II

Calendar No. 797

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1066

[Report No. 106–407]

To amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy

Act of 1977 to encourage the use of and research into agricultural

best practices to improve the environment, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 18 (legislative day, MAY 14), 1999

Mr. ROBERTS (for himself, Mr. MURKOWSKI, Mr. GRAMS, Mr. HAGEL, Mr.

CRAIG, Mr. ENZI, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. BROWNBACK, Mr. HARKIN, Mr.

KERREY, Mr. BAUCUS, and Mr. FITZGERALD) introduced the following

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture,

Nutrition, and Forestry

SEPTEMBER 12, 2000

Reported by Mr. LUGAR, with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension,

and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to encourage the use

of and research into agricultural best practices to improve the environment, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2

•S 1066 RS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Carbon Cycle and Ag3 ricultural Best Practices Research Act’’.

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

5 Congress finds that—

6 (1) agricultural producers in the United

7 States—

8 (A) have, in good faith, participated in

9 mandatory and voluntary conservation pro10 grams, the successes of which are unseen by the

11 general public, to preserve natural resources;

12 and

13 (B) have a personal stake in ensuring that

14 the air, water, and soil of the United States are

15 productive since agricultural productivity di16 rectly affects—

17 (i) the economic success of agricul18 tural producers; and

19 (ii) the production of food and fiber

20 for developing and developed nations;

21 (2) in addition to providing food and fiber, agri22 culture serves an environmental role by providing

23 benefits to air, soil, and water through agricultural

24 best practices;

25 (3) those conservation programs and Federal

26 land provide the United States with an enormous
3

•S 1066 RS

1 potential to increase the quantity of carbon stored in

2 agricultural land and commodities through the car3 bon cycle;

4 (4) according to the Climate Modeling and

5 Diagnostics Laboratory of the National Oceanic and

6 Atmospheric Administration, North American soils,

7 crops, rangelands, and forests absorbed an equiva8 lent quantity of carbon dioxide emitted from fossil

9 fuel combustion as part of the natural carbon cycle

10 from 1988 through 1992;

11 (5) the estimated quantity of carbon stored in

12 world soils is more than twice the carbon in living

13 vegetation or in the atmosphere;

14 (6) agricultural best practices can increase the

15 quantity of carbon stored in farm soils, crops, and

16 rangeland;

17 (7) although there is a tremendous quantity of

18 carbon stored in soil that supports agricultural oper19 ations in the United States, the quantity of carbon

20 stored in soil may be increased by using a strategy

21 that would benefit the environment without imple22 menting a United Nations-sponsored climate change

23 protocol or treaty;

24 (8) Federal research is needed to identify—
4

•S 1066 RS

1 (A) the agricultural best practices that

2 supplement the natural carbon cycle; and

3 (B) Federal conservation programs that

4 can be altered to increase the environmental

5 benefits provided by the natural carbon cycle;

6 (9) increasing soil organic carbon is widely rec7 ognized as a means of increasing agricultural pro8 duction and meeting the growing domestic and inter9 national food consumption needs with a positive en10 vironmental benefit;

11 (10) agricultural best practices include the

12 more efficient use of agriculture inputs and equip13 ment; and

14 (11) tax credits should be offered in order to

15 facilitate the widespread use of more efficient agri16 culture inputs and equipment and to increase envi17 ronmental benefits.

18 SEC. 3. AGRICULTURAL BEST PRACTICES.

19 Title XIV of the National Agricultural Research, Ex20 tension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3101

21 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

22 ‘‘Subtitle N—Carbon Cycle and

23 Agricultural Best Practices

24 ‘‘SEC. 1490. DEFINITIONS.

25 ‘‘In this subtitle:
5

•S 1066 RS

1 ‘‘(1) AGRICULTURAL BEST PRACTICE.—The

2 term ‘agricultural best practice’ means a voluntary

3 practice used by 1 or more agricultural producers to

4 manage a farm or ranch that has a beneficial or

5 minimal impact on the environment, including—

6 ‘‘(A) crop residue management;

7 ‘‘(B) soil erosion management;

8 ‘‘(C) nutrient management;

9 ‘‘(D) remote sensing;

10 ‘‘(E) precision agriculture;

11 ‘‘(F) integrated pest management;

12 ‘‘(G) animal waste management;

13 ‘‘(H) cover crop management;

14 ‘‘(I) water quality and utilization manage15 ment;

16 ‘‘(J) grazing and range management;

17 ‘‘(K) wetland management;

18 ‘‘(L) buffer strip use; and

19 ‘‘(M) tree planting.

20 ‘‘(2) CONSERVATION PROGRAM.—The term

21 ‘conservation program’ means a program established

22 under—

23 ‘‘(A) subtitle D of title XII of the Food Se24 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3830 et seq.);
6

•S 1066 RS

1 ‘‘(B) section 401 or 402 of the Agricul2 tural Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2201,

3 2202);

4 ‘‘(C) section 3 or 8 of the Watershed Pro5 tection and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C.

6 1003, 1006a); or

7 ‘‘(D) any other provision of law that au8 thorizes the Secretary to make payments or

9 provide other assistance to agricultural pro10 ducers to promote conservation.

11 ‘‘SEC. 1491. CARBON CYCLE AND AGRICULTURAL BEST

12 PRACTICES RESEARCH.

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Agriculture

14 shall be the lead agency with respect to any agricultural

15 soil carbon research conducted by the Federal Govern16 ment.

17 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH SERVICES.—

18 ‘‘(1) AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE.—The

19 Secretary, acting through the Agricultural Research

20 Service, shall collaborate with other Federal agencies

21 to develop data and conduct research addressing soil

22 carbon balance and storage, making special efforts

23 to—
7

•S 1066 RS

1 ‘‘(A) determine the effects of management

2 and conservation on carbon storage in cropland

3 and grazing land;

4 ‘‘(B) evaluate the long-term impact of till5 age and residue management systems on the

6 accumulation of organic carbon;

7 ‘‘(C) study the transfer of organic carbon

8 to soil; and

9 ‘‘(D) study carbon storage of commodities.

10 ‘‘(2) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION

11 SERVICE.—

12 ‘‘(A) RESEARCH MISSIONS.—The research

13 missions of the Secretary, acting through the

14 Natural Resources Conservation Service,

15 include—

16 ‘‘(i) the development of a soil carbon

17 database to—

18 ‘‘(I) provide online access to in19 formation about soil carbon potential

20 in a format that facilitates the use of

21 the database in making land manage22 ment decisions; and

23 ‘‘(II) allow additional and more

24 refined data to be linked to similar
8

•S 1066 RS

1 databases containing information on

2 forests and rangeland;

3 ‘‘(ii) the conversion to an electronic

4 format and linkage to the national soil

5 database described in clause (i) of county6 level soil surveys and State-level soil maps;

7 ‘‘(iii) updating of State-level soil

8 maps;

9 ‘‘(iv) the linkage, for information pur10 poses only, of soil information to other soil

11 and land use databases; and

12 ‘‘(v) the completion of evaluations,

13 such as field validation and calibration, of

14 modeling, remote sensing, and statistical

15 inventory approaches to carbon stock as16 sessments related to land management

17 practices and agronomic systems at the

18 field, regional, and national levels.

19 ‘‘(B) UNIT OF INFORMATION.—The Sec20 retary, acting through the Natural Resources

21 Conservation Service, shall disseminate a na22 tional basic unit of information for an assess23 ment of the carbon storage potential of soils in

24 the United States.
9

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1 ‘‘(3) ECONOMIC RESEARCH SERVICE REPORT.—

2 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment

3 of this section, the Secretary, acting through the

4 Economic Research Service, shall submit to the

5 Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep6 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nu7 trition, and Forestry of the Senate a report that

8 analyzes the impact of the financial health of the

9 farm economy of the United States under the Kyoto

10 Protocol and other international agreements under

11 the Framework Convention on Climate Change—

12 ‘‘(A) with and without market mechanisms

13 (including whether the mechanisms are permits

14 for emissions and whether the permits are

15 issued by allocation, auction, or otherwise);

16 ‘‘(B) with and without the participation of

17 developing countries;

18 ‘‘(C) with and without carbon sinks; and

19 ‘‘(D) with respect to the imposition of tra20 ditional command and control measures.

21 ‘‘(c) CONSORTIA.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may des23 ignate not more than 2 carbon cycle and agricultural

24 best practices research consortia.
10

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1 ‘‘(2) SELECTION.—The consortia designated by

2 the Secretary shall be selected in a competitive man3 ner by the Cooperative State Research, Education,

4 and Extension Service.

5 ‘‘(3) DUTIES.—The consortia shall—

6 ‘‘(A) identify, develop, and evaluate agri7 cultural best practices using partnerships com8 posed of Federal, State, or private entities and

9 the Department of Agriculture, including the

10 Agricultural Research Service;

11 ‘‘(B) develop necessary computer models to

12 predict and assess the carbon cycle, as well as

13 other priorities requested by the Secretary and

14 the heads of other Federal agencies;

15 ‘‘(C) estimate and develop mechanisms to

16 measure carbon levels made available as a re17 sult of voluntary Federal conservation pro18 grams, private and Federal forests, and other

19 land uses; and

20 ‘‘(D) develop outreach programs, in coordi21 nation with extension services, to share infor22 mation on carbon cycle and agricultural best

23 practices that is useful to agricultural pro24 ducers.
11

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1 ‘‘(4) CONSORTIA PARTICIPANTS.—The partici2 pants in the consortia may include—

3 ‘‘(A) land-grant colleges and universities;

4 ‘‘(B) State geological surveys;

5 ‘‘(C) research centers of the National Aer6 onautics and Space Administration;

7 ‘‘(D) other Federal agencies;

8 ‘‘(E) representatives of agricultural busi9 nesses and organizations; and

10 ‘‘(F) representatives of the private sector.

11 ‘‘(5) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

12 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

13 this subsection $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years

14 2000 through 2002.

15 ‘‘(d) PROMOTION OF AGRICULTURAL BEST PRAC16 TICES.—The Secretary shall promote voluntary agricul17 tural best practices that take into account soil organic

18 matter dynamics, carbon cycle, ecology, and soil organisms

19 that will lead to the more effective use of soil resources

20 to—

21 ‘‘(1) enhance the carbon cycle;

22 ‘‘(2) improve soil quality;

23 ‘‘(3) increase the use of renewable resources;

24 and
12

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1 ‘‘(4) overcome unfavorable physical soil prop2 erties.

3 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit

4 to the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep5 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition,

6 and Forestry of the Senate an annual report that de7 scribes programs that are or will be conducted by the Sec8 retary, through land-grant colleges and universities, to

9 provide to agricultural producers the results of research

10 conducted on agricultural best practices, including the re11 sults of—

12 ‘‘(1) research;

13 ‘‘(2) future research plans;

14 ‘‘(3) consultations with appropriate scientific

15 organizations;

16 ‘‘(4) proposed extension outreach activities; and

17 ‘‘(5) findings of scientific peer review under sec18 tion 103(d)(1) of the Agricultural Research, Exten19 sion, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C.

20 7613(d)(1)).

21 ‘‘SEC. 1492. CARBON CYCLE REMOTE SENSING TECH22 NOLOGY.

23 ‘‘(a) CARBON CYCLE REMOTE SENSING TECH24 NOLOGY PROGRAM.—
13

•S 1066 RS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coopera2 tion with the Administrator of the National Aero3 nautics and Space Administration, shall develop a

4 carbon cycle remote sensing technology program—

5 ‘‘(A) to provide, on a near-continual basis,

6 a real-time and comprehensive view of vegeta7 tion conditions; and

8 ‘‘(B) to assess and model agricultural car9 bon sequestration.

10 ‘‘(2) USE OF CENTERS.—The Administrator of

11 the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

12 shall use regional earth science application centers

13 to conduct research under this section.

14 ‘‘(3) RESEARCHED AREAS.—The areas that

15 shall be the subjects of research conducted under

16 this section include—

17 ‘‘(A) the mapping of carbon-sequestering

18 land use and land cover;

19 ‘‘(B) the monitoring of changes in land

20 cover and management;

21 ‘‘(C) new systems for the remote sensing

22 of soil carbon; and

23 ‘‘(D) regional-scale carbon sequestration

24 estimation.
14

•S 1066 RS

1 ‘‘(b) REGIONAL EARTH SCIENCE APPLICATION CEN2 TER.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in coopera4 tion with the Administrator of the National Aero5 nautics and Space Administration, shall carry out

6 this section through the Regional Earth Science Ap7 plication Center located at the University of Kansas

8 (referred to in this section as the ‘Center’), if the

9 Center enters into a partnership with a land-grant

10 college or university.

11 ‘‘(2) DUTIES OF CENTER.—The Center shall

12 serve as a research facility and clearinghouse for

13 satellite data, software, research, and related infor14 mation with respect to remote sensing research con15 ducted under this section.

16 ‘‘(3) USE OF CENTER.—The Secretary, in co17 operation with the Administrator of the National

18 Aeronautics and Space Administration, shall use the

19 Center for carrying out remote sensing research re20 lating to agricultural best practices.

21 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

22 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

23 $5,000,000 for fiscal years 2000 through 2002.
15

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1 ‘‘SEC. 1493. CONSERVATION PREMIUM PAYMENTS.

2 ‘‘In addition to payments that are made by the Sec3 retary to producers under conservation programs, the Sec4 retary may offer conservation premium payments to pro5 ducers that are participating in the conservation programs

6 to compensate the producers for allowing researchers to

7 scientifically analyze, and collect information with respect

8 to, agricultural best practices that are carried out by the

9 producers as part of conservation projects and activities

10 that are funded, in whole or in part, by the Federal Gov11 ernment.

12 ‘‘SEC. 1494. ASSISTANCE FOR AGRICULTURAL BEST PRAC13 TICES AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGE14 MENT PLANS UNDER CONSERVATION PRO15 GRAMS.

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to assistance that is

17 provided by the Secretary to producers under conservation

18 programs, the Secretary, on request of the producers, shall

19 provide education through extension activities and tech20 nical and financial assistance to producers that are par21 ticipating in the conservation programs to assist the pro22 ducers in planning, designing, and installing agricultural

23 best practices and natural resource management plans es24 tablished under the conservation programs.

25 ‘‘(b) INFORMATION TO DEVELOPING NATIONS.—The

26 Secretary shall disseminate to developing nations informa-
16

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1 tion on agricultural best practices and natural resource

2 management plans that—

3 ‘‘(1) provide crucial agricultural benefits for soil

4 and water quality; and

5 ‘‘(2) increase production.

6 ‘‘SEC. 1495. CARBON CYCLE RESEARCH MONITORING SYS7 TEM.

8 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in conjunc9 tion with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and

10 Atmospheric Administration and the United States Global

11 Change Research Program, may establish a nationwide

12 carbon cycle monitoring system (referred to in this section

13 as the ‘monitoring system’) to research the flux of carbon

14 between soil, air, and water.

15 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE OF SYSTEM.—The monitoring system

16 shall focus on locating network monitors on or near agri17 cultural best practices that are—

18 ‘‘(1) undertaken voluntarily;

19 ‘‘(2) undertaken through a conservation pro20 gram of the Department of Agriculture;

21 ‘‘(3) implemented as part of a program or ac22 tivity of the Department of Agriculture; or

23 ‘‘(4) identified by the Administrator of the Na24 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
17

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1 ‘‘(c) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Sec2 retary may enter into a memorandum of understanding

3 with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and At4 mospheric Administration to ensure that research goals of

5 programs established by the Federal Government related

6 to carbon monitoring are met through the monitoring sys7 tem.

8 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

9 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subtitle

10 $10,000,000.’’.

11 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

12 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Carbon Cycle and Agri13 cultural Best Practices Research Act’’.

14 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

15 Congress finds that—

16 (1) agricultural producers in the United

17 States—

18 (A) have, in good faith, participated in

19 mandatory and voluntary conservation pro20 grams, the successes of which are unseen by the

21 general public, to preserve natural resources; and

22 (B) have a personal stake in ensuring that

23 the air, water, and soil of the United States are

24 productive since agricultural productivity di25 rectly affects—
18

•S 1066 RS

1 (i) the economic success of agricultural

2 producers; and

3 (ii) the production of food and fiber for

4 developing and developed nations;

5 (2) in addition to providing food and fiber, agri6 culture serves an environmental role by providing

7 benefits to air, soil, and water through agricultural

8 best practices;

9 (3) agricultural best practices include the more

10 efficient use of agriculture inputs and equipment;

11 (4)(A) agricultural best practices accentuate the

12 carbon cycle by increasing the conversion of carbon

13 dioxide from the air into plants that produce grain

14 and forage;

15 (B) at the end of the growing season, plant mate16 rial decomposes, adding carbon to soil;

17 (C) carbon can persist in soil for hundreds and

18 even thousands of years; and

19 (D) through conservation practices, the addi20 tional carbon in soil results in multiple environ21 mental benefits, erosion reduction, moisture retention,

22 water quality improvements, and increased crop

23 yields;

24 (5) according to the Climate Monitoring and

25 Diagnostics Laboratory of the National Oceanic and
19

•S 1066 RS

1 Atmospheric Administration, North American soils,

2 crops, rangelands, and forests absorbed an equivalent

3 quantity of carbon dioxide emitted from fossil fuel

4 combustion as part of the natural carbon cycle from

5 1988 through 1992;

6 (6) the estimated quantity of carbon stored in

7 world soils is more than twice the carbon in living

8 vegetation or in the atmosphere;

9 (7) agricultural best practices can increase the

10 quantity of carbon stored in farm soils, crops, and

11 rangeland;

12 (8) by increasing use of voluntary agricultural

13 best practices, it is possible to offset carbon dioxide

14 emissions, thereby benefiting the environment, without

15 implementing a United Nations-sponsored climate

16 change protocol or treaty;

17 (9) Federal research is needed to identify—

18 (A) the agricultural best practices that sup19 plement the natural carbon cycle; and

20 (B) Federal conservation programs that can

21 be altered to increase the environmental benefits

22 provided by the natural carbon cycle; and

23 (10) increasing soil organic carbon is widely rec24 ognized as a means of increasing agricultural produc25 tion and meeting the growing domestic and inter-
20

•S 1066 RS

1 national food consumption needs with a positive envi2 ronmental benefit.

3 SEC. 3. AGRICULTURAL BEST PRACTICES.

4 Title XIV of the National Agricultural Research, Ex5 tension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3101

6 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

7 ‘‘Subtitle N—Carbon Cycle and

8 Agricultural Best Practices

9 ‘‘SEC. 1490. DEFINITIONS.

10 ‘‘In this subtitle:

11 ‘‘(1) AGRICULTURAL BEST PRACTICE.—The term

12 ‘agricultural best practice’ means a voluntary prac13 tice used by 1 or more agricultural producers to man14 age a farm or ranch that has a beneficial or minimal

15 impact on the environment, including—

16 ‘‘(A) crop residue management;

17 ‘‘(B) soil erosion management;

18 ‘‘(C) nutrient management;

19 ‘‘(D) remote sensing;

20 ‘‘(E) precision agriculture;

21 ‘‘(F) integrated pest management;

22 ‘‘(G) animal waste management;

23 ‘‘(H) cover crop management;

24 ‘‘(I) water quality and utilization manage25 ment;
21

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1 ‘‘(J) grazing and range management;

2 ‘‘(K) wetland management;

3 ‘‘(L) buffer strip use; and

4 ‘‘(M) tree planting.

5 ‘‘(2) CONSERVATION PROGRAM.—The term ‘con6 servation program’ means a program established

7 under—

8 ‘‘(A) subtitle D of title XII of the Food Se9 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3830 et seq.);

10 ‘‘(B) section 401 or 402 of the Agricultural

11 Credit Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2201, 2202);

12 ‘‘(C) section 3 or 8 of the Watershed Protec13 tion and Flood Prevention Act (16 U.S.C. 1003,

14 1006a); or

15 ‘‘(D) any other provision of law that au16 thorizes the Secretary to make payments or pro17 vide other assistance to agricultural producers to

18 promote conservation.

19 ‘‘SEC. 1491. CARBON CYCLE AND AGRICULTURAL BEST

20 PRACTICES RESEARCH.

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Department of Agriculture

22 shall be the lead agency with respect to any agricultural

23 soil carbon research conducted by the Federal Government.

24 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH SERVICES.—
22

•S 1066 RS

1 ‘‘(1) AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE.—The

2 Secretary, acting through the Agricultural Research

3 Service, shall collaborate with other Federal agencies

4 to develop data and conduct research addressing soil

5 carbon balance and storage, making special efforts

6 to—

7 ‘‘(A) determine the effects of management

8 and conservation on soil organic carbon storage

9 in cropland and grazing land;

10 ‘‘(B) evaluate the long-term impact of till11 age and residue management systems on the ac12 cumulation of organic carbon;

13 ‘‘(C) study the transfer of organic carbon to

14 soil; and

15 ‘‘(D) study carbon storage of commodities.

16 ‘‘(2) NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERV17 ICE.—

18 ‘‘(A) RESEARCH MISSIONS.—The research

19 missions of the Secretary, acting through the

20 Natural Resources Conservation Service,

21 include—

22 ‘‘(i) the development of a soil carbon

23 database to—

24 ‘‘(I) provide online access to infor25 mation about soil carbon potential in
23

•S 1066 RS

1 a format that facilitates the use of the

2 database in making land management

3 decisions; and

4 ‘‘(II) allow additional and more

5 refined data to be linked to similar

6 databases containing information on

7 forests and rangeland;

8 ‘‘(ii) the conversion to an electronic

9 format and linkage to the national soil

10 database described in clause (i) of county11 level soil surveys and State-level soil maps;

12 ‘‘(iii) updating of State-level soil

13 maps;

14 ‘‘(iv) the linkage, for information pur15 poses only, of soil information to other soil

16 and land use databases; and

17 ‘‘(v) the completion of evaluations,

18 such as field validation and calibration, of

19 modeling, remote sensing, and statistical in20 ventory approaches to carbon stock assess21 ments related to land management practices

22 and agronomic systems at the field, re23 gional, and national levels.

24 ‘‘(B) UNIT OF INFORMATION.—The Sec25 retary, acting through the Natural Resources
24

•S 1066 RS

1 Conservation Service, shall disseminate a na2 tional basic unit of information for an assess3 ment of the carbon storage potential of soils in

4 the United States.

5 ‘‘(3) ECONOMIC RESEARCH SERVICE REPORT.—

6 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of

7 this section, the Secretary, acting through the Eco8 nomic Research Service, shall submit to the Com9 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives

10 and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and

11 Forestry of the Senate a report that analyzes the im12 pact of the financial health of the farm economy of

13 the United States under the Kyoto Protocol and other

14 international agreements under the Framework Con15 vention on Climate Change—

16 ‘‘(A) with and without market mechanisms

17 (including whether the mechanisms are permits

18 for emissions and whether the permits are issued

19 by allocation, auction, or otherwise);

20 ‘‘(B) with and without the participation of

21 developing countries;

22 ‘‘(C) with and without carbon sinks; and

23 ‘‘(D) with respect to the imposition of tradi24 tional command and control measures.
25

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1 ‘‘(4) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDU2 CATION, AND EXTENSION SERVICE.—

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Cooperative State

4 Research, Education, and Extension Service

5 shall, through land-grant colleges and univer6 sities, develop a comprehensive national carbon

7 cycle and agricultural best practices research

8 agenda.

9 ‘‘(B) RESEARCH MISSIONS.—The research

10 missions of the Secretary, acting through the Co11 operative State Research, Education, and Exten12 sion Service, include the provision, through land13 grant colleges and universities, of research oppor14 tunities to improve the scientific basis for using

15 land management practices to increase soil car16 bon sequestration needed for producers, including

17 research concerning innovative methods of using

18 biotechnology and nanotechnology.

19 ‘‘(C) ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary, acting

20 through the Cooperative State Research, Edu21 cation, and Extension Service, shall—

22 ‘‘(i) identify, develop, and evaluate ag23 ricultural best practices using partnerships

24 comprised of Federal, State, or private enti-
26

•S 1066 RS

1 ties and the Department of Agriculture, in2 cluding the Agricultural Research Service;

3 ‘‘(ii) develop necessary computer mod4 els to predict and assess the carbon cycle, as

5 well as other priorities requested by the Sec6 retary and the heads of other Federal agen7 cies;

8 ‘‘(iii) estimate and develop mecha9 nisms to measure changes in carbon levels

10 resulting from voluntary Federal conserva11 tion programs, private and Federal forests,

12 and other land uses;

13 ‘‘(iv) develop outreach programs, in co14 ordination with cooperative extension serv15 ices, to share information on carbon cycles

16 and agricultural best practices that is useful

17 to agricultural producers; and

18 ‘‘(v) research new technologies that

19 may increase carbon cycle effectiveness, such

20 as biotechnology and nanotechnology.

21 ‘‘(c) CONSORTIA.—

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may designate

23 not more than 2 carbon cycle and agricultural best

24 practices research consortia to carry out this section.
27

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1 ‘‘(2) SELECTION.—The consortia designated by

2 the Secretary shall be selected in a competitive man3 ner by the Cooperative State Research, Education,

4 and Extension Service.

5 ‘‘(3) CONSORTIA PARTICIPANTS.—The partici6 pants in the consortia may include—

7 ‘‘(A) land-grant colleges and universities;

8 ‘‘(B) State geological surveys;

9 ‘‘(C) research centers of the National Aero10 nautics and Space Administration;

11 ‘‘(D) other Federal agencies;

12 ‘‘(E) representatives of agricultural busi13 nesses and organizations; and

14 ‘‘(F) representatives of the private sector.

15 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—

16 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out

17 this subsection $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years

18 2001 through 2005.

19 ‘‘(d) PROMOTION OF AGRICULTURAL BEST PRAC20 TICES.—The Secretary shall promote voluntary agricul21 tural best practices that take into account soil organic mat22 ter dynamics, carbon cycle, ecology, and soil organisms that

23 will lead to the more effective use of soil resources to—

24 ‘‘(1) enhance the carbon cycle;

25 ‘‘(2) improve soil quality;
28

•S 1066 RS

1 ‘‘(3) increase the use of renewable resources; and

2 ‘‘(4) overcome unfavorable physical soil prop3 erties.

4 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to

5 the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representa6 tives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and

7 Forestry of the Senate an annual report that describes pro8 grams that are or will be conducted by the Secretary,

9 through land-grant colleges and universities, to provide to

10 agricultural producers the results of research conducted on

11 agricultural best practices, including the results of—

12 ‘‘(1) research;

13 ‘‘(2) future research plans;

14 ‘‘(3) consultations with appropriate scientific or15 ganizations;

16 ‘‘(4) proposed extension outreach activities; and

17 ‘‘(5) findings of scientific peer review under sec18 tion 103(d)(1) of the Agricultural Research, Exten19 sion, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C.

20 7613(d)(1)).

21 ‘‘SEC. 1492. CARBON CYCLE REMOTE SENSING TECH22 NOLOGY.

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in cooperation

24 with the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and
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1 Space Administration, shall develop a carbon cycle remote

2 sensing technology program—

3 ‘‘(1) to provide, on a near-continual basis, a

4 real-time and comprehensive view of vegetation condi5 tions; and

6 ‘‘(2) to assess and model agricultural carbon se7 questration.

8 ‘‘(b) USE OF CENTERS.—The Administrator of the Na9 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration shall use re10 gional earth science application centers to conduct research

11 under this section.

12 ‘‘(c) RESEARCHED AREAS.—The areas that shall be the

13 subjects of research conducted under this section include—

14 ‘‘(1) the mapping of carbon-sequestering land use

15 and land cover;

16 ‘‘(2) the monitoring of changes in land cover and

17 management;

18 ‘‘(3) new systems for the remote sensing of soil

19 carbon; and

20 ‘‘(4) regional-scale carbon sequestration esti21 mation.

22 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

23 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

24 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2001 through 2005.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 1493. RESEARCH INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to payments that are

3 made by the Secretary to producers under conservation pro4 grams, the Secretary may, subject to appropriations author5 ized in subsection (c), offer research incentive payments to

6 producers that are participating in the conservation pro7 grams to compensate the producers for allowing researchers

8 to scientifically analyze, and collect information with re9 spect to, agricultural best practices that are carried out by

10 the producers as part of conservation projects and activities

11 that are funded, in whole or in part, by the Federal Govern12 ment.

13 ‘‘(b) CONFIDENTIALITY.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para15 graph (2), any information submitted to the Sec16 retary under subsection (a) shall be confidential and

17 may be disclosed only if required under court order.

18 ‘‘(2) RELEASE OF INFORMATION IN AGGREGATE

19 FORM.—The Secretary may release or make public in20 formation described in paragraph (1) in an aggregate

21 or summary form that does not directly disclose the

22 identity, business transactions, or trade secrets of any

23 person that submits the information.

24 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are

25 authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary
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1 to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 2001

2 through 2005.

3 ‘‘SEC. 1494. ASSISTANCE FOR AGRICULTURAL BEST PRAC4 TICES AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGE5 MENT PLANS UNDER CONSERVATION PRO6 GRAMS.

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to assistance that is

8 provided by the Secretary to producers under conservation

9 programs, the Secretary, on request of the producers, shall

10 provide, subject to appropriations authorized in subsection

11 (c), education through extension activities and technical as12 sistance to producers that are participating in the conserva13 tion programs to assist the producers in planning, design14 ing, and installing agricultural best practices and natural

15 resource management plans established under the conserva16 tion programs.

17 ‘‘(b) INFORMATION TO DEVELOPING NATIONS.—The

18 Secretary shall disseminate to developing nations informa19 tion on agricultural best practices and natural resource

20 management plans that—

21 ‘‘(1) provide crucial agricultural benefits for soil

22 and water quality; and

23 ‘‘(2) increase production.

24 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are

25 authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary
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1 to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 2001

2 through 2005.

3 ‘‘SEC. 1495. TRACE GAS NETWORK SYSTEM.

4 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in conjunction

5 with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos6 pheric Administration, may establish a nationwide trace

7 gas network system to research the flux of carbon between

8 soil, air, and water.

9 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE OF SYSTEM.—The trace gas network

10 system shall focus on locating appropriate research equip11 ment on or near agricultural best practices that are—

12 ‘‘(1) undertaken voluntarily;

13 ‘‘(2) undertaken through a conservation program

14 of the Department of Agriculture;

15 ‘‘(3) implemented as part of a program or activ16 ity of the Department of Agriculture; or

17 ‘‘(4) identified by the Administrator of the Na18 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

19 ‘‘(c) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—The Sec20 retary may enter into a memorandum of understanding

21 with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmos22 pheric Administration to ensure that research goals of pro23 grams established by the Federal Government relating to

24 trace gas research are met through the trace gas network

25 system.
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1 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

2 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

3 $10,000,000.’’.
Calendar No. 797

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1066

[Report No. 106–407]

A BILL

To amend the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 to encourage the use of and research into agricultural

best practices to improve the environment, andfor other purposes.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2000

Reported with an amendment