S. 1848 — Opportunities for Fairness in Farming Act of 2025

This section states congressional findings concerning agricultural checkoff programs (i.e., generic promotion, research, and information programs for commodities funded by mandatory producer assessments), including that such programs are intended to benefit all producers but have been misused for lobbying and policy influence, suffer from conflicts of interest and anticompetitive conduct, and lack adequate transparency.

This section defines the following terms for purposes of the Act: (1) "Board," meaning a federal or state board, committee, council, or similar entity established to carry out a checkoff program or an order issued by the Secretary under a checkoff program; (2) "checkoff program," meaning a program to promote and provide research and information for a particular agricultural commodity without reference to specific producers or brands (i.e., generic commodity checkoff programs), including those carried out under 23 specified federal statutes (e.g., Cotton Research and Promotion Act (7 U.S.C. 2101 et seq.), Beef Research and Information Act (7 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.), Pork Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 4801 et seq.)); (3) "conflict of interest," meaning a direct or indirect financial interest in a person or entity that performs a service for, or enters into a contract or agreement with, a board for anything of economic value; and (4) "Secretary," meaning the Secretary of Agriculture.

This section establishes requirements for boards of checkoff programs (i.e., industry-funded programs for agricultural commodity promotion, research, and information). Specifically, it (1) prohibits boards of programs with annual assessment revenue exceeding $20 million from contracting with entities influencing government agriculture policy (except institutions of higher education for research, extension, or education), and bars boards, employees, and agents from conflicts of interest, anticompetitive activities, unfair or deceptive acts, or disparaging other commodities; (2) authorizes boards to directly enter contracts for authorized activities upon Secretary of Agriculture approval; (3) requires contractors to submit quarterly records accounting for funds, goods, services, and costs, which boards must maintain and publish within 30 days; and (4) mandates boards to immediately publish Secretary-approved budgets and disbursements, disclosing amounts, purposes, recipients, and subcontractors. It further directs (1) the USDA Inspector General to audit each program's compliance starting no later than two years after enactment and every five years thereafter—including record reviews—with reports to specified congressional committees (including the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights) and the Comptroller General; and (2) the Comptroller General to audit compliance actions and program integrity between three and five years after enactment, issuing a report with recommendations considering Inspector General findings.

This section provides a severability clause stating that if any provision of the Act, or its application to any person or circumstance, is held unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act and the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected.