Agriculture
Agriculture is a vital industry in Central Florida, and Congressman Soto has stood with local farmers, ranchers, and growers since his first term in Congress. He served on the House Committee on Agriculture during the 115th and 118th Congresses and continues working across the aisle to help agriculture producers feed America, protect food assistance programs, combat citrus greening, support a livestock vaccine bank, secure disaster relief, resolve screwworm and mealybug threats, increase research, invest in new technologies, and more.
In 2018, five of Soto’s bills were included in the Farm Bill, including bills to prioritize specialty crop research and provide assistive technology for veterans with disabilities.
During the devastating freeze in early 2026, Soto worked with his Florida colleagues on both sides of the aisle to secure federal relief and ensure local producers had the resources to recover.
Rep. Soto’s recent work for Florida agriculture includes but is not limited to:
Legislation
- H.R. 9094, Florida Freeze Disaster Assistance Act of 2026, which authorizes the USDA to provide grants to states for agricultural losses caused by freezes;
- H.R. 9304, the Juice Access Improvement Act, which requires that juice be the default benefit under certain WIC food packages;
- H.R. 9305, the Juice for Healthy Families Act of 2026, which amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to set maximum monthly allowances for juice under the special supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children;
- H.R. 8728, the Feed Our Kids Act of 2026, which amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to make breakfasts and lunches free for all children; and
- H.R. 7466, the SAFE CATTLE Act, which combats threats to our cattle industry by promoting activities and interagency agreements to control and eradicate Screwworm threats.
For more information on the work Rep. Soto is doing to help the Florida agriculture community, visit:
More on Agriculture
KISSIMMEE, FL — Today, the office of Congressman Darren Soto (FL-09) released their 2025 end-of-year report, highlighting efforts to continue standing up for Central Florida, delivering for the community, and holding the Trump Administration accountable.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congressman Darren Soto (FL-09) and Congressman John Rose (TN-06) introduced the Haulers of Agriculture and Livestock Safety (HAULS) Act, bipartisan legislation to provide much-needed flexibility to livestock and agriculture haulers. Specifically, this bill would help accommodate seasonal spikes in the transportation of agricultural product by modernizing the agricultural exemption to the hours-of-service rules.
KISSIMMEE — Last week, members of the Florida congressional delegation, led by Reps. Darren Soto (FL-09) and Bill Posey (FL-08), wrote a letter to Acting U.S. Trade Representative, Maria Pagan, expressing concerns over retaliatory tariffs placed by the European Union (EU) on U.S. agricultural products, particularly Florida grapefruits.
Washington, D.C. – This week, U.S. Representatives Dusty Johnson and Darren Soto introduced the PRICE Act, a bill that will increase transparency in the cattle market, improve risk management, and support new and expanding meat processors. Earlier this year, the U.S.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the House of Representatives passed key environmental initiatives secured by Congressman Darren Soto (FL-09) in a $259.5 billion funding package that consists of fiscal year 2021 State-Foreign Operations, Agriculture-Rural Development-FDA, Interior-Environment, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bills.
Rep. Darren Soto (FL-09) led a bipartisan letter to Secretary Sonny Perdue, of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, requesting that the cattle beef industry be included in ongoing and future discussions of loss recovery programs. This request comes in light of the immense financial losses in the United States Beef Cattle Industry, which have been estimated at around $13.6 billion.
Today, U.S. Representatives Darren Soto (D-FL) and Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) introduced the Food Safety Modernization for Innovative Technologies Act, a bipartisan bill which would formalize a regulatory framework for food derived from cell-cultured technology.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Darren Soto (FL-09) celebrated the more than 400 bills, including more than 275 bipartisan bills still awaiting action in the GOP-controlled Senate, passed by the Democratic House Majority over the past year.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Reps. Darren Soto (FL-09) and Ted. S Yoho (FL-03) led a bipartisan letter to Secretary Sonny Perdue requesting the U.S. Department of Agriculture increase funding for orange juice purchase in Florida to $90 million, doubling the initial allocation from this past summer.