Sec. 3. Conservation Stewardship Program

955 words·~4 min read·/bill/115/s/2557/is/section-3

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

Section 1238D of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3838d ) 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 ; and ; and by adding at the end the following: development of a comprehensive conservation plan, as defined in section 1238G(f)(1). ; 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; data from past and current enrollment in the program; and other methods that measure conservation and improvement in priority resource concerns. .

Section 1238E(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3838e(a) ) is amended in the matter preceding paragraph

(1)by striking 2018 and inserting 2023 . Section 1238F of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3838f ) is amended— in subsection (b), by striking paragraph

(1)and inserting the following: In evaluating contract offers submitted under subsection (a), 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; and the degree to which the proposed conservation activities increase natural resource conservation and environmental benefits. 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. ; and in subsection (e)— in paragraph (2)— by inserting new or improved after integrate ; and by inserting demonstrating continuous improvement during the additional 5-year period, after operation, ; and in paragraph (3)— in subparagraph (A)— by striking to meet and inserting to plan, install, maintain, and actively manage conservation activities that allow the producer to meet or exceed ; and by striking on the agricultural operation ; and in subparagraph (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 1238G of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3838g ) is amended— in subsection (c)(2), by striking all financial and all that follows through the period at the end and inserting the following: all— financial assistance, including payments made under subsections (d)(2)(B), (e), and (f); technical assistance; and any other expenses associated with enrollment or participation in the program. ; in subsection (d), 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 (e)— in the subsection heading, by inserting after and management-Intensive rotation grazing ; rotations by striking paragraph (2); by redesignating paragraphs

(1)and

(4)as paragraphs

(2)and (1), respectively; by moving paragraph

(1)(as so redesignated) so as to appear before paragraph

(2)(as so redesignated); 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 management-intensive rotational grazing means a 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

(B)(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 carbon; 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 management-intensive rotational grazing. ; 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 management-intensive rotational grazing for the term of the contract. ; and by adding at the end the following: An additional payment provided under paragraph

(2)shall be in an amount that is not less than $20 per acre. ; by redesignating subsections

(f)through

(i)as subsections

(g)through (j), respectively; by inserting after subsection

(e)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 an additional annual payment to a producer that develops and implements a comprehensive conservation plan. An additional annual payment under paragraph

(2)shall be in an amount not less than $1,000 and not greater than $3,000 per year. The Secretary shall determine the amount of payment under subparagraph

(A)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. ; and in subsection

(j)(as so redesignated), by striking subsection

(f)and inserting subsection

(g).

Connections4 off-index

4 references not yet in our index

16 USC 3838d
16 USC 3838e(a)
16 USC 3838f
16 USC 3838g

Citation graph

cites case law

Sec. 3

Conservation Stewardship Program

Cite16 USC 3838d

Cite16 USC 3838e(a)

Cite16 USC 3838f

Cite16 USC 3838g

Cites 4Cited by 0 across 0 sources