SECTION 1.  Chapter 20 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding after section 32 the following section:—

Section 33.  (a) The commissioner, in consultation with the board, shall develop a single uniform application for use by owners of farms in the commonwealth for application to any and all grant and other assistance programs administered by the department, including, without limitation, the Massachusetts farm energy program, the agricultural energy grant program, the agricultural environmental enhancement program and the agricultural climate resiliency and efficiencies program; provided, however, that this section shall not apply to the agricultural preservation restriction program.  The uniform application shall be consistent with federal grant and program application criteria in order to facilitate applications to federal programs including the Rural Energy for America Program.

(b)  The department shall designate an administrator or separate office within department to provide advice, technical assistance and other guidance to owners of farms who apply for grants and other programs through the department.  The administrator or office shall provide applicants with information and resources regarding any and all grants and programs available through the department and any other state or federal programs.

(c)  As used in this section, “farm” shall not include any farm used to grow marijuana