Sec. 2308. Conservation stewardship program
1,374 words·~6 min read·
/bill/115/hr/2/enr/section-2308A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Section 1240I of the Food Security Act of 1985 (as redesignated by section 2301(b)) is amended— in paragraph (2)(B)— in clause (i), by striking and at the end; in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and by adding at the end the following: development of a comprehensive conservation plan, as defined in section 1240L(e)(1); soil health planning, including planning to increase soil organic matter; and activities that will assist a producer to adapt to, or mitigate against, increasing weather volatility. ; and in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and inserting the following: through the use of— quality criteria under a resource management system; predictive analytics tools or models developed or approved by the Natural Resources Conservation Service; data from past and current enrollment in the program; and other methods that measure conservation and improvement in priority resource concerns, as determined by the Secretary. .
Subsection
(a)of section 1240J of the Food Security Act of 1985 (as redesignated by section 2301(b)) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph
(1)by striking 2014 through 2018 and inserting 2019 through 2023 . Subsection (b)(2) of section 1240J of the Food Security Act of 1985 (as redesignated by section 2301(b)) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph
(1)by striking the Agricultural Act of 2014 and inserting the . Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 Section 1240K of the Food Security Act of 1985 (as redesignated by section 2301(b)) is amended— in subsection (b), by striking paragraph
(1)and inserting the following: In evaluating contract offers submitted under subsection
(a)and contract renewals under subsection (e), the Secretary shall rank applications based on— the natural resource conservation and environmental benefits that result from the conservation treatment on all applicable priority resource concerns at the time of submission of the application; the degree to which the proposed conservation activities increase natural resource conservation and environmental benefits; and other consistent criteria, as determined by the Secretary. If 2 or more applications receive the same ranking under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall rank those contracts based on the extent to which the actual and anticipated conservation benefits from each contract are provided at the lowest cost relative to other similarly beneficial contract offers. ; in subsection (c)— by striking the program under subsection
(a)and inserting a contract or contract renewal under this section ; by inserting or contract renewal before offer ranks ; by inserting or contract renewal after stewardship contract ; and by adding or contract renewal before the period at the end; in subsection (d)(2)(A), by striking 1238G(d) and inserting 1240L(c) ; and in subsection (e)— in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking At the end and all that follows through period the second place it appears and inserting the following: The Secretary may provide the producer an opportunity to renew an existing contract in the first half of the fifth year of the contract period ; in paragraph (1), by striking initial and inserting existing ; in paragraph (2)— by inserting new or improved after integrate ; and by inserting demonstrating continued improvement during the additional 5-year period, after operation, ; and in paragraph (3)(B), by striking to exceed the stewardship threshold of and inserting to adopt or improve conservation activities, as determined by the Secretary, to achieve higher levels of performance with respect to not less than . Section 1240L of the Food Security Act of 1985 (as redesignated by section 2301(b)) is amended— in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking acres and inserting funding ; by striking subsection (c); by redesignating subsections
(d)and
(e)as subsections
(c)and (d), respectively; in subsection
(c)(as so redesignated), by adding at the end the following: The amount of a payment under this subsection for cover crop activities shall be not less than 125 percent of the annual payment amount determined by the Secretary under paragraph (2). ; in subsection
(d)(as so redesignated)— in the subsection heading, by inserting after and advanced grazing management ; rotations by striking paragraph (2); by redesignating paragraphs
(1)and
(4)as paragraphs
(2)and (1), respectively, and moving the paragraphs so as to appear in numerical order; in paragraph
(1)(as so redesignated)— by redesignating subparagraphs
(A)through
(D)and
(E)as clauses
(i)through
(iv)and (vi), respectively, and indenting appropriately; by striking the paragraph designation and all that follows through the term in the matter preceding clause
(i)(as so redesignated) and inserting the following: In this subsection: The term advanced grazing management means the use of a combination of grazing practices (as determined by the Secretary), which may include management-intensive rotational grazing, that provide for— improved soil health and carbon sequestration; drought resilience; wildlife habitat; wildfire mitigation; control of invasive plants; and water quality improvement. The term management-intensive rotational grazing means a strategic, adaptively managed multipasture grazing system in which animals are regularly and systematically moved to fresh pasture in a manner that— maximizes the quantity and quality of forage growth; improves manure distribution and nutrient cycling; increases carbon sequestration from greater forage harvest; improves the quality and quantity of cover for wildlife; provides permanent cover to protect the soil from erosion; and improves water quality. The term ; and in subparagraph
(C)(as so designated)— in clause
(iv)(as so redesignated), by striking and at the end; and by inserting after clause
(iv)(as so redesignated) the following: builds soil organic matter; and ; in paragraph
(2)(as so redesignated), by striking improve resource-conserving and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting the following: improve, manage, and maintain— resource-conserving crop rotations; or advanced grazing management. ; in paragraph (3)— by striking paragraph
(1)and inserting paragraph
(2); and by striking and maintain and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting or improve, manage, and maintain resource-conserving crop rotations or advanced grazing management for the term of the contract. ; and by adding at the end the following: An additional payment provided under paragraph
(2)shall be not less than 150 percent of the annual payment amount determined by the Secretary under subsection (c)(2). ; by inserting after subsection
(d)(as so redesignated) the following: In this subsection, the term comprehensive conservation plan means a conservation plan that meets or exceeds the stewardship threshold for each priority resource concern identified by the Secretary under subsection (a)(2). The Secretary shall provide a 1-time payment to a producer that develops a comprehensive conservation plan. The Secretary shall determine the amount of payment under paragraph
(2)based on— the number of priority resource concerns addressed in the comprehensive conservation plan; and the number of types of land uses included in the comprehensive conservation plan. ; in subsection (f), by striking 2014 through 2018 and inserting 2019 through 2023 ; in subsection (h)— by striking the subsection designation and heading and all that follows through The Secretary and inserting the following: The Secretary ; and by adding at the end the following: Using funds made available for the program for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023, the Secretary shall allocate funding to States to support organic production and transition to organic production through paragraph (1). The Secretary shall determine the allocation to a State under subparagraph
(A)based on— the number of certified and transitioning organic operations within the State; and the number of acres of certified and transitioning organic production within the State. ; and by adding at the end the following: To the maximum extent feasible, the Secretary shall provide for streamlined and coordinated procedures for the program and the environmental quality incentives program under subchapter A, including applications, contracting, conservation planning, conservation practices, and related administrative procedures. To the maximum extent feasible, the Secretary shall manage the program to enhance soil health. Each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a report describing the payment rates for conservation activities offered to producers under the program and an analysis of whether payment rates can be reduced for the most expensive conservation activities. .