Sec. 224. Duties of the Secretary
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Section 1238G of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3838g ) is amended to read as follows: To achieve the conservation goals of a contract under the conservation stewardship program, the Secretary shall— make the program available to eligible producers on a continuous enrollment basis with one or more ranking periods, of which shall occur in the first quarter of each fiscal year; identify not more than 5 designated priority resource concerns in a particular watershed or other appropriate region or area within a State; for any region or area that includes any part of a nutrient-impacted watershed (as determined by the Secretary), ensure that one of the priority resource concerns identified under paragraph
(2)is water pollution caused by excess nutrient loads; develop reliable conservation measurement tools for purposes of carrying out the program; and ensure that conservation measurement tools are transparent and available to producers by— making interactive, user-friendly conservation measurement tools publically available online; making conservation activity natural resource and environmental benefit scores available in an easy to understand format for study both before and during application; and taking other steps, as determined by the Secretary. The Secretary shall allocate acres to States for enrollment, based on each State’s proportion of eligible land to the total acreage of eligible land in all States as follows: At least 20 percent of the funds made available for financial and technical assistance under the program shall be for contracts addressing designated priority resource concerns related to enhancing the quality and quantity of source water (as that term is used in the Safe Drinking Water Act). At least 20 percent of the funds made available for financial and technical assistance under the program shall be for contracts addressing designated priority resource concerns related to reducing the need for pesticides in agricultural production including organic farming systems and intensive integrated pest management. At least 20 percent of the funds made available for financial and technical assistance under the program shall be for contracts addressing designated priority resource concerns related to reducing soil erosion and improving soil fertility and tilth. The Secretary shall provide annual payments under the program to compensate the producer for— installing and adopting additional conservation activities that will meet or exceed the stewardship threshold for a designated priority resource concern; and improving, maintaining, and managing conservation activities in place on the agricultural operation of the producer at the time the contract offer is accepted by the Secretary. The amount of the annual payment shall be determined by the Secretary and based, to the maximum extent practicable, on the following factors: Costs incurred by the producer associated with planning, design, materials, installation, labor, management, maintenance, or training. Income forgone by the producer. Expected conservation benefits, based to the maximum extent possible on conservation measurement tools. The extent to which designated priority resource concerns will be addressed through the installation and adoption of conservation activities on the agricultural operation. The level of stewardship in place at the time of application and maintained over the term of the contract. The degree to which the conservation activities will be integrated across the entire agricultural operation for all designated priority resource concerns over the term of the contract. Such other factors as are determined appropriate by the Secretary. A payment to a producer under this subsection shall not be provided for— the design, construction, or maintenance of animal waste storage or treatment facilities or associated waste transport or transfer devices for animal feeding operations; or conservation activities for which there is no cost incurred or income forgone to the producer. In making payments under this subsection, the Secretary shall, to the extent practicable— prorate conservation performance over the term of the contract so as to accommodate, to the extent practicable, producers earning equal annual payments in each fiscal year; and make such payments as soon as practicable after October 1 of each fiscal year for activities carried out in the previous fiscal year. If a contract requires a comprehensive conservation plan the implementation of which will, by the end of the contract term, meet or exceed the stewardship threshold for all designated priority resource concerns, the minimum payment shall be not less than $3,000. The Secretary shall provide additional payments to producers that, in participating in the program, agree to— improve, maintain, and manage or adopt and maintain— resource-conserving crop rotations to achieve beneficial crop rotations as appropriate for the eligible land of the producers; or managed intensive rotational grazing; or transition to organic crop or livestock systems. The Secretary shall determine whether a resource-conserving crop rotation is a beneficial crop rotation eligible for additional payments under paragraph
(1)based on whether the resource-conserving crop rotation is designed to address designated priority resource concerns while providing production benefits. To be eligible to receive a payment described in paragraph (1), a producer shall agree to adopt and maintain beneficial resource-conserving crop rotations for the term of the contract. In this subsection, the term resource-conserving crop rotation means a crop rotation that— includes at least 1 resource conserving crop (as defined by the Secretary); reduces erosion; prevents pollution of surface water or groundwater; improves soil fertility and tilth; interrupts pest cycles; and in applicable areas, reduces depletion of soil moisture or otherwise reduces the need for irrigation. In this subsection, the term managed intensive rotational grazing means a system in which animals are regularly and systematically moved to fresh pasture in such a way as to— maximize the quantity and quality of forage growth; improve manure distribution and nutrient cycling; increase carbon sequestration from greater forage harvest; improve the quantity and quality of cover for wildlife; provide permanent cover to protect the soil from erosion; and improve water quality. In this subsection, the term transition to organic crop or livestock systems means adoption of conservation activities for certified organic production on land or for herds not previously certified organic that meet all the requirements of the program and that are consistent with the regulations promulgated under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 ( 7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.). A person or legal entity may not receive, directly or indirectly, payments under the program that, in the aggregate, exceed $200,000 under all contracts entered into during any 5-year period, excluding funding arrangements with Indian tribes, regardless of the number of contracts entered into under the program by the person or legal entity. The Secretary shall ensure that outreach and technical assistance are available, and program specifications are appropriate to enable specialty crop and organic producers to participate in the program. The Secretary shall establish a transparent means by which producers may initiate organic certification under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 ( 7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) while participating in a contract under the program. The Secretary shall promulgate regulations that— prescribe such other rules as the Secretary determines to be necessary to ensure a fair and reasonable application of the limitations established under subsection (f); and otherwise enable the Secretary to carry out the program. The Secretary shall maintain detailed and segmented data on contracts and payments under the program to allow, at a minimum, with respect to each contract— quantification of the type and extent of conservation activities for which payments were made; quantification of the amount of payments made for— the installation and adoption of additional conservation activities and improvements to conservation activities in place on the operation of a producer at the time the conservation stewardship offer is accepted by the Secretary; and the maintenance of existing conservation activities; and identification of the watershed and county in which the agricultural operation receiving payments is located. The Secretary shall provide payments for conservation activities related to organic production. As a condition for receiving payments under the program, a producer shall agree to develop and implement conservation activities for certified organic production that are consistent with the regulations promulgated under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 ( 7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) and the purposes of the program. The Secretary shall provide planning assistance to producers transitioning to certified organic production consistent with the requirements of the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 ( 7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) and the purposes of this subchapter. The Secretary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, eliminate duplication of planning activities for a producer participating in a contract under this subchapter and initiating or maintaining organic certification consistent with the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 ( 7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.). .
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- 16 USC 3838g
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