Enrolled Copy H.B. 510 1 Agricultural Amendments 2025 GENERAL SESSION STATE OF UTAH Chief Sponsor: Jennifer Dailey-Provost Senate Sponsor: David P. Hinkins 2 3 LONG TITLE 4 General Description: 5 This bill creates a requirement for the Department of Agriculture and Food to study issues 6 related to local food availability. 7 Highlighted Provisions: 8 This bill: 9 ▸ defines "local food"; 10 ▸ requires the Department of Agriculture and Food (department) to study the barriers and 11 gaps related to increasing the availability of local food in the state, including issues 12 related to: 13 ● the intrastate food supply; 14 ● crop production and optimization; 15 ● the agricultural workforce; and 16 ● the capital funding of local food production; 17 ▸ requires the department to report the findings and recommendations of the study to the 18 Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Interim Committee; and 19 ▸ implements a sunset date for the study. 20 Money Appropriated in this Bill: 21 None 22 Other Special Clauses: 23 None 24 Utah Code Sections Affected: 25 AMENDS: 26 63I-2-204, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2024, Third Special Session, Chapter 5 27 ENACTS: H.B. 510 Enrolled Copy 28 4-2-1101, Utah Code Annotated 1953 29 30 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah: 31 Section 1. Section 4-2-1101 is enacted to read: 32 Part 11. Agricultural Studies 33 4-2-1101 . Local food study. 34 (1) As used in this section, "local food" means an agricultural product that is: 35 (a) produced, processed, and distributed for sale or consumption within the state; and 36 (b) sold to an end consumer within the state. 37 (2)(a) The department shall study the barriers and gaps related to increasing local food 38 availability in the state, including analysis of: 39 (i) the intrastate food supply chain; 40 (ii) crop production and optimization; 41 (iii) the agricultural workforce; 42 (iv) the capital funding of local food production; and 43 (v) federal and state regulatory burdens on local food production. 44 (b) The department shall seek input from a wide range of stakeholders for the study 45 described in Subsection (2)(a), including a diverse group of the state's agricultural 46 producers based on geography, operation size. and operation type. 47 (3) The study described in Subsection (2) shall: 48 (a) research the production costs and economic impacts for agricultural operators to: 49 (i) voluntarily seek to implement or explore various crop types, including the 50 production costs to, and economic impacts on, agricultural operators that seek out 51 assistance to incorporate new traditional or alternative crop types into an existing 52 operation; and 53 (ii) maintain, modernize, and upgrade equipment; 54 (b) research the barriers to entry associated with careers in agriculture by reviewing: 55 (i) existing challenges; 56 (ii) available career development and hiring resources; 57 (iii) programs in other states that support individuals interested in pursuing careers in 58 agriculture; 59 (iv) opportunities for new agricultural producers to use the expertise and capital of 60 existing agricultural producers; and 61 (v) the potential for creating a small farm incubator program; - 2 - Enrolled Copy H.B. 510 62 (c) research gaps in the state's food supply chain with respect to local food, including: 63 (i) aggregation; 64 (ii) distribution; 65 (iii) storage; and 66 (iv) processing; and 67 (d) propose potential funding solutions to address the issues identified by the 68 department's research under this Subsection (3), including recommendations for: 69 (i) potential grant programs; 70 (ii) potential investment by private capital; and 71 (iii) available funding from state and federal sources. 72 (4)(a) The department shall report to the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and 73 Environment Interim Committee at or before the committee's June 2026 interim 74 meeting. 75 (b) The report described in Subsection (4)(a) shall include: 76 (i) research findings related to each study item described in Subsection (3); and 77 (ii) policy solutions related to each study item described in Subsection (3). 78 (c) The report described in Subsection (4)(a) may include recommendations for 79 legislation and legislative appropriations. 80 Section 2. Section 63I-2-204 is amended to read: 81 63I-2-204 . Repeal dates: Title 4. 82 (1) Section 4-2-1101, Local food study, is repealed July 1, 2026. 83 [(1)] (2) Section 4-11-117, Beekeeping working group -- Development of standards, is 84 repealed May 1, 2025. 85 [(2)] (3) Subsection 4-41a-102(6), regarding the Cannabis Research Review Board, is 86 repealed July 1, 2026. 87 [(3)] (4) Section 4-46-104, Transition, is repealed July 1, 2024. 88 Section 3. Effective date. 89 This bill takes effect on May 7, 2025. - 3 -