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| 1 | AN ACT concerning agriculture.
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| 2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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| 3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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| 4 | Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Farmer | ||||||
| 5 | Equity and Innovation Act. | ||||||
| 6 | Section 5. Definitions. In this Act: | ||||||
| 7 | "Limited resource farmer"
means a farmer who has a total | ||||||
| 8 | household income at or below the national poverty level for a | ||||||
| 9 | family of 4, or less than 50% of the county median household | ||||||
| 10 | income in each of the previous 2 years. | ||||||
| 11 | "Socially disadvantaged farmer" means a farmer who has | ||||||
| 12 | been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudices because of their | ||||||
| 13 | identity as a member of a group without regard to their | ||||||
| 14 | individual qualities. | ||||||
| 15 | Section 10. Farmer Equity and Innovation Center. | ||||||
| 16 | (a) Subject to appropriation by the General Assembly and | ||||||
| 17 | approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, the | ||||||
| 18 | Farmer Equity and Innovation Center is created at the | ||||||
| 19 | University of Illinois Extension. | ||||||
| 20 | (b) The Farmer Equity and Innovation Center shall: | ||||||
| 21 | (1) ensure the continued economic viability of | ||||||
| 22 | small-scale and moderate-scale diversified farms by | ||||||
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| 1 | creating a coordinated, statewide program to support the | ||||||
| 2 | operators of those farms, prioritizing limited resource | ||||||
| 3 | farmers and socially disadvantaged farmers; | ||||||
| 4 | (2) establish a Farmer Equity and Innovation Program | ||||||
| 5 | administered by the Center; | ||||||
| 6 | (3) utilize the University of Illinois Small Farm | ||||||
| 7 | Advisors, and require the University to increase its Small | ||||||
| 8 | Farm Advisor positions to 6 in number; | ||||||
| 9 | (4) include applied research on specified subjects | ||||||
| 10 | concerning farming in Illinois, outreach regarding those | ||||||
| 11 | subjects, and informational services on assistance | ||||||
| 12 | provided by or through the Center or nonprofit | ||||||
| 13 | organizations designated by the Center; | ||||||
| 14 | (5) authorize the Program to include special training | ||||||
| 15 | for new and beginning farmers, with priority given to | ||||||
| 16 | socially disadvantaged farmers; and | ||||||
| 17 | (6) conduct a study to determine and issue an annual | ||||||
| 18 | report to the Governor and General Assembly containing a | ||||||
| 19 | demographic breakdown of farmers who participate in the | ||||||
| 20 | Program.
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