12 2 STA T . 1 968PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 2 4 6 —J U NE 18 , 2008 ‘ ‘ (i ii ) i sphy si cal lys egr ega t e d i n a m anner that res u lts in the enhancement of the v alue of the agricultural com - modity or product
‘‘(iv) is a source of farm- or ranch- b ased rene w able energy , including E–85 fuel; or ‘‘(v) is aggregated and mar k eted as a locally-produced agricultural food product; and ‘‘( B ) as a result of the change in physical state or the manner in which the agricultural commodity or product was produced, marketed, or segregated — ‘‘(i) the customer base for the agricultural commodity or product is e x panded; and ‘‘(ii) a greater portion of the revenue derived from the marketing, processing, or physical segregation of the agricultural commodity or product is available to the pro- ducer of the commodity or product .’ ’. (b) GRANTP R OG RA M .— S ection 231 (b) of the A gricultural R isk Protection Act of 2 0 00( 7U .S. C . 1 6 21 note; Public L aw 106–22 4 ) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘paragraph (4)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (7)’’; and (2) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following
‘‘(4) TE RM.—A grant under this subsection shall have a term that does not exceed 3 years. ‘‘(5) S I M PL I F IE D APPLI C ATION.—The Secretary shall offer a simplified application form and process for pro j ect proposals re q uesting less than $ 50,000. ‘‘(6) PRIORIT Y .— I n awarding grants under this subsection, the Secretary shall give priority to projects that contribute to increasing opportunities for— ‘‘(A) beginning farmers or ranchers; ‘‘(B) socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers; and ‘‘(C) operators of small- and medium-si z ed farms and ranches that are structured as a family farm. ‘‘(7) FU NDING.— ‘‘(A) M ANDATORY FUNDING.— O n October 1, 2008, of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Sec- retary shall make available to carry out this subsection $15,000,000, to remain available until expended. ‘‘(B) D I S CRETIONARY FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $40,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012. ‘‘(C) RESER V ATION OF FUNDS FOR PRO J ECTS TO B ENEFIT BEGINNING FARMERS OR RANC H ERS, SOCIALLY DISADVAN- TAGED FARMERS OR RANCHERS, AND MID-TIER VALUE CHAINS.— ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall reserve 10 percent of the amounts made available for each fiscal year under this paragraph to fund projects that benefit beginning farmers or ranchers or socially disadvan- taged farmers or ranchers. ‘‘(ii) MID-TIER VALUE CHAINS.—The Secretary shall reserve 10 percent of the amounts made available for each fiscal year under this paragraph to fund applica- tions of eligible entities described in paragraph (1) that propose to develop mid-tier value chains.
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