12 2 STA T . 12 07PUBLIC LA W 110 – 2 34—M A Y 22 , 200 8agricult ural c om mo d it y or p roduct i s a v aila b l e tot h e pro - ducer o f the commodity or product .’ ’. ( b )GRANTP R OG RA M . —S ectio n231 (b) of the A gricultural R is k Protection Act of 2 0 00( 7U .S. C . 1 6 21 note
Public L a w 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 e x ceed 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, 200 8 ,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. ‘‘(iii) UNOBLIGATED AMOUNTS.—Any amounts in the reserves for a fiscal year established under clauses (i) and (ii) that are not obligated by J une 30 of the fiscal year shall be available to the Secretary to make grants under this subsection to eligible entities in any State, as determined by the Secretary.’’. SEC.6203 . AGRI C ULT URE I N N OV ATION CENTER D E M ONSTRATION P RO - GRAM. Section 6402 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 1621 note; Public Law 107–171) is amended by striking subsection (i) and inserting the following: ‘‘(i) AUTHORI Z ATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this section $6,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.’’.
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