities, mountain biking, horseback riding, wildlife viewing and photography, fee fishing and hunting, wagon and sleigh rides, cross-country skiing, game preserves, and clay bird shooting;
(C)
entertainment, such as concerts and special events, culinary experiences, festivals, fairs, interaction with farm animals, and weddings;
(D)
direct sales, such as on-farm sales, farm stands, agriculture-related crafts and gifts, u-pick operations, u-cut tree farms, wineries, breweries, cideries, distilleries, and cut flowers;
(E)
accommodations, such as bed-and-breakfast inns, farm and ranch vacations, yurts, sheep wagons, and guest ranches; and
(F)
dining on a farm;
(2)
agritourism has financial, educational, and social benefits to communities; and
(3)
agritourism continues—
(A)
to offer educational opportunities for children and families;
(B)
to generate supplemental income for owners of agricultural enterprises, which are often small or family-run businesses;
(C)
to spur economic development in rural communities;
(D)
to preserve agricultural heritage;
(E)
to help farms diversify; and
(F)
to provide alternative revenue opportunities to keep working farms in production.
(b)
Sense of Congress
It is the sense of Congress that, to further realize the benefits of agritourism to communities, the Secretary of Agriculture should incorporate agritourism into the Department of Agriculture comprehensively.
3.
Agritourism Advisor
(a)
In general
Subtitle C of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 ( 7 U.S.C. 6941 et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
237.
Agritourism Advisor
(a)
Definitions
In this section:
(1)
Advisor
The term  Advisor  means the Agritourism Advisor described in subsection (b).
(2)
State
The term  State  means—
(A)
each of the several States of the United States;
(B)
the District of Columbia; and
(C)
any territory of the United States.
(b)
Advisor
The Secretary shall designate a senior official in the Office of the Under Secretary for Rural Development to serve as the Agritourism Advisor.
(c)
Duties
The Advisor shall encourage and promote, in each State and on land under the jurisdiction of Indian Tribes (as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act ( 25 U.S.C. 5304 )), agritourism activities and agritourism businesses, including—
(1)
educational experiences;
(2)
outdoor recreation;
(3)
entertainment and special events;
(4)
direct sales;
(5)
accommodations; and
(6)
any other activity or business relating to agritourism, as determined by the Secretary.
(d)
Means of achieving
In carrying out subsection (c), the Advisor shall—
(1)
coordinate with the agencies and officials of the Department;
(2)
advise the Secretary on issues relating to agritourism;
(3)
ensure that the programs of the Department are updated to address best agritourism practices;
(4)
conduct outreach to stakeholders and coordinate external partnerships to share best practices, provide mentorship, and offer technical assistance to agritourism businesses;
(5)
facilitate interagency program coordination and develop interagency tools for the promotion of agritourism programs and resources;
(6)
review and improve farm enterprise development programs that provide information about financial literacy, business planning, and marketing for agritourism;
(7)
coordinate networks of agritourism businesses;
(8)
consolidate access to Federal resources to help agritourism businesses effectively navigate available programs and assistance; and
(9)
collaborate with other Federal agencies, as needed.
 .
(b)
Technical amendment
The Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 is amended by redesignating the first section 225 ( 7 U.S.C. 6925 ) (relating to the Food Access Liaison) as section 224A.
(c)
Conforming amendment
Section 296(b) of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 ( 7 U.S.C. 7014(b) ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(11)
The authority of the Secretary to carry out section 237.
 .