PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Feb 12, 2025
Agriculture Grants for Veterans Education and Training Services Act or the AG VETS Act
This bill directs the Department of Agriculture to provide competitive grants to eligible entities for the purpose of establishing and enhancing farming and ranching opportunities for veterans through education and training services.
Entities eligible for the grants include cooperative extension services, land-grant colleges and universities, non-land-grant colleges of agriculture, state departments of agriculture, and nonprofit organizations.
People & committees
Rep. Van Orden, Derrick [R-WI-3] · R–WI
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology.
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
Source last updated: Sep 19, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2025-02-12 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
The proposed AG VETS Act would create competitive grants for organizations to help veterans learn farming and ranching skills and business management. Eligible recipients would include agricultural colleges, state agriculture departments, nonprofits, and community organizations. Recipients would have to contribute non-federal funds at least equal to their grant. The bill would authorize funding; it would not itself provide that money.
The Secretary shall establish a program under which the Secretary will award competitive grants to eligible entities for the purpose of establishing and enhancing farming and ranching opportunities for veterans
(3) a non-land-grant college of agriculture (as defined in such section); (4) a Hispanic-serving agricultural college and university (as defined in such section); (5) a State department of agriculture; (6) a nonprofit organization; (7) a community-based organization;
to provide training and classroom education that leads to a comprehensive understanding of farm and ranch business operations and management practices;
shall provide non-Federal matching funds for the purposes of carrying out this section in an amount equal to not less than the amount of the grant.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
Section 1 would name the legislation the Agriculture Grants for Veterans Education and Training Services Act, or AG VETS Act.
This Act may be cited as the Agriculture Grants for Veterans Education and Training Services Act or the AG VETS Act.
Section 2 would add a new section 414 to the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998. It would require the Secretary to establish and administer competitive grants supporting veterans' farming and ranching opportunities. Veteran eligibility would use the definition in section 101(2) of title 38 of the United States Code.
Title IV of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7624 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 414. Agriculture grants for veteran education and training services
The Secretary shall establish a program under which the Secretary will award competitive grants to eligible entities for the purpose of establishing and enhancing farming and ranching opportunities for veterans (as defined in section 101(2) of title 38, United States Code).
Eligible applicants would be cooperative extension services; land-grant colleges and universities; non-land-grant agricultural colleges; Hispanic-serving agricultural colleges and universities; state agriculture departments; nonprofits; community-based organizations; and combinations of two or more eligible entities. The college categories would follow definitions in the cited existing law.
An entity is eligible for a grant under this section if such entity is— (1) a cooperative extension service; (2) a land-grant college or university (as defined in section 1404 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)); (3) a non-land-grant college of agriculture (as defined in such section); (4) a Hispanic-serving agricultural college and university (as defined in such section); (5) a State department of agriculture; (6) a nonprofit organization; (7) a community-based organization; or (8) a combination of 2 or more eligible entities described in paragraphs (1) through (7).
Recipients would have to use grants for farm and ranch business training, developing or identifying teaching materials that veteran farmers and ranchers could use to manage their businesses, or education through workshops, tours, and instructor-supervised field experiences. The Secretary could also identify other eligible activities aimed at increasing the number of military veterans developing agricultural knowledge and skills.
An eligible entity that receives a grant under this section shall use the funds received through the grant— (1) to provide training and classroom education that leads to a comprehensive understanding of farm and ranch business operations and management practices; (2) to develop or identify curriculum that veteran farmers and ranchers can adopt to help manage their enterprise; (3) to offer education, workshops, tours, and instructor-supervised field experiences; or (4) to support any other activity, as identified by the Secretary, to increase the number of military veterans pursuing knowledge and skills development in agriculture.
Every grant recipient would have to provide at least one dollar in non-federal matching funds for each dollar of its grant.
An entity that receives a grant under this section shall provide non-Federal matching funds for the purposes of carrying out this section in an amount equal to not less than the amount of the grant.
The bill would authorize Congress to provide $5 million for each fiscal year from 2026 through 2030. This is permission for future appropriations—legislation providing funding—not an appropriation itself.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
The supplied official-actions snapshot, updated September 19, 2026, records House introduction and referrals to the Agriculture and Veterans' Affairs committees on February 12, 2025. It also records referral to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology on March 20, 2025, and to the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity on December 19, 2025.
Source snapshot updated 2026-09-19T23:22:04Z.
2025-02-12: Introduced in House
2025-02-12: Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
2025-03-20: Referred to the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology.
2025-12-19: Referred to the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity.
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2025-02-12. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No earmark was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version; member requests, disclosures, committee reports, and conference materials were not supplied, so it does not establish absence in accompanying materials or other versions.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow carve-out, special exemption, or preferential exception was identified beyond the program's ordinary intended coverage in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion is limited to that version and does not establish absence in other versions or accompanying materials.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Sep 19, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI