USDA gets an agritourism coordinator to help farms diversify income
H.R. 3470 — AGRITOURISM Act · Filed by Suhas Subramanyam (D-VA) · 16 cosponsors · Introduced May 15, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill creates a new Office of Agritourism within the Department of Agriculture, led by a Director appointed by the Secretary. The office will coordinate existing USDA programs and provide technical assistance, outreach, and best-practice sharing to help farms and rural businesses develop agritourism activities—such as farm tours, on-farm dining, bed-and-breakfasts, farm stands, and recreational activities—to generate supplemental income and boost rural economic development.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is the establishment of a coordinating office within USDA to promote agritourism as a rural economic diversification strategy. It does not create new programs, funding streams, or regulatory authority—only administrative coordination of existing departmental resources.
What the text implies
- No appropriations are specified in the bill text; the office's budget and staffing depend on future appropriations or reallocation of existing USDA resources, which may limit its practical capacity.
- The bill does not establish new liability protections or insurance mechanisms for agritourism operators, leaving them exposed to existing tort and regulatory frameworks.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
small and family-owned farms and agricultural enterprises; rural tourism operators and hospitality businesses; rural communities (indirect, through economic development)