Sec. 303. Conservation stewardship program

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Section 1240I of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3839aa–21 ) is amended— in paragraph (2)— in subparagraph (A), by inserting enhancements, after practices, ; and in subparagraph (B)(v), by inserting and climate change before the period at the end; in paragraph (3)(C), by inserting maintained, actively after implemented, ; in paragraph (5), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking natural resource concern or problem and inserting resource concern ; by redesignating paragraph

(7)as paragraph (8); and by inserting after paragraph

(6)the following: The term resource concern means a natural resource condition of the soil, water, air, plant, animal, or energy resource base that impairs the sustainability or intended uses of the resource. . Section 1240J(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3839aa–22(a) ) is amended by striking paragraphs

(1)and

(2)and inserting the following: by maintaining, actively managing, and, where practicable, improving existing conservation activities; and by undertaking additional conservation activities. . Section 1240K(a)(2)(B) of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3839aa–23(a)(2)(B) ) is amended by striking improving, maintaining, and managing and inserting maintaining, actively managing, and, where practicable, improving . Section 1240K(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3839aa–23(b) ) is amended— in paragraph (1)(A), by striking clause

(iii)and inserting the following: other criteria consistent with an equal weighting of the factors described in clauses

(i)and (ii), as determined by the Secretary, including criteria the Secretary determines are necessary to ensure that— the program effectively targets improvements to soil health, increases in carbon sequestration, and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions; and other national, State, and local priority resource concerns are effectively addressed. ; and by striking paragraph (3). Section 1240K(e) of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3839aa–23(e) ) is amended— in paragraph (3)— by striking subparagraph (B); in subparagraph (A), by striking ; or at the end and inserting , if applicable. ; and by striking period— in the matter preceding subparagraph

(A)and all that follows through to meet in subparagraph

(A)and inserting period, to meet ; by redesignating paragraphs

(1)through

(3)as subparagraphs

(A)through (C), respectively, and indenting appropriately; in the matter preceding subparagraph

(A)(as so redesignated), by striking The Secretary and inserting the following: The Secretary ; and by adding at the end the following: In determining whether to accept an application for contract renewal under this subsection, and when calculating payments for those renewed contracts, the Secretary shall consider the full conservation benefits across the entire applicable agricultural operation, including— the number of priority resource concerns with respect to which the producer is expected to meet or exceed the stewardship threshold by the end of the contract period; and the active management and maintenance of ongoing conservation activities, including— the conservation activities adopted during a prior contract period; and the new or improved conservation activities to be adopted if a contract is renewed. . Section 1240L(a)(2) of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(a)(2) ) is amended by inserting (which may include climate change adaptation and mitigation) after priority resource concerns . Section 1240L(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(c) ) is amended— in paragraph (1)— in subparagraph (A), by inserting on 1 or more types of eligible land covered by the contract after activities ; and in subparagraph (B), by striking improving, maintaining, and managing and inserting maintaining, actively managing, and improving ; in paragraph (2)— by striking subparagraph

(B)and inserting the following: Income forgone by the producer, including amounts that reflect— increased economic risk; and loss in revenue due to— production changes; anticipated reductions in yield; transitioning to an organic, resource-conserving cropping or grazing, or perennial production system; or acreage converted to conservation uses. ; and in subparagraph (E), by inserting , actively managed, and, where applicable, improved after maintained ; and by adding at the end the following: The Secretary shall provide payments under this subsection for conservation activities relating to— organic production; and transitioning to organic production. Conservation activities described in subparagraph

(A)may include— generally available and specifically tailored conservation activities; and individual conservation activities and bundles of conservation activities. The amount of an annual payment under the program shall be not less than $2,000. . Section 1240L(d) of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(d) ) is amended— in the subsection heading, by inserting after , perennial production systems, ; rotations in paragraph (1)— by redesignating subparagraph

(C)as subparagraph (D); and by inserting after subparagraph

(B)the following: The term perennial production system means— the use of cropland for agroforestry, including alley cropping, silvopasture, and related production practices, as determined by the Secretary; the use of woodland for agroforestry, including forest farming, multistory cropping, and related production practices, as determined by the Secretary; and the use of cropland for perennial forages or perennial grain crops. ; in paragraph (2)— in subparagraph (A), by striking or at the end; in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; or ; and by adding at the end the following: a perennial production system. ; and in paragraph (3), by striking or advanced grazing management and inserting , advanced grazing management, or a perennial production system . Section 1240L(e)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(e)(1) ) is amended— by striking the period at the end and inserting the following: “; and with respect to an organic production system— is integrated with an organic system plan approved under the national organic program established under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 ( 7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq. ); or allows a producer to transition to organic production systems and pursue certification under that Act. ; and in the matter preceding subparagraph

(B)(as added by subparagraph (A)), by striking plan that meets and inserting the following: “plan that— meets . Section 1240L(f) of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(f) ) is amended— by inserting (including a joint venture and a general partnership) after A person or legal entity ; and by striking fiscal years 2019 through 2023 and inserting any consecutive 5-fiscal-year period . Section 1240L(g) of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(g) ) is amended by inserting , and producers transitioning to organic production systems, after organic producers . Section 1240L(k) of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(k) ) is amended by striking the period at the end and inserting the following: , including by— conducting outreach to encourage the use of contracts to improve soil health and sequester carbon in the soil; and offering payments for soil testing to provide producers and the Secretary with information on the soil health and carbon sequestration impacts of conservation activities. . Subchapter B of chapter 4 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 ( 16 U.S.C. 3839aa–21 et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following: In this section, the term agricultural professional means a university researcher or educator, including an extension agent or specialist, Federal agency field staff, an agricultural consultant, State and local agency staff, Tribal agency staff, a Federally-Recognized Tribes Extension Program agent, and nonprofit organization staff assisting farmers and ranchers at the local level. Using funds made available to carry out this subchapter, the Secretary shall provide competitive grants to carry out on-farm conservation innovation projects on eligible land of program participants for the purpose of stimulating innovative approaches on farms and ranches to leverage Federal investment in conservation stewardship, in conjunction with agricultural production or forest resource management, through the program. The Secretary shall provide grants under this section— directly to agricultural operations, or groups of agricultural operations, participating in the program; or through partnerships between agricultural professionals and small groups of agricultural operations participating in the program. An entity that receives a grant under this section directly or through a partnership in accordance with subsection

(c)shall carry out an on-farm conservation innovation project that— facilitates on-farm research and demonstration or pilot testing of new technologies or innovative conservation systems and practices that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonize agriculture; facilitates on-farm research and demonstration or pilot testing of practices and systems with a proven high impact for greenhouse gas emissions reduction and decarbonization and low national or regional adoption rates; or helps to prepare program participants for participation in environmental services markets that have as a primary goal greenhouse gas emissions reduction or decarbonization of agriculture. In carrying out this section, the Secretary shall enter into agreements with agricultural operations (directly or through governmental or nongovernmental organizations involved in a partnership with 1 or more agricultural operations) on whose land an on-farm conservation innovation project is being carried out under this section to provide payments to the agricultural operations to assist with adopting and evaluating new or innovative conservation approaches to achieve conservation benefits. Payments provided under subparagraph

(A)shall reflect the direct costs of the research and demonstration and compensation for foregone income, as appropriate to address the increased economic risk or lower economic return potentially associated with the applicable innovative conservation approach. Adjusted gross income requirements under section 1001D(b)(1) shall— apply to producers receiving payments under this subsection; and be enforced by the Secretary. A governmental or nongovernmental organization participating in an on-farm conservation innovation project under this subsection shall submit to the Secretary an annual report describing the amount of payments that the organization made to each agricultural operation under this subsection. The Secretary may provide to a partnership described in paragraph (1)(A) not more than $50,000 for each on-farm conservation innovation project for research, technical assistance, and administrative expenses. An agreement entered into under paragraph (1)(A) shall be for a period determined by the Secretary that is— not less than 2 years; and if appropriate, more than 2 years, including if the longer period is appropriate to support— adaptive management over multiple crop years; and adequate data collection and analysis by an agricultural operation or partnership to report the natural resource and agricultural production benefits of the new or innovative conservation approaches to the Secretary. .

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U.S. Code

Purposes
§ 6501

12 references not yet in our index

16 USC 3839aa–21
16 USC 3839aa–22(a)
16 USC 3839aa–23(a)(2)(B)
16 USC 3839aa–23(b)
16 USC 3839aa–23(e)
16 USC 3839aa–24(a)(2)
16 USC 3839aa–24(c)
16 USC 3839aa–24(d)
16 USC 3839aa–24(e)(1)
16 USC 3839aa–24(f)
16 USC 3839aa–24(g)
16 USC 3839aa–24(k)

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cites case law

Sec. 303

Conservation stewardship program

U.S.C.§ 6501

Cite16 USC 3839aa–21

Cite16 USC 3839aa–22(a)

Cite16 USC 3839aa–23(a)(2)(B)

Cite16 USC 3839aa–23(b)

Cite16 USC 3839aa–23(e)

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