H.R. 3516 · 119th Congress
Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act of 2025
Key: what the circles and colors mean
Each circle is a bill. The ring fills as it moves through Congress:
Under the number: the Yea · Nay count of its final (or latest) recorded vote. On a member's page, the small badge is how that member voted: Y Yea / Aye, N Nay / No, P Present, – Not voting.
Gold and violet are only for Yea and Nay; they never mean a party. A member's party is the letter on their photo.
Not yet voted on. This bill is still a proposal: it hasn't reached a floor vote, and its text can change in committee or on the floor before any vote.
R
MaceSponsor1 cosponsor · 1 D
1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill establishes restrictions and requirements for agricultural checkoff programs.
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in House · May 20, 2025
Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act of 2025
This bill establishes restrictions and requirements for agricultural checkoff programs. These are programs overseen by the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to promote and provide research and information for a particular agricultural commodity without reference to specific producers or brands (e.g., the Cotton Board, Cattlemen's Beef Board, or National Watermelon Promotion Board).
The bill prohibits boards established to carry out a checkoff program with annual assessment revenue equal to more than $20 million or a USDA order issued under such a checkoff program from entering into a contract or agreement to carry out activities under the program with a party that engages in activities to influence any government policy or action that relates to agriculture.
A board or its employees or agents acting in their official capacity may not engage in any
- act that may involve a conflict of interest;
- anticompetitive activity;
- unfair or deceptive act or practice; or
- act that may be disparaging to, or in any way negatively portray, another agricultural commodity or product.
Upon approval of USDA, a board may enter directly into contracts and agreements to carry out generic promotion, research, or other activities authorized by law if the agreement or contract requires records accounting for the funds received to be submitted to the board.
Further, the board must meet specified requirements regarding the publication of budgets and disbursements of funds.
The USDA Office of Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office must conduct specified audits regarding checkoff programs.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act of 2025
Latest action (May 20, 2025): Referred to the House Committee on Agriculture.
Policy area: Agriculture and Food · Origin: House · Introduced: May 20, 2025
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.