Small Farms, Office of, and Virginia Small Farms Fund; established and created, report.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 1 of Title 3.2 a section numbered
3.2-108.3
, relating to Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; Office of Small Farms and Virginia Small Farms Fund established; report.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia is amended by adding in Article 1 of Chapter 1 of Title 3.2 a section numbered
3.2-108.3
as follows:

§
3.2-108.3
. Office
of Small
Farms established; Virginia Small
Farms Fund
; report
.

A. As u
sed in this section:

"Agricultural operation" means the same as that term is defined in § 3.2-
300.

"Fund" means the Virginia Small Farms Fund.

"Farm products" means the same as that term is defined in
§
3.2-4709
.

"Office" means
the Office of Small Farms.

"Small farms" means
any
local
agricultural operation
with a gross cash farm income under $
3
50,000.

B.
The Office of Small Farms is established in the Department under the supervision of the Commission
er
.
The Office shall have the following duties:

1.Facilitate
the growth of small farms in the Commonwealth that revit
alizes rural and urban communities, promotes healthy eating with access to fresh foods, creates jobs,
ensures
a readily available supply of safe food
during an
emergency, and supports economic growth through making
farm products available throughout the Commonwealth;

2.
Assist small farms
in

identify
ing
and secur
ing
necessary resources and equipment to begin, maintain, and expand projects and networks necessary for the development of small fa
rm
s;

3.

Facilitate
the
building of
infrastructure, including aggregation, processing, storage
, pack
aging, and distribution facilities necessary to move
a small farm's farm products to local markets;

4. Support and expan
d programs that recruit,
train, and provide technical assistance to
small
far
ms
and residents to encourage the production of
farm products
in the Commonwealth;

5. Coordinate interagency policies
, initiatives
, and
procedures
prom
oting farm products in the Commonwealth
with federal, state, and local agencies and seek input from community
-
based organizations, academic
institutions
, and trade
organizations
for such
policies
,
initiatives, and procedures;

6. Facilitate the use of public
lands for growing local farm products
in coordination with federal, state,
and
local agencies and other governmental entities;

7. Monitor the development and expansion of
small farms in the Commonwealth
through data collection, tracking, measurement, and analysis; and

8.
Work with relevant partners and state agencies, including the Department of General Services,
the
Department of Education, and
the
Department of Corrections, to increase procurement of local farm products by
schools and state agencies.

C.
There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Virginia Small Farms Fund
(the Fund)
. The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. All funds appropriated for such purpose and any gifts, donations, grants, bequests, and other funds received on its behalf shall
be
paid into the state treasury and credited to the Fund. Interest earned on moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it. Any moneys remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely for the purposes of
carrying out th
e provisions of this section
. Expenditures and disbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request signed by
the Commissioner.

D. The Commissioner shall submi
t a report on the operation of the Office by December 1 of each year to the Chairmen of the Senate
Committee
on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources and House
Committee
on Agriculture, Chesapeake and
Natural Resources.