HB 4155 would amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 to require the Secretary of Agriculture to recognize centers of excellence in specific focus areas and to support their work in research, extension, and education. It also creates the Agriculture and Food Protection Grant Program to fund competitive grants for countermeasures and workforce development, with a funding authorization of $10 million per year from 2026 through 2030.
The bill emphasizes coordination, cost-sharing, technology transfer, and regional diversity among host institutions.
At a Glance
What It Does
The Secretary of Agriculture must recognize at least one center of excellence for each focus area and designate host institutions to carry out research, extension, and education in those areas. The bill also establishes a grant program to support protective research and training.
Who It Affects
Federal and state agencies, host institutions (various land‑grant categories and eligible colleges), researchers, extension personnel, and agricultural industry groups.
Why It Matters
It builds a nationwide, coordinated network aimed at strengthening agricultural biosecurity, cybersecurity, and productivity, while promoting workforce development and rapid problem-solving for emerging threats.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The bill authorizes a structured program of Centers of Excellence within the Department of Agriculture. Each recognized center must focus on a defined area—ranging from aquaculture and biosecurity to forestry, digital agriculture, and farm business management—and must be hosted by eligible colleges or universities (including land‑grant and other qualifying institutions).
Centers are expected to coordinate with the Agricultural Research Service and other entities to reduce duplication, use public-private partnerships, disseminate solutions through extension activities, and help rural communities attract investment and skilled labor. Centers receive five-year awards that can be renewed once, and funds cannot be used to build or extensively remodel facilities.
The legislation also creates the Agriculture and Food Protection Grant Program to fund competitive grants supporting countermeasures, teaching, and capacity-building to protect the food and agricultural system from chemical, biological, cybersecurity, or existential threats, with annual funding of $10 million for fiscal years 2026–2030. Grants may support basic and applied research, education and training, facility upgrades to meet biosecurity standards, equipment purchases, and other capacity-building activities.
Eligible grant recipients include states, colleges, university foundations, research institutions, and federal agencies, individually or in consortia. The bill imposes annual reporting to Congress on center activities, funding, collaborators, and intellectual property outcomes.
The Five Things You Need to Know
Centers of Excellence must be established for 12 focus areas, including aquaculture, biosecurity and cybersecurity, forestry, digital agriculture, and more.
Host institutions include 1862, 1890, 1994, non-land-grant colleges of agriculture, Hispanic-serving agricultural colleges, and veterinary schools, with a goal of geographic diversity and one center per institution.
Awards are five years in length and can be renewed once, with a prohibition on constructing new buildings or expanding existing facilities.
A new grant program funds competitive awards (USDA) of $10 million per year (2026–2030) to support research, extension, and education to protect the food system.
Annual reports to Congress will detail projects, funding sources, participating institutions, cost-sharing, tech transfer activity, IP actions, licenses, and startups.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Centers of Excellence framework and scope
The Secretary of Agriculture must recognize at least one center of excellence for each focus area and enable these centers to conduct research, extension, and education programs. Centers are allowed to engage in a broad set of activities aligned with the listed focus areas, creating a nationwide network intended to improve coordination and outcomes in agriculture.
Defined areas of focus
Focus areas include Aquaculture; Beginning Farmers and Ranchers; Biosecurity and Cybersecurity; Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering; Biotechnology; Crop Production, Protection, and Resilience; Digital Agriculture; Farm Business and Financial Management; Food Quality; Foreign Animal Disease; Forestry; and related topics such as forest health and conservation, soil and environment benefits, and value-added agricultural development. Centers may expand or refine focus within this framework as needed to address emerging priorities.
Host institutions and geographic diversity
Eligible host institutions include 1862, 1890, and 1994 land‑grant institutions, non‑land‑grant colleges of agriculture, Hispanic-serving agricultural colleges, and veterinary schools accredited by the AVMA. The Secretary must strive for geographic diversity in host selections and may allow only one center per eligible institution at a time, ensuring broad national coverage.
Duties, partnerships, and knowledge transfer
Selected hosts must partner with ARS, other federal agencies, state governments, higher-ed institutions, and industry groups to reduce duplicative efforts, leverage public-private resources, and disseminate solutions through extension activities. They must promote workforce development, appropriate IP management, and the transfer of federally supported research into practice.
Reporting requirements and funding terms
Not later than one year after enactment and annually thereafter, the Secretary must report on projects, funding sources, participating institutions, cost-sharing, technology transfer, invention disclosures, patents filed, licenses issued, and startups formed, among other items. The bill authorizes $10 million per year from FY2026 through FY2030 to fund centers.
Grant program overview and use of funds
The Secretary must establish a competitive grant program to support research, extension, and education that enhances the U.S. ability to protect the food and agricultural system from chemical, biological, cybersecurity, and existential threats, as defined in statute. Funds may be used for research, teaching, equipment purchases, and capital improvements necessary for biosecurity and biosecurity-related activities.
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Explore Agriculture in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Host institutions gain sustained support and prestige, enabling expanded research and education programs.
- Farmers, including beginning farmers, benefit from better extension services, training, mentoring, and access to capital and market information.
- Rural communities benefit from workforce development, improved farm management, and a strengthened local economy.
- USDA, ARS, and state governments gain a coordinated network and better information sharing across regions.
- Agricultural researchers, industry groups, and private-sector partners benefit from enhanced collaboration and clearer IP transfer pathways.
Who Bears the Cost
- The federal government must fund the program with $10 million per year through FY2030, representing a direct taxpayer cost.
- Host institutions and their partner entities may incur administrative costs and meet cost-sharing or in-kind contribution requirements.
- State and local governments may shoulder coordination costs and the administrative burden of program participation.
- Some other federal programs could experience opportunity costs as funds are allocated to the centers and grant program.
- There is a risk that outcomes depend on ongoing appropriations and program execution rather than enduring structural reform.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is whether a geographically and programmatically broad network of Centers of Excellence yields more national impact than a more tightly funded, deeply resourced set of centers in fewer focus areas, given finite federal funding and the administrative overhead of cross-agency collaboration.
The bill creates a broad framework for distributed Centers of Excellence, emphasizing coordination, public-private partnerships, and rapid dissemination of solutions. However, spreading resources over many centers could dilute focus or lead to uneven outcomes across focus areas.
The IP and tech-transfer provisions hinge on future regulations and collaboration practices, which could complicate ownership and licensing. The reliance on annual appropriations and annual reporting introduces ongoing administrative demands that might shift priorities if funding levels or political support change.
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