H.R. 4173 — Advancing Automation Research and Development in Agriculture Act

This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish within USDA a stand-alone competitive research and extension grant program to increase the competitiveness of specialty crops in the United States through the advancement and acceleration of mechanization and automation. Specialty crops are fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, and horticulture and nursery crops (including floriculture). The bill provides specified funds for FY2024 and each succeeding year to carry out the program. The grant program includes projects that create or improve cost-effective technologies to reduce a specialty crop grower's manual labor requirements and increase the efficiency of cr...