I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1066

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

DECEMBER 7, 2000

Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee

on Science, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

AN ACT

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,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Carbon Cycle and Ag5 ricultural Best Practices Research Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) agricultural producers in the United

4 States—

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

6 mandatory and voluntary conservation pro7 grams, the successes of which are unseen by the

8 general public, to preserve natural resources;

9 and

10 (B) have a personal stake in ensuring that

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

12 productive since agricultural productivity di13 rectly affects—

14 (i) the economic success of agricul15 tural producers; and

16 (ii) the production of food and fiber

17 for developing and developed nations;

18 (2) in addition to providing food and fiber, agri19 culture serves an environmental role by providing

20 benefits to air, soil, and water through agricultural

21 best practices;

22 (3) agricultural best practices include the more

23 efficient use of agriculture inputs and equipment;

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

25 carbon cycle by increasing the conversion of carbon
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1 dioxide from the air into plants that produce grain

2 and forage;

3 (B) at the end of the growing season, plant ma4 terial decomposes, adding carbon to soil;

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

6 even thousands of years; and

7 (D) through conservation practices, the addi8 tional carbon in soil results in multiple environ9 mental benefits, erosion reduction, moisture reten10 tion, water quality improvements, and increased crop

11 yields;

12 (5) according to the Climate Monitoring and

13 Diagnostics Laboratory of the National Oceanic and

14 Atmospheric Administration, North American soils,

15 crops, rangelands, and forests absorbed an equiva16 lent quantity of carbon dioxide emitted from fossil

17 fuel combustion as part of the natural carbon cycle

18 from 1988 through 1992;

19 (6) the estimated quantity of carbon stored in

20 world soils is more than twice the carbon in living

21 vegetation or in the atmosphere;

22 (7) agricultural best practices can increase the

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

24 rangeland;
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1 (8) by increasing use of voluntary agricultural

2 best practices, it is possible to offset carbon dioxide

3 emissions, thereby benefiting the environment, with4 out implementing a United Nations-sponsored cli5 mate change protocol or treaty;

6 (9) Federal research is needed to identify—

7 (A) the agricultural best practices that

8 supplement the natural carbon cycle; and

9 (B) Federal conservation programs that

10 can be altered to increase the environmental

11 benefits provided by the natural carbon cycle;

12 and

13 (10) increasing soil organic carbon is widely

14 recognized as a means of increasing agricultural pro15 duction and meeting the growing domestic and inter16 national food consumption needs with a positive en17 vironmental benefit.

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:
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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.);
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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—
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1 ‘‘(A) determine the effects of management

2 and conservation on soil organic carbon storage

3 in cropland 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
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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.
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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 ‘‘(4) COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDU22 CATION, AND EXTENSION SERVICE.—

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

24 Research, Education, and Extension Service

25 shall, through land-grant colleges and univer-
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1 sities, develop a comprehensive national carbon

2 cycle and agricultural best practices research

3 agenda.

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

5 missions of the Secretary, acting through the

6 Cooperative State Research, Education, and

7 Extension Service, include the provision,

8 through land-grant colleges and universities, of

9 research opportunities to improve the scientific

10 basis for using land management practices to

11 increase soil carbon sequestration needed for

12 producers, including research concerning inno13 vative methods of using biotechnology and

14 nanotechnology.

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

16 through the Cooperative State Research, Edu17 cation, and Extension Service, shall—

18 ‘‘(i) identify, develop, and evaluate ag19 ricultural best practices using partnerships

20 comprised of Federal, State, or private en21 tities and the Department of Agriculture,

22 including the Agricultural Research Serv23 ice;

24 ‘‘(ii) develop necessary computer mod25 els to predict and assess the carbon cycle,
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1 as well as other priorities requested by the

2 Secretary and the heads of other Federal

3 agencies;

4 ‘‘(iii) estimate and develop mecha5 nisms to measure changes in carbon levels

6 resulting from voluntary Federal conserva7 tion programs, private and Federal forests,

8 and other land uses;

9 ‘‘(iv) develop outreach programs, in

10 coordination with cooperative extension

11 services, to share information on carbon

12 cycles and agricultural best practices that

13 is useful to agricultural producers; and

14 ‘‘(v) research new technologies that

15 may increase carbon cycle effectiveness,

16 such as biotechnology and nanotechnology.

17 ‘‘(c) CONSORTIA.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may des19 ignate not more than 2 carbon cycle and agricultural

20 best practices research consortia to carry out this

21 section.

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

23 the Secretary shall be selected in a competitive man24 ner by the Cooperative State Research, Education,

25 and Extension Service.
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1 ‘‘(3) 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 ‘‘(4) 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 2001 through 2005.

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
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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) 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 con5 ditions; and

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

8 ‘‘(b) USE OF CENTERS.—The Administrator of the

9 National Aeronautics and Space Administration shall use

10 regional earth science application centers to conduct re11 search under this section.

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

13 the subjects of research conducted under this section

14 include—

15 ‘‘(1) the mapping of carbon-sequestering land

16 use and land cover;

17 ‘‘(2) the monitoring of changes in land cover

18 and management;

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

20 carbon; and

21 ‘‘(4) regional-scale carbon sequestration esti22 mation.

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

24 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

25 $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

4 programs, the Secretary may, subject to appropriations

5 authorized in subsection (c), offer research incentive pay6 ments to producers that are participating in the conserva7 tion programs to compensate the producers for allowing

8 researchers to scientifically analyze, and collect informa9 tion with respect to, agricultural best practices that are

10 carried out by the producers as part of conservation

11 projects and activities that are funded, in whole or in part,

12 by the Federal Government.

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

20 information described in paragraph (1) in an aggre21 gate or summary form that does not directly disclose

22 the identity, business transactions, or trade secrets

23 of any person that submits the information.

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

25 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec-
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1 essary to carry out this section for each of fiscal years

2 2001 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

12 assistance to producers that are participating in the con13 servation programs to assist the producers in planning,

14 designing, and installing agricultural best practices and

15 natural resource management plans established under the

16 conservation 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

25 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec-
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1 essary to carry out this section for each of fiscal years

2 2001 through 2005.

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

4 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in conjunc5 tion with the Administrator of the National Oceanic and

6 Atmospheric Administration, may establish a nationwide

7 trace gas network system to research the flux of carbon

8 between 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 pro14 gram of the Department of Agriculture;

15 ‘‘(3) implemented as part of a program or ac16 tivity 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 At22 mospheric Administration to ensure that research goals of

23 programs established by the Federal Government relating

24 to trace gas research are met through the trace gas net25 work system.
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1 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

2 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

3 $10,000,000.’’.

Passed the Senate October 17 (legislative day, September 22), 2000.

Attest: GARY SISCO,

Secretary.