Bennet, Marshall, Colleagues Reintroduce Bipartisan Bill to Bolster Agricultural Innovation

Jan 16, 2026| Press Releases

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) reintroduced the Advancing Cutting Edge (ACE) Agriculture Act, legislation to foster cutting-edge innovative agricultural research and development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). U.S. Representatives Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) and Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) introduced companion legislation in the House.

"Strengthening American leadership in agricultural research and driving real breakthroughs requires sustained investment," said Bennet. "As Colorado's family farmers and ranchers face persistent drought, higher costs, extreme weather, and increased global competition, the ACE Agriculture Act focuses those investments on practical tools that help producers adapt to a changing climate and agricultural landscape."

"Kansas farmers face new challenges every day - from extreme weather and biological threats to supply chain disruptions and foreign adversaries. That's why cutting-edge research is more important than ever. Reauthorizing AgARDA will help USDA fund breakthrough innovation that puts our farmers and food supply first and keeps America the world's agricultural leader," said Marshall.

From high fertilizer prices to extreme weather and poor soil health, American family farmers and ranchers face major challenges today. Yet, the development of novel agricultural technologies and approaches to help solve these issues has not kept pace. While these technologies have the potential to yield game-changing benefits for agriculture and food, private capital often considers them too financially risky for investment, and the USDA instead prioritizes lower-risk research projects to reliably, yet incrementally, deliver results.

The 2018 Farm Bill established the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AgARDA) at USDA to fill this gap and invest in high-risk, high-reward research and development in agriculture and food. Modeled after the successful Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) programs, AgARDA spurs innovation through the development of breakthrough technologies and practices to address water conservation, soil health, disease and pest management, and extreme weather variability. The research and solutions advanced from AgARDA will help our farmers and ranchers meet the challenges of a changing agricultural landscape, increase production to address a growing global population, and help U.S. agricultural products compete in global markets.

Specifically, this bill would:

• Double the authorization of the existing program from $50 million to $100 million to ensure access to more transformative agricultural innovation projects across multiple states.
• Expand the existing program's scope to:

· Address animal and plant pathogens and pests, which could help farmers increase production capacity and competitiveness.

· Include opportunities for projects that could help farmers and ranchers use less water; enhance soil health; and mitigate, reduce, and/or reduce greenhouse gas emissions from farms and ranches.

AgARDA funds projects to help address challenges such as:

• Pathogens and pests: Improve early detection of emerging pathogens and pests and coordinate vaccine development for known pathogens, such as African Swine Fever.
• Drought: Catalyze technological breakthroughs and practices to monitor, analyze, and distribute data on soil moisture in fields to help farmers and ranchers better manage their resources.
• Soil health: Boost soil health and reduce GHG emissions from farm operations.
• Extreme weather: Develop crops to become genetically resistant to drought, heat, and high speed winds.
• Increasing production demand: Cut food waste, optimize food production on less land, and increase the nutrient content of food.

The ACE Agriculture Act is endorsed by: the Food and Agriculture Climate Alliance; University of California, Santa Cruz; Iowa State University; ClearPathAction; Breakthrough Institute; Bipartisan Policy Center Action; American Society of Agronomy; Crop Science Society of America; Soil Science Society of America; Colorado Farm Bureau; and Colorado State University.

"We are grateful that AgARDA will provide a much-needed funding impetus for innovative sustainability research. Senator Bennet understands that bold investment is needed to drive increased sustainability across our agricultural landscapes, and we are proud to support this expansion in funding. CFB believes our established land grant universities, like CSU and the work spearheaded by Dr. Stackhouse-Lawson, can present a powerful return on investment for AgARDA funds. By prioritizing cutting-edge greenhouse gas emission reduction measures and other climate research, we can strive to uncover individualized and practical solutions that farmers and ranchers can actually implement," said James Henderson, Colorado Farm Bureau Vice President.

"We appreciate Senator Bennet's steadfast commitment to advancing research and innovation that address the complex and critical challenges facing our agriculture industry. AGARDA funding would go a long way to ensuring that solutions developed by our researchers are rapidly translated into practical applications for farmers and ranchers in Colorado and across the nation," said Dr. Cassandra Moseley, Vice President for Research, Colorado State University.

"By reauthorizing AgARDA, the ACE Ag Act reaffirms the powerful role the federal government can play in de-risking innovative agricultural technologies. AgARDA is uniquely designed to strategically fund advanced research with large potential benefits, but that is too early-stage or technically risky for private sector investment alone. This type of high-risk, high-reward research will complement existing federal research initiatives, strengthen U.S. agricultural productivity, and ensure American producers remain globally competitive," said Emily Bass, Director of Federal Policy for Food & Agriculture at the Breakthrough Institute.

"Sustained investments in innovation will keep American agricultural producers competitive and resilient amid a changing global marketplace and evolving consumer preferences. BPC Action applauds Sens. Bennet (D-CO) and Marshall (R-KS) and Reps. Panetta (D-CA) and Feenstra (R-IA) for their bipartisan leadership on the ACE Agriculture Act, which will help producers adapt to these developments," said Michele Stockwell, president of Bipartisan Policy Center Action (BPC Action).

"The U.S. must regain and maintain leadership in agricultural innovation by developing and deploying cutting-edge agricultural technologies and practices. Reps. Feenstra (R-IA) and Panetta's (D-CA) and Sens. Marshall (R-KS) and Bennet's (D-CO) ACE Agriculture Act supports American innovation, ensuring American farmers and ranchers have the most up-to-date tools and technologies needed to increase profitability, participate in bioproduct markets, protect from pests and disease, and promote soil health, all while reducing emissions," said ClearPath Action CEO, Jeremy Harrell.

"AGARDA represents a bold step toward securing the future of American agriculture. By accelerating innovation and resilience in crop and soil systems, AGARDA would empower researchers to meet the agricultural challenges of tomorrow with solutions rooted in science and innovation," said Jim Cudahy, CEO of American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America.

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