Sec. 2308. CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM
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## SEC. 2308 CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM ###
(a)Definitions Section 1240I of the Food Security Act of 1985 (as redesignated by section 2301(b)) is amended— ####
(1)in paragraph (2)(B)— #####
(A)in clause (i), by striking “and” at the end; #####
(B)in clause (ii), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and #####
(C)by adding at the end the following: > > ###### “(iii) > > development of a comprehensive conservation plan, as defined in section 1240L(e)(1); > > > ###### “(iv) > > soil health planning, including planning to increase soil organic matter; and > > > ###### “(v) > > activities that will assist a producer to adapt to, or mitigate against, increasing weather volatility.” > ; and ####
(2)in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and inserting the following: > “through the use of— > > > ##### “(A) > > quality criteria under a resource management system; > > > ##### “(B) > > predictive analytics tools or models developed or approved by the Natural Resources Conservation Service; > > > ##### “(C) > > data from past and current enrollment in the program; and > > > ##### “(D) > > other methods that measure conservation and improvement in priority resource concerns, as determined by the Secretary.” > . ###
(b)Conservation Stewardship Program ####
(1)Establishment 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”. ####
(2)Exclusions 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”. ###
(c)Stewardship Contracts Section 1240K of the Food Security Act of 1985 (as redesignated by section 2301(b)) is amended— ####
(1)in subsection (b), by striking paragraph
(1)and inserting the following: > > #### “(1) Ranking of applications > > > ##### “(A) In general > > In evaluating contract offers submitted under subsection
(a)and contract renewals under subsection (e), the Secretary shall rank applications based on— > > > ###### “(i) > > 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; > > > ###### “(ii) > > the degree to which the proposed conservation activities increase natural resource conservation and environmental benefits; and > > > ###### “(iii) > > other consistent criteria, as determined by the Secretary. > > > ##### “(B) Additional criterion > > 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.” > ; ####
(2)in subsection (c)— #####
(A)by striking “the program under subsection (a)” and inserting “a contract or contract renewal under this section”; #####
(B)by inserting “or contract renewal” before “offer ranks”; #####
(C)by inserting “or contract renewal” after “stewardship contract”; and #####
(D)by adding “or contract renewal” before the period at the end; ####
(3)in subsection (d)(2)(A), by striking “1238G(d)” and inserting “1240L(c)”; and ####
(4)in subsection (e)— #####
(A)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”; #####
(B)in paragraph (1), by striking “initial” and inserting “existing”; #####
(C)in paragraph (2)— ######
(i)by inserting “new or improved” after “integrate”; and ######
(ii)by inserting “demonstrating continued improvement during the additional 5-year period,” after “operation,”; and #####
(D)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”. ###
(d)Duties of Secretary Section 1240L of the Food Security Act of 1985 (as redesignated by section 2301(b)) is amended— ####
(1)in subsection (b), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “acres” and inserting “funding”; ####
(2)by striking subsection (c); ####
(3)by redesignating subsections
(d)and
(e)as subsections
(c)and (d), respectively; ####
(4)in subsection
(c)(as so redesignated), by adding at the end the following: > > #### “(5) Payment for cover crop activities > > 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).” > ; ####
(5)in subsection
(d)(as so redesignated)— #####
(A)in the subsection heading, by inserting “and Advanced Grazing Management” after “Rotations”; #####
(B)by striking paragraph (2); #####
(C)by redesignating paragraphs
(1)and
(4)as paragraphs
(2)and (1), respectively, and moving the paragraphs so as to appear in numerical order; #####
(D)in paragraph
(1)(as so redesignated)— ######
(i)by redesignating subparagraphs
(A)through
(D)and
(E)as clauses
(i)through
(iv)and (vi), respectively, and indenting appropriately; ######
(ii)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: > > #### “(1) Definitions > > In this subsection: > > > ##### “(A) Advanced grazing management > > 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— > > > ###### “(i) > > improved soil health and carbon sequestration; > > > ###### “(ii) > > drought resilience; > > > ###### “(iii) > > wildlife habitat; > > > ###### “(iv) > > wildfire mitigation; > > > ###### “(v) > > control of invasive plants; and > > > ###### “(vi) > > water quality improvement. > > > ##### “(B) Management-intensive rotational grazing > > 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— > > > ###### “(i) > > maximizes the quantity and quality of forage growth; > > > ###### “(ii) > > improves manure distribution and nutrient cycling; > > > ###### “(iii) > > increases carbon sequestration from greater forage harvest; > > > ###### “(iv) > > improves the quality and quantity of cover for wildlife; > > > ###### “(v) > > provides permanent cover to protect the soil from erosion; and > > > ###### “(vi) > > improves water quality. > > > ##### “(C) Resource-conserving crop rotation > > The term” > ; and ######
(iii)in subparagraph
(C)(as so designated)— ######
(I)in clause
(iv)(as so redesignated), by striking “and” at the end; and ######
(II)by inserting after clause
(iv)(as so redesignated) the following: > > ### “(v) > > builds soil organic matter; and” > ; #####
(E)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— > > > ##### “(A) > > resource-conserving crop rotations; or > > > ##### “(B) > > advanced grazing management.” > ; #####
(F)in paragraph (3)— ######
(i)by striking “paragraph (1)” and inserting “paragraph (2)”; and ######
(ii)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 #####
(G)by adding at the end the following: > > #### “(4) Amount of payment > > 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).” > ; ####
(6)by inserting after subsection
(d)(as so redesignated) the following: > > ### “(e) Payment for Comprehensive Conservation Plan > > > #### “(1) Definition of comprehensive conservation plan > > 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). > > > #### “(2) Payment for comprehensive conservation plan > > The Secretary shall provide a 1-time payment to a producer that develops a comprehensive conservation plan. > > > #### “(3) Amount of payment > > The Secretary shall determine the amount of payment under paragraph
(2)based on— > > > ##### “(A) > > the number of priority resource concerns addressed in the comprehensive conservation plan; and > > > ##### “(B) > > the number of types of land uses included in the comprehensive conservation plan.” > ; ####
(7)in subsection (f), by striking “2014 through 2018” and inserting “2019 through 2023”; ####
(8)in subsection (h)— #####
(A)by striking the subsection designation and heading and all that follows through “ The Secretary ” and inserting the following: > > ### “(h) Organic Certification > > > #### “(1) Coordination > > The Secretary” > ; and #####
(B)by adding at the end the following: > > #### “(2) Allocation > > > ##### “(A) In general > > 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). > > > ##### “(B) Determination > > The Secretary shall determine the allocation to a State under subparagraph
(A)based on— > > > ###### “(i) > > the number of certified and transitioning organic operations within the State; and > > > ###### “(ii) > > the number of acres of certified and transitioning organic production within the State.” > ; and ####
(9)by adding at the end the following: > > ### “(j) Streamlining and Coordination > > 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. > > > ### “(k) Soil Health > > To the maximum extent feasible, the Secretary shall manage the program to enhance soil health. > > > ### “(l) Annual Report > > 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.” > .