I 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2144 

To extend and enhance farm, nutrition, and community development programs 

of the Department of Agriculture, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 3, 2007 

Ms. DELAURO (for herself, Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. MURPHY of Connecticut, Ms. 

WOOLSEY, Mr. ROTHMAN, Mr. GERLACH, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. 

SHAYS, Mr. ALLEN, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr. COURTNEY, Ms. KAPTUR, Mr. 

LARSON of Connecticut, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. HODES, Mr. CASTLE, 

Mr. ARCURI, Mr. FARR, Mr. WELCH of Vermont, Mr. MCHUGH, Mr. 

REYNOLDS, Ms. SHEA-PORTER, and Mr. OLVER) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition 

to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Education and Labor, and 

Ways and Means, 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 

A BILL 

To extend and enhance farm, nutrition, and community development programs of the Department of Agriculture, 

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, 

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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Farm, Nutrition, and Community Investment Act of 

4 2007’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

TITLE I—MARKET AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 

Subtitle A—Farm and Ranch Profitability Grant Program 

Sec. 101. Availability and purpose of grants. 

Sec. 102. Allocations to States. 

Sec. 103. Grant expenditures and allowable uses. 

Sec. 104. State eligibility and accountability. 

Sec. 105. Funding. 

Sec. 106. Definitions. 

Subtitle B—Miscellaneous Provisions 

Sec. 111. Eligibility of certain agricultural producers for certain rural development programs. 

Sec. 112. Technical assistance for specialty crops. 

Sec. 113. Market access program. 

TITLE II—CONSERVATION 

Subtitle A—Changes to Existing Conservation Programs 

Sec. 201. Environmental quality incentives program. 

Sec. 202. Delivery of technical assistance. 

Sec. 203. Cooperative conservation partnership initiative. 

Sec. 204. Conservation loan guarantee program. 

Sec. 205. Pilot program for comprehensive conservation planning. 

Sec. 206. Conservation application process. 

Sec. 207. Minimum base allocation to States in funding of certain Department 

of Agriculture conservation programs. 

Sec. 208. Conservation security program. 

Sec. 209. Reauthorization of and increased funding for farmland protection 

program. 

Sec. 210. Farmland Protection Policy Act. 

Sec. 211. Debt for agricultural easements. 

Sec. 212. Planning for agriculture grants. 

Sec. 213. Exclusion of payments under Department of Agriculture conservation 

programs from adjusted gross income limitation. 

Sec. 214. Reauthorization of and increased funding for wildlife habitat incentive 

program. 

Sec. 215. Conservation reserve program. 

Sec. 216. Wetlands reserve program. 

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Sec. 217. Pilot program for conservation risk management. 

Subtitle B—Conservation Corridor Demonstration Program 

Sec. 221. Conservation corridor demonstration program. 

Sec. 222. Implementation of conservation corridor plan. 

Sec. 223. Funding requirements. 

Sec. 224. Relation to existing program. 

TITLE III—ENERGY 

Sec. 301. Definition of biomass. 

Sec. 302. Research on biobased products. 

Sec. 303. Development of biorefineries. 

Sec. 304. Energy audit and renewable energy development program. 

Sec. 305. Renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements program. 

Sec. 306. Biomass research and development. 

Sec. 307. Cooperative research and extension projects for carbon cycle, renewable energy, and climate change in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United States. 

Sec. 308. Industrial site redevelopment through cellulosic program. 

Sec. 309. Farm and ranch energy efficiency rebate program. 

Sec. 310. Alternative uses for biofuel byproducts. 

Sec. 311. National net metering for farm energy. 

TITLE IV—HEALTHY DIETS 

Sec. 401. Expansion of fresh fruit and vegetable program. 

Sec. 402. Section 32 specialty crop purchases. 

Sec. 403. School preference study. 

Sec. 404. Independent evaluation of Department of Agriculture commodity purchase process. 

Sec. 405. Allow geographic preferences in food purchasing programs. 

Sec. 406. Authorization level for farm-to-cafeteria activities. 

Sec. 407. Extension of WIC farmer’s market nutrition program. 

Sec. 408. Senior farmers’ market nutrition program. 

Sec. 409. Disabled farmers market nutrition pilot program. 

Sec. 410. Farmers’ market promotion program. 

Sec. 411. Department of Defense and Department of Agriculture procurement 

of locally produced fruits and vegetables. 

TITLE V—FORESTRY 

Sec. 501. National and State forest prioritization and planning. 

Sec. 502. Healthy forests reserve program. 

Sec. 503. Community forest and open space conservation program. 

TITLE VI—NUTRITION 

Subtitle A—Food Stamp Program 

Sec. 601. Preventing reductions in benefits. 

Sec. 602. Strengthening the food purchasing power of low-income americans. 

Sec. 603. Child care deduction. 

Sec. 604. Exclusion of combat-related military pay from countable income. 

Sec. 605. Exclusion of retirement accounts from countable financial resources. 

Sec. 606. Allowable countable resources. 

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Sec. 607. Facilitating simplified reporting. 

Sec. 608. Simplifying work requirement. 

Sec. 609. Minimum benefit. 

Sec. 610. Reauthorization of food stamp program and food distribution program on Indian reservations. 

Sec. 611. Accountability for paperwork requirements. 

Sec. 612. Performance standards for biometric technology. 

Sec. 613. Preventing conflicts of interest. 

Sec. 614. Limitation on contracting. 

Sec. 615. Fairness for legal immigrants. 

Sec. 616. Clarifying eligibility. 

Sec. 617. Ensuring proper screening. 

Sec. 618. Clarification of simplified administrative reporting requirement. 

Subtitle B—Other Nutrition Programs 

Sec. 631. Commodities for the emergency food assistance program. 

Sec. 632. Reauthorize the commodity supplemental food program (CSFP). 

Sec. 633. Reauthorization of and increased funding for community food project 

competitive grants. 

TITLE VII—CROP INSURANCE 

Sec. 701. Reauthorization of and additional funding for agricultural management assistance program. 

Sec. 702. Reauthorization, expansion, and improvement of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) insurance pilot program. 

Sec. 703. Crop insurance incentives for beginning farmers. 

Sec. 704. Crop insurance appeals. 

Sec. 705. Expanded coverage based on historical data. 

Sec. 706. Coverage area flexibility. 

Sec. 707. Provision of organic insurance programs. 

Sec. 708. Education and risk management assistance. 

TITLE VIII—DAIRY 

Sec. 801. Continuation of the milk income loss contract program. 

Sec. 802. Minimum price for Class I milk under Federal milk marketing orders. 

Sec. 803. Dairy export incentive and dairy indemnity programs. 

Sec. 804. Funding of dairy promotion and research program. 

Sec. 805. Federal milk marketing orders. 

Sec. 806. Dairy processing equipment loan guarantee fund. 

Sec. 807. Federal loan forgiveness program. 

Sec. 808. Mandatory reporting of dairy commodities. 

TITLE IX—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

Sec. 901. National organic transition and stewardship incentive program. 

Sec. 902. National organic technical committee. 

Sec. 903. National organic certification cost share program. 

Sec. 904. Exclusion of 100 percent of gain on sales of development rights or 

conservation easments on agricultural land to eligible entities 

for conservation purposes. 

Sec. 905. Establishment of research grants program for producers to improve 

survivability of speciality crops and livestock. 

Sec. 906. National clean plant network. 

Sec. 907. Early pest detection and surveillance improvement program. 

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1 TITLE I—MARKET AND 

2 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 

3 Subtitle A—Farm and Ranch 

4 Profitability Grant Program 

5 SEC. 101. AVAILABILITY AND PURPOSE OF GRANTS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 2008 

7 through 2013, the Secretary shall make a grant under this 

8 section to each State, through its State Department of Ag9 riculture, that has an approved 3-year strategic plan and 

10 has submitted an annual work plan and annual report in 

11 accordance with the terms and conditions established 

12 under section (4). 

13 (b) PURPOSE OF GRANTS.—The objective of these 

14 grants is to improve the profitability of America’s farms 

15 and ranches, increase self-employment opportunities for 

16 farmers and ranchers, revitalize local and regional food 

17 systems, increase wealth and asset-building in rural com18 munities; and encourage entrepreneurship and innovation 

19 in farming and ranching by funding State, local and farm20 level programs and projects that address— 

21 (1) farm viability and diversification; 

22 (2) market development and promotion; 

23 (3) product development/differentiation and 

24 promotion; 

25 (4) consumer education; 

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1 (5) business planning; 

2 (6) alternate ownership models and structures; 

3 (7) local and regional infrastructure needs; or 

4 (8) local and regional food security needs. 

5 (c) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—The State shall 

6 provide assurances to the Secretary, as part of its annual 

7 accounting required under section 104, that funds pro8 vided to the State under this section have been used only 

9 to supplement, not to supplant, the amount of State funds 

10 otherwise expended in support of the permitted grant uses. 

11 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE AND PLANNING EXPENSES.— 

12 Not more than 5 percent of funds provided annually under 

13 this section may be used by the State for administrative 

14 and planning expenses. 

15 SEC. 102. ALLOCATIONS TO STATES. 

16 (a) Fifteen percent of any funding allocated annually 

17 under this subtitle shall be allocated equally among States 

18 as a minimum base grant amount. Subject to the appro19 priation of sufficient funds, each eligible State shall re20 ceive at least $3,000,000 each fiscal year as a minimum 

21 grant amount under this section. 

22 (b) Beginning in fiscal year 2009, and for each fiscal 

23 year thereafter, 15 percent of the amount of the funds 

24 allocated under this subtitle shall be distributed to States 

25 as bonus payments. Bonus payments shall be awarded 

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1 equally among those States that match at least 30 percent 

2 of the prior year’s Federal allocation under this subtitle 

3 with an equivalent amount of State, local or private funds, 

4 or combination thereof. 

5 (c) All remaining funds allocated to States under this 

6 subtitle shall bear the same ration to the total amount 

7 made available under this section for that fiscal year as 

8 a composite index, weighted equally, of the market value 

9 of agricultural sales and the number of farms in the State 

10 during the preceding calendar year bears to the composite, 

11 weighted equally, of the market value of agricultural sales 

12 and the number of farms in all States receiving grants 

13 under this section in the fiscal year. 

14 SEC. 103. GRANT EXPENDITURES AND ALLOWABLE USES. 

15 (a) ELIGIBLE GRANT RECIPIENTS.—To achieve the 

16 objectives of these grants, a State department of agri17 culture may use grant funds provided under this title to 

18 supplement funding for State programs, projects and ini19 tiatives, and/or to provide grants to any of the following: 

20 (1) Producers. 

21 (2) Local and regional government entities. 

22 (3) Agricultural cooperatives. 

23 (4) Agricultural processors. 

24 (5) Non-profit organizations. 

25 (6) Research institutions. 

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1 (b) PERMITTED USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—A State 

2 may use grant funds received under this section for any 

3 of the following purposes: 

4 (1) To provide marketing or business develop5 ment assistance to producers. 

6 (2) To promote product development or dif7 ferentiation. 

8 (3) To encourage direct-to-consumer market op9 portunities such as— 

10 (A) farmers markets; 

11 (B) buy-local campaigns; 

12 (C) agri-tourism; and 

13 (D) on-farm retail market opportunities. 

14 (4) To rebuild local and regional food systems 

15 through planning or development of agricultural 

16 processing facilities or other infrastructure that en17 hances or adds value to agricultural products grown 

18 within the State. 

19 (5) To match State funding for— 

20 (A) farm viability programs; 

21 (B) agriculture innovation centers; and 

22 (C) recreational walk-in or access pro23 grams. 

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1 (6) To encourage profitable business models 

2 and develop alternative ownership structures and 

3 new business succession models. 

4 (7) To increase consumer awareness of agricul5 tural products and services grown and provided 

6 within the State, including advertising and pro7 motional campaigns. 

8 (8) To provide direct grants to producers for 

9 farm infrastructure or equipment needs that— 

10 (A) add value to a commodity produced; or 

11 (B) will allow for the transition to a new 

12 agricultural enterprise. 

13 (9) To provide technical, legal and other sup14 port to beginning and/or socially disadvantaged 

15 farmers. 

16 (10) To assist county and local governments in 

17 planning for agriculture, including the land use and 

18 infrastructure needs of local producers. 

19 (11) To address food safety issues, including 

20 training. 

21 (12) To enhance the competitiveness of spe22 cialty crops, including applied research. 

23 (c) PROHIBITED USE OF GRANTS FUNDS.—A State 

24 may not use grant funds received under this section to 

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1 directly subsidize the price of an agricultural commodity 

2 in the market. 

3 (d) MAXIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—A State may not 

4 award more than 33 percent of the funds it receives under 

5 this section in any fiscal year to any single project, pro6 posal or program. 

7 SEC. 104. STATE ELIGIBILITY AND ACCOUNTABILITY. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a grant 

9 a State must have a 3-year strategic plan reviewed by that 

10 State’s Federal Food and Agricultural Council and ap11 proved by the Secretary of Agriculture. Strategic plans 

12 shall be prepared and submitted in the first and fourth 

13 fiscal years in which funds are available under this section. 

14 A strategic plan shall include the information required in 

15 subsection (b) as well as any other information the Sec16 retary may require by regulation. Within 90 days after 

17 the end of each fiscal year in which a State is allocated 

18 grant funds under this subtitle, a State shall submit a re19 port of the previous fiscal year’s activities. The report 

20 shall include the information required in subsection (c) as 

21 well as any other information the Secretary may require 

22 by regulation. 

23 (b) STRATEGIC PLAN.—A strategic plan shall reflect 

24 the diversity of the State’s agricultural sector, including 

25 the production, processing, marketing, and distribution of 

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1 its food and agricultural products, and must include the 

2 following: 

3 (1) The State’s vision for meeting the purposes 

4 of the title. 

5 (2) The State’s 3-year plan for achieving that 

6 vision, including goals, objectives, measurable out7 comes and yearly milestones toward completion. 

8 (3) An explanation of how the plan reflects the 

9 diversity of the State’s agricultural sector, and the 

10 method by which the State has and will continue to 

11 solicit the input of the agricultural sector in devel12 oping the plan, setting grant priorities and selecting 

13 projects. 

14 (4) A year-by-year work plan, including— 

15 (A) general project areas that will be fund16 ed; 

17 (B) percent of funding anticipated for each 

18 project area; and 

19 (C) the expected project selection process 

20 for each fiscal year. 

21 (c) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Within 90 days after the 

22 end of every fiscal year, a State shall submit a report of 

23 the previous fiscal year’s activities, including an account24 ing of projects funded, non-Federal funds leveraged, mile25 posts completed, outcomes achieved, and unobligated 

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1 funds remaining. The annual report shall also include an 

2 updated work plan for the current fiscal year. 

3 (d) REVIEW OF STRATEGIC PLANS AND ANNUAL RE4 PORTS.—In reviewing the strategic plan submitted under 

5 subsection (b), the State’s Federal Food and Agricultural 

6 Council shall ensure that the plan reflects the diversity 

7 of the State’s agricultural sector and will carry out the 

8 purposes of the grant program. The Council shall submit 

9 the plan and its recommendation to the Secretary regard10 ing the plan within 45 days of receipt of the plan. The 

11 Secretary may request that a State make changes to its 

12 strategic plan or may reject a State’s strategic plan, but 

13 must give a State an opportunity to resubmit a revised 

14 plan. The State’s Food and Agricultural Council shall also 

15 review the annual report required under subsection (c), 

16 and shall forward the report and the Council’s rec17 ommendations, if any, regarding the State’s annual work 

18 plan to the Secretary within 45 days of receipt of the re19 port. The Secretary may request that a State make 

20 changes to its annual work plan in order to more fully 

21 reflect the priorities of the State’s strategic plan or the 

22 goals of the program. 

23 (e) UNOBLIGATED FUNDS.—Any funds not obligated 

24 by a State within 2 fiscal years shall be remitted back 

25 to the Secretary for redistribution in the next fiscal year. 

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1 (f) EFFECT OF NONCOMPLIANCE.—If the Secretary, 

2 after reasonable notice to a State, finds that there has 

3 been a failure by the State to comply with the require4 ments under section 101(c) or section 104(b) or (c), is 

5 not substantially meeting the outcomes and milestones de6 scribed in its strategic and yearly work plans, is not meet7 ing the purposes of the grant program or is not funding 

8 projects reflective of the diversity of the State’s agricul9 tural sector, the Secretary may disqualify, for 1 or more 

10 years, the State from receipt of future grants under this 

11 title. 

12 (g) AUDIT REQUIREMENTS.—The State shall submit 

13 an annual audit to the Secretary, through the Agricultural 

14 Marketing Service. A State may use no more than 2 per15 cent of the total funds awarded to it under this section 

16 to perform this audit. 

17 SEC. 105. FUNDING. 

18 The Secretary shall use $1,000,000,000 of funds of 

19 the Commodity Credit Corporation during each of fiscal 

20 years 2008 through 2013 to carry out the purposes of this 

21 subtitle. 

22 SEC. 106. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this title: 

24 (1) The term ‘‘State’’ means the 50 States. 

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1 (2) The term ‘‘State department of agriculture’’ 

2 means the agency, commission, or department of a 

3 State government responsible for agriculture within 

4 the State; 

5 (3) The term ‘‘producer’’ has the meaning given 

6 such term by the Department of Agriculture for the 

7 purpose of the Census of Agriculture. 

8 Subtitle B—Miscellaneous 

9 Provisions 

10 SEC. 111. ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN AGRICULTURAL PRO11 DUCERS FOR CERTAIN RURAL DEVELOP12 MENT PROGRAMS. 

13 An agricultural producer or entity that is substan14 tially owned and operated by agricultural producers shall 

15 not be required to be located in, or pursuing a project in 

16 a rural area for purposes of eligibility for programs admin17 istered under the following provisions of law: 

18 (1) Section 313 and title V of the Rural Elec19 trification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 940c and 950aa et 

20 seq.). 

21 (2) Subtitle G of title XVI of the Food, Agri22 culture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 

23 U.S.C. 5901 et seq.). 

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1 (3) Sections 306(a)(1) and 310B of the Con2 solidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 

3 U.S.C. 1926(a)(1) and 1932). 

4 (4) Section 1323 of the Food Security Act of 

5 1985 (Public Law 99–198; 7 U.S.C. 1932 note). 

6 (5) The Act of July 2, 1926 (44 Stat. 802, 

7 chapter 725; 7 U.S.C. 451 et seq.). 

8 (6) Any other provision of law under which a 

9 program is administered by the Rural Business and 

10 Cooperative Development Service. 

11 SEC. 112. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR SPECIALTY CROPS. 

12 (a) FUNDING AND CARRYOVER OF FUNDING.—Sub13 section (d) of section 3205 of the Farm Security and 

14 Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 5680) is amended 

15 to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(d) FUNDING AND CARRYOVER OF FUNDING.— 

17 ‘‘(1) FUNDING.—To carry out the program, the 

18 Secretary shall make available funds of the Com19 modity Credit Corporation, or an equal value of 

20 commodities owned by the Commodity credit Cor21 poration, in the amount of— 

22 ‘‘(A) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

23 ‘‘(B) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

24 ‘‘(C) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; and 

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1 ‘‘(D) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

2 2011, 2012, and 2013. 

3 ‘‘(2) CARRYOVER OF FUNDING.—Funds made 

4 available for the program under paragraph (1) or 

5 under section 201 of the Specialty Crops Competi6 tiveness Act of 2004 (Public Law 108–465; 118 

7 Stat. 3884) shall remain available until expended.’’. 

8 (b) FLEXIBILITY.—Such section is further amended 

9 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(e) FLEXIBILITY.—In providing technical assistance 

11 under the program, the Secretary shall provide for case12 by-case extensions, upon the approval of the Administrator 

13 of the Foreign Agricultural Service, of time frames pro14 vided by regulations in connection with that assistance.’’. 

15 SEC. 113. MARKET ACCESS PROGRAM. 

16 Section 211(c)(1)(A) of the Agricultural Trade Act 

17 of 1978 (7 U.S.C. 5641(c)(1)(A)) is amended— 

18 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ before ‘‘$200,000,000’’; 

19 and 

20 (2) by inserting ‘‘and $350,000,000 for each of 

21 the fiscal years 2008 through 2013,’’ after ‘‘2007,’’. 

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1 TITLE II—CONSERVATION 

2 Subtitle A—Changes to Existing 

3 Conservation Programs 

4 SEC. 201. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PRO5 GRAM. 

6 (a) EXTENSION.— 

7 (1) FUNDING EXTENSION AND INCREASE.— 

8 Section 1241(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

9 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)) is amended by striking para10 graph (6) and inserting the following new para11 graph: 

12 ‘‘(6) The environmental quality incentives pro13 gram under Chapter 4, using, to the maximum ex14 tent practicable, $2,000,000,000 in each of fiscal 

15 years 2008 through 2013.’’. 

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

17 1240B of such Act is amended (16 U.S.C. 3839aa– 

18 2)— 

19 (A) in subsection (a)(1), by striking 

20 ‘‘2010’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’; and 

21 (B) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘2007’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘2013’’. 

23 (b) PURPOSES.—Section 1240 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

24 3839aa) is amended— 

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1 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, conserving 

2 energy,’’ after ‘‘resources’’; and 

3 (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘and con4 serve energy,’’ after ‘‘wildlife’’. 

5 (c) BIDDING DOWN.—Subsection (c) of section 

6 1240B of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2) is amended to 

7 read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(c) BIDDING DOWN.—The Secretary shall not as9 sign a higher priority to any application because the appli10 cant is willing to accept a lower cost-share or incentive 

11 payment than the applicant would otherwise be entitled 

12 to receive. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed 

13 to relieve the Secretary of the obligation, when evaluating 

14 applications for cost-share payments and incentive pay15 ments, to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the proposed 

16 conservation practices, systems, and approaches described 

17 in the applications and to prioritize the most cost-effective 

18 applications, as required by section 1240C(1).’’. 

19 (d) EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS FOR COST

20 SHARE PAYMENTS AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—Section 

21 1240C of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–3) is amended to 

22 read as follows: 

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1 ‘‘SEC. 1240C. EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS FOR 

2 COSTSHARE PAYMENTS AND INCENTIVE PAY3 MENTS. 

4 ‘‘In evaluating applications for cost-share payments 

5 and incentive payments, the Secretary shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) prioritize applications based on their over7 all level of cost-effectiveness to ensure that the con8 servation practices, systems, and approaches pro9 posed are the most efficient means of achieving the 

10 anticipated and desired environmental benefits of the 

11 project; 

12 ‘‘(2) prioritize applications based on how effec13 tively and comprehensively the project addresses the 

14 designated resource concern or resource concerns; 

15 ‘‘(3) reward higher levels of environmental per16 formance, such as advanced levels of management 

17 within land management practices; 

18 ‘‘(4) develop criteria for evaluating applications 

19 that will ensure that national, State, and local con20 servation priorities are effectively addressed; and 

21 ‘‘(5) prioritize applications that will improve en22 vironmental performance or resource conservation on 

23 existing agricultural operations.’’. 

24 (e) COST SHARE PAYMENT EXCEPTION.—Subsection 

25 (d)(2)(A) of section 1240B of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

26 3839aa–2) is amended to read as follows: 

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1 ‘‘(A) LIMITED RESOURCE AND BEGINNING

2 FARMERS.—The Secretary may increase the 

3 amount provided to a producer under para4 graph (1) to not more than 90 percent if the 

5 producer is a limited resource or beginning 

6 farmer or rancher, as determined by the Sec7 retary, but in no event shall the cost share pay8 ment under this paragraph be less than 15 per9 cent more than the payment that the Secretary 

10 may determine under paragraph (1).’’. 

11 (f) CONSERVATION INNOVATION GRANTS.—Section 

12 1240H of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–8) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘may’’ and in14 serting ‘‘shall’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘may’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘shall’’; 

18 (B) by striking the ‘‘; and’’ at the end of 

19 paragraph (2)(B) and inserting the following 

20 new subparagraph: 

21 ‘‘(C) methane digester research; and’’. 

22 (C) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para23 graph (2); 

24 (D) by striking the period at the end of 

25 paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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1 (E) by adding at the end the following new 

2 paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(4) include a plan for technology transfer.’’; 

4 and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub6 sections: 

7 ‘‘(d) TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.—To the maximum 

8 extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure efficient, ef9 fective transfer of innovative technologies and approaches 

10 demonstrated through projects that receive funding under 

11 this section. 

12 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.—In addition to amounts made avail13 able under section 1241(a)(6) to carry out this chapter, 

14 the Secretary shall use funds of the Commodity Credit 

15 Corporation to carry out this section in the following 

16 amounts: 

17 ‘‘(1) 40,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

18 ‘‘(2) 50,000,000 for fiscal year 2009. 

19 ‘‘(3) 60,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

20 ‘‘(4) 75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2011 

21 through 2013.’’. 

22 (g) PERFORMANCE INCENTIVES FOR STATES.— 

23 Chapter 4 of subtitle D of title XII of such Act is amended 

24 by adding at the end the following new section: 

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1 ‘‘SEC. 1240J. PERFORMANCE INCENTIVES FOR STATES. 

2 ‘‘(a) HIGH LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE BONUS.—For 

3 each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013, 10 percent of the 

4 funds made available under this chapter shall be reserved 

5 by the Secretary for bonus allocations to States that dem6 onstrate a high level of performance in implementing the 

7 environmental quality incentives program. 

8 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS.—In evaluating 

9 State performance under subsection (a), the Secretary 

10 shall reward States that— 

11 ‘‘(1) consistently meet the requirements of sec12 tion 1240C in evaluating offers and payments; 

13 ‘‘(2) dedicate a portion of their annual environ14 mental quality incentives program allocation to 

15 multi-producer cooperative efforts to address specific 

16 resource concerns; 

17 ‘‘(3) collaborate with other Federal and State 

18 agencies, local governments, educational institutions, 

19 and for-profit and nonprofit organizations to mon20 itor and evaluate the environmental outcomes associ21 ated with implementation of the environmental qual22 ity incentives program; 

23 ‘‘(4) demonstrate effective and efficient pro24 gram delivery, including the provision of adequate 

25 technical assistance to all program participants 

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1 tion with other Federal, State, Tribal, and local 

2 agencies, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, and 

3 individuals with demonstrated expertise in the plan4 ning and implementation of conservation practices, 

5 systems, and approaches; 

6 ‘‘(5) support and encourage innovative ap7 proaches to addressing resource concerns; 

8 ‘‘(6) effectively leverage Federal funding with 

9 local and State matching funds; and 

10 ‘‘(7) demonstrate effective outreach and innova11 tive approaches to reaching and serving beginning 

12 farmers and ranchers, limited-resource producers, 

13 and operators with lower rates of historical partici14 pation in Federal farm and conservation programs.’’. 

15 SEC. 202. DELIVERY OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

16 (a) Subsection (a)(2) of section 1242 of the Food Se17 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842) is amended to read 

18 as follows: 

19 ‘‘(2) at the option of the producer, through a 

20 payment, as determined by the Secretary, to an ap21 proved third party or technical service provider, if 

22 available.’’. 

23 (b) Subsection (b)(1)(B) of section 1242 of the Food 

24 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842) is amended to read 

25 as follows: 

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1 ‘‘(B) establishing the amounts and meth2 ods for payments for that assistance, provided 

3 that payment rates reflect reasonable market 

4 conditions for the region in which the assistance 

5 would be provided.’’. 

6 (c) Subsection (b)(3) of section 1242 of the Food Se7 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842) is amended to read 

8 as follows: 

9 ‘‘(3) COMPETITIVE BIDDING.—The Secretary 

10 may accept bids from and enter into annual or 

11 multi-year contracts and agreements with approved 

12 third parties to provide technical assistance to pro13 ducers eligible for assistance under this title.’’. 

14 (d) Subsection (b)(4) of section 1242 of the Food Se15 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842) is amended by strik16 ing ‘‘Secretary may request’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary 

17 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, request’’. 

18 (e) Subsection (b)(1) of section 1241 of the Food Se19 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841) is amended to read 

20 as follows: 

21 ‘‘(1) shall be available for the provision of tech22 nical assistance for the programs for which funds 

23 are made available beginning with the time that the 

24 producer submits a bona fide application for assist25 ance under that program; and’’. 

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1 SEC. 203. COOPERATIVE CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP 

2 INITIATIVE. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.—Subtitle 

4 D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 is amend5 ed by adding at the end the following new chapter: 

6 ‘‘CHAPTER 6—COOPERATIVE CONSERVA7 TION PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE 

8 ‘‘SEC. 1240W. COOPERATIVE CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP 

9 INITIATIVE. 

10 ‘‘(a) GRANTS AND AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary 

11 shall make grants and enter into agreements for not short12 er than 2-year or longer than 5-year terms with eligible 

13 entities specified in subsection (c) to preferentially enroll 

14 producers in 1 or more of the programs specified in sub15 section (b) to carry out special projects and initiatives 

16 through which multiple producers and other interested 

17 persons cooperate to address specific resources of concern 

18 related to agricultural production on a local, State, or re19 gional scale. 

20 ‘‘(b) COVERED PROGRAMS.—The conservation pro21 grams referred to in subsection (a) are the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) Conservation reserve program, but only 

23 the continuous signup portion of the program. 

24 ‘‘(2) Conservation reserve enhancement pro25 gram. 

26 ‘‘(3) Environmental quality incentives program. 

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1 ‘‘(4) Farmland protection program. 

2 ‘‘(5) Grassland reserve program. 

3 ‘‘(6) Ground and surface water conservation 

4 program. 

5 ‘‘(7) Wetland reserve program. 

6 ‘‘(8) Wildlife habitat incentive program. 

7 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE PARTNERS.—Grants may be made or 

8 agreements may be entered into under this section with 

9 any of the following (or a combination thereof): 

10 ‘‘(1) States and agencies of States. 

11 ‘‘(2) Political subdivisions of States, including 

12 State-sponsored conservation districts. 

13 ‘‘(3) Indian tribes. 

14 ‘‘(4) Nongovernmental organizations and asso15 ciations, including producer associations, farmer co16 operatives, extension associations, and conservation 

17 organizations with a history of working cooperatively 

18 with producers to effectively address resource con19 cerns related to agricultural production, as deter20 mined by the Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.—The Secretary 

23 shall establish a competitive process for considering 

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1 tion consistent with the evaluation criteria listed in 

2 subsection (e). 

3 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM ALLOCATION.—Applications 

4 shall include— 

5 ‘‘(A) specification of the amount of fund6 ing or acres, or both, of 1 or more covered pro7 grams specified in subsection (b) proposed to be 

8 allocated to carry out the special project or ini9 tiative; and 

10 ‘‘(B) a schedule for utilization of funding 

11 or acres over the life of the proposed project or 

12 initiative. 

13 ‘‘(e) EVALUATION CRITERIA.—In evaluating applica14 tions for grants or agreements under this section the Sec15 retary shall consider the extent to which— 

16 ‘‘(1) preferential enrollment in the covered pro17 grams specified in the application will effectively ad18 dress the environmental objectives established for 

19 the special project or initiative; and 

20 ‘‘(2) the special project or initiative covered by 

21 the application— 

22 ‘‘(A) enjoys local and regional support 

23 from producers and other interested persons, 

24 including governmental and nongovernmental 

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1 organizations with appropriate expertise on the 

2 issues the project or initiative seeks to address; 

3 ‘‘(B) includes clear environmental objec4 tives and a high likelihood of success; 

5 ‘‘(C) includes a well defined project or ini6 tiative plan that identifies sensitive areas re7 quiring treatment and prioritizes conservation 

8 systems, practices, and activities needed to 

9 achieve environmental objectives; 

10 ‘‘(D) promises adequate and coordinated 

11 participation to achieve the objectives of the 

12 project or initiative; 

13 ‘‘(E) coordinates integration of local, 

14 State, and Federal efforts to make the best use 

15 of available resources and maximize cost-effec16 tive investments; 

17 ‘‘(F) leverages financial and technical re18 sources from sources other than the programs 

19 authorized by this subtitle, including financial 

20 and technical resources provided by Federal 

21 and State agencies, local governments, non22 governmental organizations and associations, 

23 and other private sector entities; 

24 ‘‘(G) describes how all necessary technical 

25 assistance will be provided to each producer 

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1 participating in the project or initiative, includ2 ing cost estimates for technical assistance and 

3 whether such assistance will be provided by 

4 technical service providers; 

5 ‘‘(H) describes how the administrative 

6 costs of the project or initiative will be mini7 mized; 

8 ‘‘(I) addresses a local, State, regional, or 

9 national environmental priority or priorities, 

10 with particular emphasis on any priority for 

11 which there is an existing State or federally ap12 proved plan in place for addressing that pri13 ority; 

14 ‘‘(J) includes a plan to evaluate progress 

15 and measure results; and 

16 ‘‘(K) clearly demonstrates that enrollment 

17 of producers in covered programs will be con18 sistent with the purposes and policies of each 

19 individual program, as established in statute, 

20 rules and regulations, and program guidance 

21 promulgated by implementing agencies. 

22 ‘‘(f) PRIORITIES.—To the maximum extent prac23 ticable, consistent with the requirements of subsection (d), 

24 the Secretary shall ensure that, each fiscal year, grants 

25 are awarded and agreements are entered into under this 

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1 section to support projects and initiatives that collectively 

2 address the resource concerns facing producers, ranchers, 

3 and small private forest landowners, including specifically 

4 projects and initiatives that are designed— 

5 ‘‘(1) to achieve improvements in water quality 

6 in watersheds impacted by agriculture, particularly 

7 by increasing the participation of producers in im8 plementing best management practices in a water9 shed or developing environmentally and economically 

10 viable alternative uses for manure and litter; 

11 ‘‘(2) to achieve improvements in air quality in 

12 a geographical area where agricultural operations 

13 impact air quality, especially an area that, as deter14 mined by the Administrator of the Environmental 

15 Protection Agency, is a non-attainment area with re16 spect to any of the national ambient air quality 

17 standards promulgated by the Administrator under 

18 section 109 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7409); 

19 ‘‘(3) to conserve water for environmental pur20 poses, such as enhanced in stream flows or aquifer 

21 recharge in regions, States, or local areas where 

22 water quantity is a concern; 

23 ‘‘(4) to assist in the recovery of Federal or 

24 State-listed endangered species or species of special 

25 concern or to further the goals and objectives of a 

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1 State’s comprehensive wildlife conservation plan 

2 through the cooperative efforts of multiple pro3 ducers; 

4 ‘‘(5) to control invasive species on rangeland or 

5 other agricultural land through the cooperative ef6 forts of multiple producers in a geographical area; 

7 ‘‘(6) to address a specific resource of concern or 

8 set of concerns on private, non-industrial forest land; 

9 ‘‘(7) to reduce losses of pesticides to the envi10 ronment by engaging multiple producers in a geo11 graphic area in adoption of integrated pest manage12 ment practices and approaches; and 

13 ‘‘(8) to keep working farms and ranches facing 

14 development pressures in agricultural use. 

15 ‘‘(g) COST SHARE.— 

16 ‘‘(1) MAXIMUM; EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary 

17 shall not require more than 25 percent of the cost 

18 of a project or initiative supported under a grant or 

19 agreement entered into under this section to come 

20 from non-Federal sources. However, the Secretary 

21 may award more points to projects or initiatives of22 fering to cover a higher percentage of the cost of the 

23 project or initiative from non-Federal sources. 

24 ‘‘(2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—If the Sec25 retary establishes a cost-share requirement for a 

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1 project or initiative, the Secretary shall allow the use 

2 of in-kind contributions to meet that requirement. 

3 ‘‘(h) FUNDING.— 

4 ‘‘(1) SET-ASIDE.—Of the funds provided each 

5 fiscal year to implement the programs specified in 

6 subsection (b), the Secretary shall reserve the fol7 lowing percentages to ensure an adequate source of 

8 funds for grants and agreements entered into under 

9 this section: 

10 ‘‘(A) 5 percent for fiscal year 2008; 

11 ‘‘(B) 10 percent for fiscal year 2009; 

12 ‘‘(C) 15 percent for fiscal year 2010; and 

13 ‘‘(D) 20 percent for each of fiscal years 

14 2011 through 2013. 

15 ‘‘(2) ALLOCATION TO STATES.—The Secretary 

16 shall allocate to States 75 percent of the funds re17 served under paragraph (1) for a fiscal year to allow 

18 State Conservationists, with the advice of State tech19 nical committees, to select projects and initiatives 

20 for funding under this section at the State level. The 

21 allocation shall be made on a similar basis as what 

22 would have been the case under the covered pro23 grams identified in subsection (b).’’. 

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1 (b) CONFORMING REPEAL.—Section 1243 of the 

2 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3843) is amended 

3 by striking subsection (f). 

4 SEC. 204. CONSERVATION LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM. 

5 Subtitle A of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De6 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1921–1936a) is amended by in7 serting after section 304 the following: 

8 ‘‘SEC. 304A. CONSERVATION LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM. 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may provide a 

10 loan guarantee, an interest subsidy, or both, to enable an 

11 eligible borrower to obtain a qualified conservation loan. 

12 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

13 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE BORROWER.—The term ‘eligible 

14 borrower’ means a farmer, rancher, farm coopera15 tive, private domestic corporation, partnership, joint 

16 operation, trust, or limited liability company, that is 

17 engaged primarily and directly in agricultural pro18 duction in the United States. 

19 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED CONSERVATION LOAN.—The 

20 term ‘qualified conservation loan’ means a loan that 

21 meets the following requirements: 

22 ‘‘(A) PURPOSE.—The loan proceeds are re23 quired to be used to cover the costs to the bor24 rower of carrying out a qualified conservation 

25 project. 

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1 ‘‘(B) PRINCIPAL AMOUNT.—The principal 

2 amount of the loan is not more than 

3 $1,000,000. 

4 ‘‘(C) REPAYMENT PERIOD.—The loan re5 payment period shall not exceed 10 years. 

6 ‘‘(D) NO REPAYMENT REQUIRED IN FIRST

7 YEAR.—The lender is prohibited from requiring 

8 any part of the loan to be repaid in the 1-year 

9 period that begins with the date of the closing 

10 of the loan. 

11 ‘‘(E) NO LOAN FORGIVENESS.—The lender 

12 is prohibited from forgiving any part of the 

13 loan. 

14 ‘‘(F) LIMITED PROCESSING FEE.—The 

15 total of all processing fees charged with respect 

16 to the loan does not exceed such amount as 

17 shall be prescribed by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED CONSERVATION PROJECT.— 

19 The term ‘qualified conservation project’ means, 

20 with respect to an eligible borrower, conservation 

21 measures included in a conservation plan for a farm22 ing or ranching operation of the borrower, includ23 ing— 

24 ‘‘(A) the installation of conservation struc25 tures, including terraces, sod waterways, permstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 manently vegetated stream borders and filter 

2 strips, windbreaks (tree or grass), shelter belts, 

3 and living snow fences, if all plantings consist 

4 of vegetation appropriate to the locale; 

5 ‘‘(B) the establishment of forest cover for 

6 sustained yield timber management, erosion 

7 control, or shelter belt purposes, if the forest 

8 cover is appropriate to the locale; 

9 ‘‘(C) the installation of water conservation 

10 measures; 

11 ‘‘(D) the installation of waste management 

12 systems; 

13 ‘‘(E) the establishment or improvement of 

14 permanent pasture; 

15 ‘‘(F) the payment of costs of complying 

16 with section 1212 of the Food Security Act of 

17 1985; 

18 ‘‘(G) other purposes consistent with the 

19 conservation plan; 

20 ‘‘(H) any conservation project or practice, 

21 as described by technical guides and handbooks 

22 issues by the Natural Resources Conservation 

23 Service; or 

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1 ‘‘(I) emerging conservation practices, tech2 niques, or technologies, as approved by the Sec3 retary. 

4 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS APPLICABLE TO LOAN GUARAN5 TEES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF GUAR7 ANTEE.—The portion of a loan that the Secretary 

8 may guarantee under this section shall be not less 

9 than 80 percent and not more than 90 percent of 

10 the principal amount of the loan. 

11 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON TOTAL AMOUNT OUT12 STANDING.—The aggregate principal amount of out13 standing loans guaranteed by the Secretary under 

14 this section shall not exceed $1,000,000,000. 

15 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF INTEREST SUB16 SIDY.—The interest subsidy which the Secretary may pro17 vide under this section with respect to a loan shall result 

18 in a reduction of the interest rate agreed upon by the bor19 rower and the lender (but to not less than zero) by— 

20 ‘‘(1) 500 basis points, if the principal amount 

21 of the loan is less than $100,000; 

22 ‘‘(2) 400 basis points, if the principal amount 

23 of the loan is not less than $100,000 and is less 

24 than $500,000; and 

25 ‘‘(3) 300 basis points, in any other case. 

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1 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO COLLECT PROCESSING

3 FEE.—The Secretary may assess a fee to cover the 

4 cost of processing an application under this section 

5 equal to not more than 1 percent of the principal 

6 amount of the loan sought by the applicant, as de7 scribed in the application. 

8 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF FINANCIAL INFORMA9 TION.—An applicant for a loan guarantee or interest 

10 subsidy under this section shall provide the Sec11 retary with such financial information as may be re12 quired by the Secretary, in the manner generally re13 quired by commercial agricultural lenders in the geo14 graphical area where the farming or ranching oper15 ation of the applicant is located. 

16 ‘‘(3) APPRAISAL.—The Secretary may require 

17 that an appraisal made in connection with an appli18 cation for a loan guarantee or interest subsidy under 

19 this section be conducted by a specialized appraiser 

20 that uses standards similar to the standards used 

21 for similar purposes in the private sector, as deter22 mined by the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(4) APPROVAL OF APPLICATION.—The Sec24 retary shall not approve an application submitted 

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1 pursuant to this section, unless the Natural Re2 sources Conservation Service has determined that— 

3 ‘‘(A) the loan sought by the applicant, as 

4 described in the application, would be a quali5 fied conservation loan; and 

6 ‘‘(B) the project for which the loan is 

7 sought is likely to result in a net benefit to the 

8 environment. 

9 ‘‘(5) DEADLINE FOR DECISION ON APPLICA10 TION.—Within 45 business days after the receipt of 

11 an application for assistance under this section, the 

12 Secretary shall transmit to the applicant the decision 

13 of the Secretary to approve or disapprove the appli14 cation, to the extent practicable. 

15 ‘‘(6) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF LOAN

16 GUARANTEES AND INTEREST SUBSIDIES.—The Sec17 retary shall ensure that loan guarantees and interest 

18 subsidies under this section are equitably distributed 

19 among agricultural producers according to the scale 

20 of the operations of the producers that submit appli21 cations in any year. 

22 ‘‘(f) RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER CONSERVATION

23 PROGRAMS.—Neither the application for, nor the receipt 

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1 ance under title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 

2 or the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act. 

3 ‘‘(g) APPROPRIATIONS.—For each of fiscal years 

4 2008 through 2013, the Secretary shall use such funds 

5 of the Commodity Credit Corporation as are necessary to 

6 carry out this section.’’. 

7 SEC. 205. PILOT PROGRAM FOR COMPREHENSIVE CON8 SERVATION PLANNING. 

9 Subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 

10 1985 is amended by adding at the end of chapter 5 the 

11 following new section: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 1240Q. PILOT PROGRAM FOR COMPREHENSIVE CON13 SERVATION PLANNING. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a 

15 pilot program to undertake comprehensive conservation 

16 planning to assist producers prior to making application 

17 for assistance under any of the conservation programs au18 thorized by this subtitle. 

19 ‘‘(b) CONSERVATION PLANNING ASSISTANCE.—The 

20 Secretary shall undertake 4 pilot projects in the locations 

21 specified in paragraph (c) to assist producers by making 

22 a comprehensive assessment of the resource concerns, 

23 needs, and alternative solutions for the producer’s entire 

24 operation, as determined by the Secretary, following the 

25 procedures in the Natural Resources Conservation Service 

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1 conservation planning manual. The assistance to pro2 ducers shall be provided by the Secretary directly or 

3 through third party providers certified by the Secretary, 

4 and shall not be at the expense of the producer. The result 

5 of the comprehensive planning assistance shall be provided 

6 to the producer to enable informed choices on the type 

7 of financial assistance available through subtitle D con8 servation programs administered by the Secretary that 

9 would most effectively address the resource needs of the 

10 operation consistent with the environmental goals for the 

11 area in which the operation is located. 

12 ‘‘(c) PILOT PROJECTS.—Pilot projects in comprehen13 sive conservation planning shall be undertaken in the fol14 lowing locations: 

15 ‘‘(1) Chesapeake Bay watershed. 

16 ‘‘(2) Great Lakes Basin. 

17 ‘‘(3) Connecticut River Valley Watershed. 

18 ‘‘(4) Highlands Region, as defined in section 3 

19 of Public Law 108–421. 

20 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity 

21 Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall provide $40 mil22 lion each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 to carry out 

23 the pilot comprehensive conservation planning program 

24 authorized by this section. The funds shall be equitably 

25 divided, between each of the 4 pilot projects. 

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1 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—The Secretary shall conduct an as2 sessment of the effectiveness of the comprehensive con3 servation planning pilot and publish a report, available to 

4 the public, of the results of the assessment. Such assess5 ments shall be undertaken in the second year and the fifth 

6 year of the pilot program.’’. 

7 SEC. 206. CONSERVATION APPLICATION PROCESS. 

8 Subtitle E of title XII of the Food Security Act of 

9 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841 et seq.) is amended by adding at 

10 the end of section 1244 the following: 

11 ‘‘(c) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out any of the con12 servation programs administered by the Natural Re13 sources Conservation Service, the Secretary shall establish 

14 a single, simplified application for eligible entities to use 

15 in initially requesting assistance. The Secretary shall in16 sure that conservation program participant need not be 

17 required to provide information duplicate to the informa18 tion and resources already available to the Secretary, for 

19 that applicant and for that specific operation, and that 

20 the application process imposed on conservation program 

21 participants be streamlined to minimize complexity and re22 dundancy. 

23 ‘‘(1) REVIEW OF APPLICATION PROCESS.—The 

24 Secretary shall review the conservation application 

25 process and the forms and related mechanisms used 

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1 to receive assistance requests from eligible program 

2 participants. This review shall be to determine what 

3 information the participant is actually required to be 

4 submitted during the application process, includ5 ing— 

6 ‘‘(A) identification information for the ap7 plicant; 

8 ‘‘(B) identification and location informa9 tion for the land parcel or tract of concern; 

10 ‘‘(C) a general statement of the applicant’s 

11 need for or resource concern on the land parcel 

12 or tract; and 

13 ‘‘(D) the minimum amount of other infor14 mation the Secretary deems essential for the 

15 applicant himself or herself to provide. 

16 ‘‘(2) REVISION AND STREAMLINE.—The Sec17 retary shall carry out a revision of the application 

18 forms and processes for conservation programs cov19 ered in this subsection to enable utilization of infor20 mation technology as an avenue to incorporate ap21 propriate data and information concerning the con22 servation needs and solutions appropriate for the 

23 land area identified by the applicant. The revision 

24 shall seek to streamline the application process to 

25 minimize the burden placed on the applicant. 

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1 ‘‘(3) CONSERVATION PROGRAM APPLICATION.— 

2 At the time that the applicant’s needs are ade3 quately assessed by the Secretary, or through a third 

4 party provider under section 1242, in order to deter5 mine the programs covered under title XII that best 

6 matches the need of the applicant, with the approval 

7 of the applicant, the Secretary may convert the ini8 tial application into the specific application for as9 sistance for the program of choice. To the maximum 

10 extent practical, the specific application for con11 servation program assistance shall be carried out by 

12 the Secretary by requesting only that specific further 

13 information from the applicant that is not already 

14 available to the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(4) IMPLEMENTATION AND NOTIFICATION.— 

16 Not later than 12 months after the date of enact17 ment of this act, the Secretary shall complete the re18 quirements of this subsection and shall provide a 

19 written notification of such completion to the Com20 mittees on Agriculture of the House and Senate.’’. 

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1 SEC. 207. MINIMUM BASE ALLOCATION TO STATES IN 

2 FUNDING OF CERTAIN DEPARTMENT OF AG3 RICULTURE CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. 

4 Subsection (d) of section 1241 of the Food Security 

5 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841) is amended to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(d) MINIMUM BASE ALLOCATION TO STATES FOR

8 CERTAIN CONSERVATION PROGRAMS.—In allocating 

9 funds to States to implement the conservation programs 

10 under subtitle D (excluding the conservation reserve pro11 gram under subchapter B of chapter 1, the wetlands re12 serve program under subchapter C of chapter 1, the con13 servation security program under subchapter A of chapter 

14 2, and the grassland reserve program under subchapter 

15 C of chapter 2), the Secretary shall ensure that each State 

16 receives, at a minimum, $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal 

17 years 2007 through 2013. Any award from the national 

18 level under chapter 6 to a project in or adjacent to a State 

19 shall not be counted as part of the minimum base alloca20 tion to such State under this subsection’’. 

21 SEC. 208. CONSERVATION SECURITY PROGRAM. 

22 It is the sense of Congress that the conservation secu23 rity program established under subchapter A of chapter 

24 2 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 

25 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3838 et seq.) should— 

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1 (1) be fully funded and implemented on a na2 tionwide basis; 

3 (2) simplify and streamline payments and eligi4 bility requirements to increase transparency, clarity, 

5 and ease of use by producers; 

6 (3) create a better balance between rewards for 

7 current stewardship and incentives for new conserva8 tion; 

9 (4) emphasize payments based on management 

10 intensity, that is, the level of treatment, as well as 

11 the breadth of resource concerns addressed; 

12 (5) reward producers for addressing the most 

13 important resources of concern as determined by 

14 States; 

15 (6) provide greater flexibility to States (State 

16 technical committees) to determine and rank priority 

17 resource concerns; 

18 (7) provide adequate technical assistance to en19 sure that there is the capacity to enroll participants, 

20 provide on-site assessment and planning, and to fa21 cilitate timely contract renewals and modifications; 

22 (8) provide a predictable and reliable stream of 

23 revenue based on environmental measures; 

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1 (9) be universally available and adaptable to all 

2 types of farm operations in all regions of the coun3 try; 

4 (10) expand eligibility to include nonindustrial 

5 private forested land, even if not incidental to an ag6 ricultural operation; 

7 (11) provide a minimum annual base payment; 

8 (12) ensure program complements and is run in 

9 coordination with other NARCS working lands con10 servation programs; 

11 (13) encourage payments based on carbon se12 questration; 

13 (14) encourage environmentally-sound methods 

14 and practices for the production of sustainable cel15 lulosic bioenergy feedstocks; and 

16 (15) ensure ‘‘dual eligibility’’ for certified or17 ganic farms. 

18 SEC. 209. REAUTHORIZATION OF AND INCREASED FUNDING 

19 FOR FARMLAND PROTECTION PROGRAM. 

20 (a) FUNDING.—Paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of 

21 section 1241 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

22 3841) is amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(4) The farmland protection program under 

24 subchapter B of chapter 2, using, to the maximum 

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1 extent practicable, $300,000,000 in each of fiscal 

2 years 2008 through 2013.’’. 

3 (b) PROGRAM REVISIONS.—Subchapter B of Chapter 

4 2 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 

5 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3838h et seq.) is amended to read as 

6 follows: 

7 ‘‘Subchapter B—Farmland Protection 

8 Program 

9 ‘‘SEC. 1238H. DEFINITIONS. 

10 ‘‘In this subchapter: 

11 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en12 tity’ means— 

13 ‘‘(A) any agency of any State or local gov14 ernment or an Indian tribe (including a farm15 land protection board or land resource council 

16 established under State law); or 

17 ‘‘(B) any organization that— 

18 ‘‘(i) is organized for, and at all times 

19 since the formation of the organization has 

20 been operated principally for, one or more 

21 of the conservation purposes specified in 

22 clause (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of section 

23 170(h)(4)(A) of the Internal Revenue Code 

24 of 1986; 

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1 ‘‘(ii) is an organization described in 

2 section 501(c)(3) of that Code that is ex3 empt from taxation under section 501(a) 

4 of that Code; 

5 ‘‘(iii) is described in section 509(a)(2) 

6 of that Code; or 

7 ‘‘(iv) is described in section 509(a)(3), 

8 and is controlled by an organization de9 scribed in section 509(a)(2), of that Code. 

10 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE LAND.—The term ‘eligible land’ 

11 means land on a farm or ranch that is— 

12 ‘‘(A) cropland; 

13 ‘‘(B) rangeland; 

14 ‘‘(C) grassland; 

15 ‘‘(D) pasture land; or 

16 ‘‘(E) forest land that is an incidental part 

17 of an agricultural operation, as determined by 

18 the Secretary. 

19 ‘‘(3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 

20 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

21 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

22 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

23 ‘‘(4) QUALIFIED STATE OR LOCAL ENTITY.—A 

24 qualified State or local entity is an eligible entity, 

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1 public or private, that operates a farm and ranch2 land protection program that has— 

3 ‘‘(A) for at least 3 calendar or fiscal years 

4 used or provided public or private funds to pur5 chase perpetual conservation easements or other 

6 interests in land on a cumulative total of at 

7 least 10 properties that have protected the agri8 cultural production capacity and related con9 servation values of farm and ranch land; 

10 ‘‘(B) the necessary authority under State 

11 law, as well as the technical and financial ca12 pacity, to monitor and enforce the terms of 

13 such conservation easements or other interests 

14 in land so that their purpose is carried out in 

15 perpetuity, or in the case of a governmental en16 tity, to legally require other public or private 

17 holders of such easements or interests in land 

18 acquired with public funding to hold, monitor 

19 and enforce them in perpetuity; and 

20 ‘‘(C) financial control policies in place to 

21 assure that on average the purchase price of 

22 conservation easements and other interests in 

23 land does not exceed their appraised fair mar24 ket value. 

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1 ‘‘(5) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 

2 the farmland protection program established under 

3 section 1238I(a). 

4 ‘‘SEC. 1238I. FARMLAND PROTECTION. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

6 the Natural Resources Conservation Service, shall estab7 lish and carry out a farm and ranchland protection pro8 gram under which the Secretary shall facilitate and pro9 vide funding for the purchase of conservation easements 

10 or other interests in eligible land for the purpose of pro11 tecting the agricultural production capacity and related 

12 conservation values of the land by limiting incompatible 

13 nonagricultural uses of the land. The program shall give 

14 the highest priority to protecting farm and ranchland with 

15 prime, unique or other productive soils that are at risk 

16 of non-farm development. 

17 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—The Secretary, acting through the 

18 Natural Resources Conservation Service, shall, as the pre19 ferred method of administering this program, make grants 

20 to qualified State and local entities. Such grants shall be 

21 distributed among States based on demonstrated need for 

22 farm and ranch land protection and on the relative con23 tribution of funds dedicated by State and local entities for 

24 this purpose. Grants may be made for multiple trans25 actions without regard for whether pending purchase ofmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 fers are outstanding, provided that all funds provided 

2 under this program are used to purchase conservation 

3 easements or other interests in land. Qualified State and 

4 local entities may use up to ten percent of a grant for 

5 reasonable costs of purchasing and enforcing conservation 

6 easements. Any funds not granted to qualified State or 

7 local entities under this section shall be available to other 

8 eligible entities as matching funds for individual purchases 

9 of conservation easements and other interests in land. 

10 ‘‘(c) GRANT AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary, acting 

11 through the Natural Resources Conservation Service, may 

12 enter into agreements with qualified State and local enti13 ties, under which such State and local entities may pur14 chase conservation easements using a combination of their 

15 own funds and grant funds distributed by the Secretary 

16 under this program. Such agreements shall stipulate the 

17 terms and conditions under which qualified State and local 

18 entities shall use funds provided by the Secretary under 

19 this program, provided that under such agreements: 

20 ‘‘(1) State and local entities shall be authorized 

21 to determine their own criteria and priorities for 

22 purchasing conservation easements and other inter23 ests in land. 

24 ‘‘(2) States and local entities shall be author25 ized to use their own terms and conditions for conmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 servation easements and other purchases of interests 

2 in land, provided that— 

3 ‘‘(A) such terms and conditions are ade4 quate under State law to achieve and permit ef5 fective enforcement of the conservation pur6 poses of such easements or other interests, and 

7 ‘‘(B) the entity has in place a requirement 

8 consistent with the purposes of the program re9 garding the impervious surfaces to be allowed 

10 for any conservation easement or other interest 

11 in land purchased using grant funds provided 

12 through this section. 

13 ‘‘(3) Up to ten percent of grant funds may be 

14 used for reasonable costs of purchasing and enforc15 ing conservation easements. 

16 ‘‘(4) No Federal contingent right of enforce17 ment or reversionary interest in a conservation ease18 ment or other purchase of an interest in land shall 

19 be required. 

20 ‘‘(d) INDIVIDUAL PURCHASES.—The Secretary may 

21 enter into agreements with eligible entities under which 

22 the Secretary shall provide matching funds for the purpose 

23 of purchasing conservation easements or other interests 

24 of land on individual farm and ranch properties. The Sec25 retary may agree to such terms as he deems appropriate 

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1 to assure that the purpose of this program is carried out; 

2 provided, however, that subsection (c)(4) of this section 

3 shall apply to any easement held by a State or local agen4 cy, or in which a qualified State or local entity will hold 

5 a contingent right of enforcement. 

6 ‘‘(e) CONSERVATION PLAN.—Notwithstanding sub7 section (c)(2), any highly erodible cropland for which a 

8 conservation easement or other interest is purchased 

9 under this subchapter shall be subject to the requirements 

10 of a conservation plan; provided, however, that for ease11 ments and other interests in land that are perpetual in 

12 duration, the Secretary may not require the conversion of 

13 the cropland to less intensive uses if, under such plan, soil 

14 erosion can be reduced to ‘T’ or below. 

15 ‘‘(f) COST SHARING.— 

16 ‘‘(1) FARMLAND PROTECTION.—The share of 

17 the cost provided under this section for purchasing 

18 a conservation easement or other interest in eligible 

19 land described in subsection (a) provided under sec20 tion 1241(d) shall not exceed— 

21 ‘‘(A) 50 percent of the appraised fair mar22 ket value of the conservation easement or other 

23 interest in eligible land; or 

24 ‘‘(B) if a qualified conservation contribu25 tion, as defined by section 170(h) of the Intermstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 nal Revenue Code, of at least 25 percent of the 

2 market value is made by the landowner in con3 nection with the purchase of a conservation 

4 easement or other interest in land, two-thirds of 

5 the actual cost of purchasing such conservation 

6 easement or other interest in land. 

7 ‘‘(2) BIDDING DOWN.—If the Secretary deter8 mines that 2 or more applications for the purchase 

9 of a conservation easement or other interest in eligi10 ble land described in subsection (a) are comparable 

11 in achieving the purposes of this section, the Sec12 retary shall not assign a higher priority to any one 

13 of those applications solely on the basis of lesser cost 

14 to the farmland protection program established 

15 under subsection (a).’’. 

16 SEC. 210. FARMLAND PROTECTION POLICY ACT. 

17 Subtitle I of title XV of the Food and Agriculture 

18 Act of 1981 (7 U.S.C. 4201 et seq.) is amended to read 

19 as follows: 

20 ‘‘Subtitle I—Farmland Protection 

21 Policy Act 

22 ‘‘SEC. 1539. SHORT TITLE. 

23 ‘‘This subtitle may be cited as the ‘Farmland Protec24 tion Policy Act’. 

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1 ‘‘SEC. 1540. FINDINGS, PURPOSES, AND DEFINITIONS. 

2 ‘‘(a) Congress finds that— 

3 ‘‘(1) the Nation’s farmland is a unique and ir4 replaceable natural resource critical to the country’s 

5 national security, by providing food, fiber and renew6 able energy necessary for the continued welfare of 

7 the people of the United States; 

8 ‘‘(2) each year, a large amount of the Nation’s 

9 farmland is unnecessarily and irrevocably converted 

10 from actual or potential agricultural use to non11 agricultural use; 

12 ‘‘(3) continued conversion of the Nation’s farm13 land base to nonagricultural uses may threaten the 

14 ability of the United States to produce food, fiber 

15 and renewable energy in sufficient quantities to meet 

16 domestic needs and the demands of our export mar17 kets; 

18 ‘‘(4) the extensive use of farmland for non19 agricultural purposes undermines the economic base 

20 of many rural areas; 

21 ‘‘(5) Federal actions, in many cases, result in 

22 the conversion of farmland to nonagricultural uses 

23 where alternative actions are feasible; 

24 ‘‘(6) the Department of Agriculture is the agen25 cy primarily responsible for the implementation of 

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1 land, assuring the maintenance of the agricultural 

2 production capacity of the United States, and has 

3 the personnel and other resources needed to imple4 ment national farmland protection policy; 

5 ‘‘(7) the Department of Agriculture and other 

6 Federal agencies should take steps to assure that 

7 the actions of the Federal Government do not unnec8 essarily cause United States farmland to be irrevers9 ibly converted to nonagricultural uses in cases in 

10 which other national interests do not override the 

11 importance of the protection of farmland nor other12 wise outweigh the benefits of maintaining farmland 

13 resources; and 

14 ‘‘(8) the Department of Agriculture and other 

15 Federal agencies should be required to ensure that 

16 the actions of the Federal Government do not cause 

17 permanently protected United States farmland to be 

18 irreversibly converted to nonagricultural uses where 

19 there are other feasible alternatives, and to mitigate 

20 the loss of any such farmland if no feasible alter21 native exists. 

22 ‘‘(b) The purpose of this subtitle is to minimize the 

23 extent to which Federal programs contribute to the irre24 versible conversion of farmland to nonagricultural uses, 

25 and to assure to the greatest degree possible that Federal 

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1 programs are administered in a manner that is compatible 

2 with State, unit of local government, and private programs 

3 and policies to protect farmland. 

4 ‘‘(c) In this subtitle: 

5 ‘‘(1) The term ‘farmland’ includes all land de6 fined as follows: 

7 ‘‘(A) Prime farmland is land that has the 

8 best combination of physical and chemical char9 acteristics for producing food, feed, fiber, for10 age, oilseed, and other agricultural crops with 

11 minimum inputs of fuel, fertilizer, pesticides, 

12 and labor, and without intolerable soil erosion, 

13 as determined by the Secretary. Prime farm14 land includes land that possesses the above 

15 characteristics but is being used currently to 

16 produce livestock and timber. It does not in17 clude land already in or committed to urban de18 velopment or water storage. 

19 ‘‘(B) Unique farmland is land other than 

20 prime farmland that is used for production of 

21 specific high-value food and fiber crops, as de22 termined by the Secretary. It has the special 

23 combination of soil quality, location, growing 

24 season, and moisture supply needed to economi25 cally produce sustained high quality or high 

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1 yields of specific crops when treated and man2 aged according to acceptable farming methods. 

3 Examples of such crops include citrus, tree 

4 nuts, olives, cranberries, fruits, and vegetables. 

5 ‘‘(C) Farmland, other than prime or 

6 unique farmland, that is of statewide or local 

7 importance for the production of food, feed, 

8 fiber, forage, oilseed or energy crops, as deter9 mined by the appropriate State or unit of local 

10 government agency or agencies, and that the 

11 Secretary determines should be considered as 

12 farmland for the purposes of this subtitle. 

13 ‘‘(2) The term ‘State’ means any of the 50 

14 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

15 of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

16 Mariana Islands, the Trust Territory of the Pacific 

17 Islands, or any territory or possession of the United 

18 States. 

19 ‘‘(3) The term ‘unit of local government’ means 

20 the government of a county, municipality, town, 

21 township, village, or other unit of general govern22 ment below the State level, or a combination of units 

23 of local government acting through an area wide 

24 agency under State law or an agreement for the for25 mulation of regional development policies and plans. 

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1 ‘‘(4) The term ‘Federal program’ means those 

2 activities or responsibilities of a department, agency, 

3 independent commission, or other unit of the Fed4 eral Government that involve— 

5 ‘‘(A) undertaking, financing, or assisting 

6 construction or improvement projects; or 

7 ‘‘(B) acquiring, managing, or disposing of 

8 Federal lands and facilities. The term ‘Federal 

9 program’ does not include construction or im10 provement projects that on the effective date of 

11 this subtitle are beyond the planning stage and 

12 are in either the active design or construction 

13 state. 

14 ‘‘(5) The term ‘permanently protected farm15 land’ means farmland subject to a permanent con16 servation easement in accordance with the provisions 

17 of section 170(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

18 1986 or held by the Federal Government or any 

19 State or local unit of government. 

20 ‘‘(6) The term ‘Secretary’ means the Secretary 

21 of Agriculture. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 1541. FARMLAND PROTECTION POLICY. 

23 ‘‘(a) The Department of Agriculture, in cooperation 

24 with other departments, agencies, independent commis25 sions, and other units of the Federal Government, shall 

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1 develop criteria for identifying the effects of Federal pro2 grams on the conversion of farmland to nonagricultural 

3 uses. 

4 ‘‘(b) Departments, agencies, independent commis5 sions, and other units of the Federal Government shall, 

6 in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture, use 

7 the criteria established under subsection (a) of this section 

8 to— 

9 ‘‘(1) identify the quantity of farmland that will 

10 be directly or indirectly converted through proposed 

11 Federal program activities and actions under their 

12 jurisdiction; and 

13 ‘‘(2) develop and implement, to the maximum 

14 extent feasible, alternative actions to minimize the 

15 impact of the Federal program action or activity on 

16 the conversion of farmland to nonagricultural uses 

17 and ensure its compatibility with State, unit of local 

18 government, and private programs and policies to 

19 protect farmland. 

20 ‘‘(c) Permanently protected farmland shall not be 

21 subject to conversion to nonagricultural uses by Federal 

22 programs unless the Secretary in cooperation with Fed23 eral, State, and local agencies determines that there is no 

24 other feasible alternative to the proposed Federal program 

25 activity. Where a Federal action results in the conversion 

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1 of permanently protected farmland to nonagricultural use, 

2 the loss of such land shall be mitigated by the responsible 

3 Federal entity on a one-for-one basis in quantity and equal 

4 or greater quality. 

5 ‘‘(d) Departments, agencies, independent commis6 sions, and other units of the Federal Government shall 

7 provide annually to the Department of Agriculture the in8 formation required under subsection (b) of this section, 

9 which the Department of Agriculture shall make available 

10 to the public on an annual basis. 

11 ‘‘(e) Any State, unit of local government, individual, 

12 organization or unit of the Federal Government aggrieved 

13 by a violation of any of the provisions of this subtitle shall 

14 have a civil cause of action against the Federal Depart15 ment, agency, independent commission or other unit of the 

16 Federal Government committing the violation. 

17 ‘‘(f) The Department of Agriculture may make avail18 able to States, units of local government, individuals, orga19 nizations, and other units of the Federal Government in20 formation useful in restoring, maintaining, and improving 

21 the quantity and quality of farmland. 

22 ‘‘SEC. 1542. EXISTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. 

23 ‘‘(a) Each department, agency, independent commis24 sion, or other unit of the Federal Government, with the 

25 assistance of the Department of Agriculture, shall review 

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1 current provisions of law, administrative rules and regula2 tions, and policies and procedures applicable to it to deter3 mine whether any provision thereof will prevent such unit 

4 of the Federal Government from taking appropriate action 

5 to comply fully with the provisions of this subtitle. 

6 ‘‘(b) Each department, agency, independent commis7 sion, or other unit of the Federal Government, with the 

8 assistance of the Department of Agriculture, shall, as ap9 propriate, bring its programs, authorities, and administra10 tive activities into conformity with the purpose and policy 

11 of this subtitle. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 1543. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE. 

13 ‘‘The Secretary shall provide technical assistance to 

14 States, units of local government, nonprofit organizations 

15 and the general public to assist in the development of pro16 grams or policies to limit the conversion of farmland to 

17 nonagricultural uses. 

18 ‘‘SEC. 1544. FARMLAND RESOURCE INFORMATION. 

19 ‘‘(a) The Secretary, through existing agencies or 

20 interagency groups, and in cooperation with nonprofit or21 ganizations or the cooperative extension services of the 

22 States, shall design and implement educational programs 

23 and materials emphasizing the importance of productive 

24 farmland to the Nation’s well-being and distribute edumstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 cational materials through communications media, 

2 schools, groups, and other Federal agencies. 

3 ‘‘(b) The Secretary shall designate one or more farm4 land information centers to provide technical assistance 

5 and serve as central depositories and distribution points 

6 for information on farmland issues. Information provided 

7 by the center(s) shall include, but not be limited to, on8 line access to data on land cover and use changes and 

9 trends, and to literature, laws, historical archives, policies, 

10 programs, and innovative actions or proposals by local and 

11 State governments or nonprofit organizations related to 

12 farmland protection and may include test plots, evaluation 

13 plots, and mobile learning centers. 

14 ‘‘(c) Funding for subsection (b) of this section shall 

15 be provided through the Farm and Ranch Lands Protec16 tion Program. Such funding shall not exceed one-half of 

17 1 percent of annual appropriations, but no less than 

18 $400,000 annually. Federal funding for the farmland in19 formation center or centers shall be matched with non20 Federal funds, through cash or in-kind contributions. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 1545. GRANTS, CONTRACTS. 

22 ‘‘With the exception of sections 1544 and 1548, the 

23 Secretary shall carry out the purposes of this subtitle with 

24 existing facilities and funds otherwise available, through 

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1 the use of grants, contracts, or such other means as the 

2 Secretary deems appropriate. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 1546. REPORT. 

4 ‘‘On January 1, 1987, and at the beginning of each 

5 subsequent calendar year, the Secretary of Agriculture 

6 shall report to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, 

7 and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agri8 culture of the House of Representatives on the progress 

9 made in implementing the provisions of this subtitle. Such 

10 report shall include— 

11 ‘‘(1) data on the conversion of farmland to non12 agricultural uses at the national, State, and, as 

13 available, local level; 

14 ‘‘(2) information on the effects of Federal pro15 grams, authorities, and administrative activities with 

16 respect to the protection of United States farmland; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(3) the results of the data collected and re19 views and actions taken as required under sections 

20 1541 and 1542. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 1547. STATEMENT OF LIMITATION. 

22 ‘‘(a) This subtitle does not authorize the Federal 

23 Government in any way to regulate the use of private or 

24 non-Federal land, or in any way affect the property rights 

25 of owners of such land. 

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1 ‘‘(b) None of the provisions or other requirements of 

2 this subtitle shall apply to the acquisition or use of farm3 land for national defense purposes during a national emer4 gency. 

5 ‘‘SEC. 1548. NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL LANDS COMMIS6 SION. 

7 ‘‘(a) A national commission shall be established to 

8 undertake a comprehensive study of the importance of 

9 protecting an adequate agricultural land base to the Na10 tion’s homeland security, food security, energy security, 

11 environmental quality and quality of life, and to develop 

12 recommendations by which the Federal Government can 

13 encourage the retention of agricultural land at the na14 tional, State and local level. 

15 ‘‘(b) In undertaking the study, the commission 

16 shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) identify the quality, quantity and location 

18 of the Nation’s agricultural lands; 

19 ‘‘(2) identify and define the effects of urbaniza20 tion, industrial and commercial development and 

21 other nonagricultural activities on the Nation’s agri22 cultural land base; 

23 ‘‘(3) identify and define the implications for the 

24 Nation’s agricultural land base of the following: 

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1 ‘‘(A) Global and national population trends 

2 and the projected international and domestic 

3 demand for food and energy production from 

4 United States agricultural lands. 

5 ‘‘(B) National land use trends and com6 peting demands on United States agricultural 

7 lands as a source for housing, industrial and 

8 commercial development, for food, fiber and en9 ergy production, and for recreational and envi10 ronmental amenities. 

11 ‘‘(C) National environmental trends and 

12 the capacity of United States agricultural lands 

13 to contribute to improvements in water quality 

14 and quantity, air quality and carbon sequestra15 tion. 

16 ‘‘(D) Agricultural land loss by region and 

17 its projected impact on the region’s food and 

18 energy security, natural resources and economy. 

19 ‘‘(E) Land ownership patterns and their 

20 impact on the security of the Nation’s agricul21 tural land base. 

22 ‘‘(F) State and local programs, policies 

23 and actions affecting or supporting agricultural 

24 land availability. 

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1 ‘‘(G) Federal programs, policies and ac2 tions affecting or supporting agricultural land 

3 availability; and 

4 ‘‘(4) explore ways by which the Federal Govern5 ment can encourage retention of the Nation’s agri6 cultural land base at the Federal, State, and local 

7 level. 

8 ‘‘(c) The Commission shall be composed of the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(1) Six members from the House Committee 

11 on Agriculture or their designee. 

12 ‘‘(2) Six members from the Senate Committee 

13 on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry or their des14 ignee. 

15 ‘‘(3) Eleven members appointed by the Presi16 dent, including the Secretary of Agriculture, who 

17 shall act as Chair. These members shall be rep18 resentative of local and State governments, aca19 demia, nonprofit conservation organizations, and 

20 farm, forest and ranch interests. 

21 ‘‘(d) No later than 18 months from the date of enact22 ment, the Commission shall submit an interim report to 

23 the President and to Congress containing its analysis of 

24 existing data and the need for any additional information. 

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1 ‘‘(e) No later than 36 months from the date of enact2 ment, the Commission shall submit a final report to the 

3 President and to Congress with its findings and rec4 ommendations. 

5 ‘‘(f) There are authorized to be appropriated for the 

6 purpose of funding the Commission $1,000,000 annually 

7 for fiscal years 2009, 2010 and 2011. 

8 ‘‘(g) The Commission shall terminate on September 

9 30, 2011.’’. 

10 SEC. 211. DEBT FOR AGRICULTURAL EASEMENTS. 

11 Subchapter B of chapter 2 of subtitle D of title XII 

12 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841 et seq.) 

13 is amended by renumbering section 1238J to be 1238K 

14 and adding after section 1238I the following new section: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 1238J. DEBT FOR AGRICULTURAL EASEMENTS PRO16 GRAM. 

17 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) The term ‘governmental entity’ means any 

19 agency of the United States, a State, or a unit of 

20 local government of a State. 

21 ‘‘(2) The terms ‘highly erodible land’ and ‘wet22 land’ have the meanings, respectively, that such 

23 terms are given in section 1201 of the Food Security 

24 Act of 1985. 

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1 ‘‘(3) The term ‘wildlife’ means fish or wildlife 

2 as defined in section 2(a) of the Lace Act Amend3 ments of 1981 (16 U.S.C. 3371(a)). 

4 ‘‘(4) The term ‘recreational purposes’ includes 

5 hunting. 

6 ‘‘(5) The term ‘conservation purposes’ shall 

7 mean the permanent protection of agricultural land 

8 for continued agricultural use. 

9 ‘‘(b) CONTRACTS ON LOAN SECURITY PROP10 ERTIES.—Subject to subsection (c) of this section— 

11 ‘‘(1) the Secretary may enter into a contract re12 lated to real property for conservation, recreation, or 

13 wildlife purposes; 

14 ‘‘(2) the Secretary shall offer to enter into a 

15 contract related to real property for conservation 

16 purposes if— 

17 ‘‘(A) such property secures any delinquent 

18 loan made under any law administered by the 

19 Secretary and held by the Secretary; 

20 ‘‘(B) such property includes 50 percent or 

21 greater prime or unique farmland or farmland 

22 of statewide importance, as determined by the 

23 Secretary; and 

24 ‘‘(C) such property is reasonably likely to 

25 be developed for non-agricultural purposes in 

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1 the absence of such a contract, as determined 

2 by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS.—The Secretary may enter into a 

4 contract under subsection (b) of this section if— 

5 ‘‘(1) such property is prime or unique farmland, 

6 farmland of statewide importance, wetland, upland, 

7 or highly erodible land; 

8 ‘‘(2) such property is determined by the Sec9 retary to be suitable for the purposes involved; and 

10 ‘‘(3)(A) such property secures any loan made 

11 under any law administered by the Secretary and 

12 held by the Secretary; and 

13 ‘‘(B) such contract better enables a qualified 

14 borrower to repay the loan in a timely manner, as 

15 determined by the Secretary. 

16 ‘‘(d) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The terms and con17 ditions specified in each such contract shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) specify the purposes for which such real 

19 property may be used; 

20 ‘‘(2) identify the conservation measures to be 

21 taken, and the agricultural, recreational and/or wild22 life uses to be allowed, with respect to such real 

23 property; and 

24 ‘‘(3) require such owner to permit the Sec25 retary, and any person or governmental entity desmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ignated by the Secretary, to have access to such real 

2 property for the purpose of monitoring and enforc3 ing compliance with such contract. 

4 ‘‘(e) PURCHASE; LIMITATION UPON CANCELLATION

5 OR PREPAYMENT.— 

6 ‘‘(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary 

7 may reduce or forgive the outstanding debt of a bor8 rower— 

9 ‘‘(A) in the case of a borrower to whom the 

10 Secretary has made one or more outstanding 

11 loans under laws administered by the Secretary, 

12 by canceling that part of the aggregate amount 

13 of such outstanding loans that bears the same 

14 ratio to such aggregate amount as the number 

15 of acres of the real property of the borrower 

16 that are subject to the contract bears to the ag17 gregate number of acres securing such loans; or 

18 ‘‘(B) in any other case, by treating as pre19 paid that part of the principal amount of a new 

20 loan to the borrower issued and held by the 

21 Secretary under a law administered by the Sec22 retary that bears the same ratio to such prin23 cipal amount as the number of acres of the real 

24 property of the borrower that are subject to the 

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1 contract bears to the aggregate number of acres 

2 securing the new loan. 

3 ‘‘(2) The amount so canceled or treated as pre4 paid pursuant to paragraph (1) shall not exceed— 

5 ‘‘(A) in the case of a delinquent loan, the 

6 value of the land on which the contract is en7 tered into or the difference between the amount 

8 of the outstanding loan secured by the land and 

9 the value of the land, whichever is greater; 

10 ‘‘(B) in the case of a nondelinquent loan, 

11 33 percent of the amount of the loan secured 

12 by the land; or 

13 ‘‘(C) for any loan, the difference between 

14 the fair market value of the land on which the 

15 contract is entered into as reduced by the terms 

16 of the contract and the fair market value of 

17 such land unrestricted by the contract. 

18 ‘‘(f) CONSULTATIONS WITH FISH AND WILDLIFE

19 SERVICE.—If the Secretary elects to use the authority 

20 provided by this section to enter into contracts for recre21 ation or wildlife purposes, the Secretary shall consult with 

22 the Secretary of the Interior for purposes of— 

23 ‘‘(1) selecting real property in which the Sec24 retary may enter into contracts for recreation or 

25 wildlife purposes under this section; 

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1 ‘‘(2) formulating the terms and conditions of 

2 such contracts; and 

3 ‘‘(3) enforcing such contracts. 

4 ‘‘(g) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary, and any per5 son or governmental entity designated by the Secretary, 

6 may enforce a contract entered into by the Secretary 

7 under this section.’’. 

8 SEC. 212. PLANNING FOR AGRICULTURE GRANTS. 

9 Subtitle F of title XII of the Food Security Act of 

10 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841 et seq.) is amended by adding after 

11 section 1256 the following new section: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 1257. GRANTS TO PROMOTE PLANNING FOR AGRI13 CULTURE. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To encourage State and local ef15 forts to retain farmland and promote food security, the 

16 Secretary shall provide competitive grants to State and 

17 local units of government to carry out planning projects 

18 for the purposes described in subsection (b). 

19 ‘‘(b) PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) Projects eligible to receive planning assist21 ance under this subsection shall be projects designed 

22 to support— 

23 ‘‘(A) farm and ranchland protection and 

24 transition; 

25 ‘‘(B) agricultural economic development; or 

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1 ‘‘(C) local and regional food processing and 

2 other agricultural infrastructure. 

3 ‘‘(2) A project will receive priority for funding 

4 if the project— 

5 ‘‘(A) addresses more than one of the ele6 ments in subsection (b)(1)); or 

7 ‘‘(B) coordinates activities pursuant to one 

8 or more of the elements in subsection (b)(1) 

9 among different levels of government. 

10 ‘‘(c) GRANTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made avail12 able to carry out this subsection, the Secretary shall 

13 make grants to State and local units of government 

14 to assist them in developing plans that assess needs 

15 and identify implementation strategies for furthering 

16 any of the purposes described in paragraph (2)(a). 

17 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The maximum 

18 amount of a grant provided under this subsection 

19 shall be $100,000. 

20 ‘‘(3) MATCHING FUNDS REQUIREMENTS.—The 

21 Federal share of any project that receives funding 

22 under this subsection may not exceed 50 percent of 

23 the total cost of the project. 

24 ‘‘(4) TERM.—The term of a grant made under 

25 this subsection may not exceed 2 years. 

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

2 are authorized to be appropriated $20,000,000 for each 

3 of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 to carry out this sub4 section, to remain available until expended.’’. 

5 SEC. 213. EXCLUSION OF PAYMENTS UNDER DEPARTMENT 

6 OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION PRO7 GRAMS FROM ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME 

8 LIMITATION. 

9 (a) EXCLUSION.—Subsection (b)(2) of section 1001D 

10 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308–3a) is 

11 amended by striking subparagraph (C). 

12 (b) DURATION OF ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME LIMI13 TATION.—Such section is further amended by striking 

14 subsection (e). 

15 SEC. 214. REAUTHORIZATION OF AND INCREASED FUNDING 

16 FOR WILDLIFE HABITAT INCENTIVE PRO17 GRAM. 

18 (a) EXTENSION AND FUNDING.—Section 1241(a)(7) 

19 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)(7)) 

20 is amended by striking subparagraphs (A) through (D) 

21 and inserting the following new subparagraphs: 

22 ‘‘(A) $100,000,000 in fiscal year 2008; 

23 ‘‘(B) $140,000,000 in fiscal year 2009; 

24 ‘‘(C) $200,000,000 in each of fiscal years 

25 2010 and 2011; and 

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1 ‘‘(D) $300,000,000 in each of fiscal years 

2 2012 and 2013.’’. 

3 (b) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR AGREEMENTS BENE4 FITTING LISTED SPECIES.—Section 1240N of such Act 

5 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb–1) is amended by adding at the end 

6 the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(d) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR CERTAIN AGREE8 MENTS AND APPLICATIONS.—In a case in which the Sec9 retary enters into an agreement or contract to protect or 

10 restore habitat for a federally or State-listed endangered, 

11 threatened, or candidate species or for applications that 

12 further the goals and objectives of a State’s comprehensive 

13 wildlife conservation plan, the Secretary may provide in14 centive payments to landowners to protect or restore the 

15 habitat, including the cost of management activities need16 ed during the term of the agreement or contract.’’. 

17 SEC. 215. CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM. 

18 (a) EXTENSION.— 

19 (1) FUNDING EXTENSION.—Section 1241(a) of 

20 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)) 

21 is amended— 

22 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

23 by striking ‘‘2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’; and 

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1 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘The’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘For each of fiscal years 2008 

3 through 2013, the’’. 

4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 1231 

5 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3831) is amended— 

6 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘2007’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘2013’’; 

8 (B) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘2007’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘2013’’; 

10 (C) in subsection (e)(3), by striking 

11 ‘‘2002’’ and inserting ‘‘2008’’; and 

12 (D) in subsection (h)(1), by striking 

13 ‘‘2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’. 

14 (b) ELIGIBLE LAND.—Section 1231(b) of such Act 

15 (16 U.S.C. 3831(b)) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking the period at the end of para17 graph (1) and inserting a semicolon; 

18 (2) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

19 end of subparagraph (C); 

20 (3) by striking the period at the end of para21 graph (5) and inserting a semicolon; and 

22 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

23 paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(6) marginal pasture land or hay land that is 

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1 voted to native vegetation appropriate to the locale 

2 and— 

3 ‘‘(A) will provide suitable habitat for a 

4 State or federally listed threatened or endan5 gered species or a species determined by the 

6 Secretary of the Interior to be species of con7 cern; or 

8 ‘‘(B) will contribute to the restoration of a 

9 critically endangered ecosystem or endangered 

10 ecosystem as defined by the Secretary.’’. 

11 (c) ENROLLMENT GOALS.—Section 1231(d) of such 

12 Act (16 U.S.C. 3831(d)) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting: 

14 ‘‘(1) ACREAGE AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary’’; 

15 and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

17 paragraphs: 

18 ‘‘(2) ENROLLMENT GOALS.—For the period be19 ginning on the date of the enactment of this para20 graph and ending on December 31, 2013, the Sec21 retary shall establish a goal to enroll not less than 

22 7,000,000 acres of eligible land through the contin23 uous enrollment program and the conservation re24 serve enhancement program; and 

25 ‘‘(3) GENERAL SIGNUP.— 

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1 ‘‘(A) To the maximum extent practicable, 

2 the Secretary shall ensure that not more than 

3 80 percent of the acres maintained in the con4 servation reserve at any one time during the 

5 2008 through 2013 calendar years are acres 

6 that were enrolled through a general signup 

7 under section 1234(c)(2)(A). 

8 ‘‘(B) For an offer to be accepted into the 

9 conservation reserve under the general signup, 

10 the Secretary shall require an offer to have an 

11 environmental benefit index score at or above a 

12 threshold that is 15 percent higher than the av13 erage of the thresholds used in general signups 

14 during fiscal years 1996 through 2006, ad15 justed for changes in the index over these fiscal 

16 years.’’. 

17 (d) BALANCE OF NATURAL RESOURCE PURPOSES.— 

18 Section 1231(j) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3831(j)) is amend19 ed— 

20 (1) by striking ‘‘In determining’’ and inserting 

21 the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) EQUITABLE BALANCE OF CONSERVATION

23 PURPOSES.—In determining’’; 

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1 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert2 ing ‘‘, but need not balance all conservation purposes 

3 with respect to each particular contract offer.’’; and 

4 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

5 paragraph: 

6 ‘‘(2) WILDLIFE.—In considering the extent to 

7 which a contract offer will achieve the conservation 

8 purposes of the program related to wildlife habitat, 

9 the Secretary shall consider the extent to which the 

10 contract offer will contribute to increased popu11 lations of wildlife, including waterfowl, nongame 

12 grassland birds and neotropical migrants, and assist 

13 in the recovery of at-risk species.’’. 

14 (e) DUTIES OF PARTICIPANTS.—Section 1232(a) of 

15 such Act (16 U.S.C. 3832(a)) is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (4)— 

17 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

18 and (B) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respec19 tively; and 

20 (B) by inserting before subparagraph (B), 

21 as so redesignated, the following new subpara22 graph: 

23 ‘‘(A) approved vegetative cover shall not 

24 include vegetative cover inappropriate to the lo25 cale;’’; 

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1 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through 

2 (10) as paragraphs (6) through (11); respectively; 

3 (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol4 lowing new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(5) to undertake appropriate management ac6 tivities on the land as needed throughout the term 

7 of the contract to achieve the purposes of the con8 servation reserve program;’’; and 

9 (4) in subparagraph (A)(i)(II) of paragraph (8), 

10 as so redesignated, by striking ‘‘may be conducted;’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘, taking into account grassland types 

12 and species, location, weather conditions, and other 

13 factors that determine to what extent harvesting and 

14 grazing activities will advance the conservation pur15 poses of the program;’’. 

16 (f) CONSERVATION PLAN.—Section 1232(b)(1) of 

17 such Act (16 U.S.C. 3832(b)(1)) is amended— 

18 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; and’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘, including appropriate management 

20 activities required by subsection (a)(5);’’ and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub22 paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(C) criteria for conducting any commer24 cial use to be permitted, including criteria for 

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1 quency, timing, number of animal units, per2 centage of field, and other criteria to ensure 

3 that managed harvesting and grazing advances 

4 the conservation purposes of the program; 

5 and’’. 

6 (g) COST-SHARE AND MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE.— 

7 Section 1234(b) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3834(b)) is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following new para9 graph: 

10 ‘‘(6) MANAGEMENT COSTS.—The Secretary 

11 shall pay 75 percent of the cost of management ac12 tivities, including control of invasive species, re13 quired under a contract entered into under this sub14 chapter, subject to such limits as the Secretary may 

15 establish.’’. 

16 (h) ACCEPTANCE OF CONTRACT OFFERS.—Section 

17 1234(c)(3) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3834(c)(3)) is amend18 ed— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘In determining’’ and inserting 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(A) MAXIMIZING ENVIRONMENTAL BENE22 FITS.—In determining’’; 

23 (2) by striking ‘‘may’’ and all that follows 

24 through ‘‘take into consideration’’ and inserting 

25 ‘‘shall take into consideration’’; 

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1 (3) by striking ‘‘benefits; and’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘benefits. The Secretary shall establish criteria for 

3 the acceptance of contract offers that will maximize 

4 environmental benefits, including criteria related to 

5 the characteristics of the land that is the subject of 

6 the contract offer, its location, proposed cover and 

7 proposed management practices.’’; 

8 (4) by striking ‘‘(B) establish’’ and inserting 

9 the following: 

10 ‘‘(B) FLEXIBILITY.—The Secretary may 

11 establish’’; 

12 (5) by striking ‘‘abated.’’ and inserting ‘‘abated, 

13 in order to more effectively address specific State or 

14 regional resource concerns and conservation prior15 ities.’’; and 

16 (6) by adding at the end the following new sub17 paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(C) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER CONSERVA19 TION PROGRAMS.—In the enrollment of land in 

20 the conservation reserve established under this 

21 subchapter, the Secretary shall give a priority 

22 to land that cannot produce comparable envi23 ronmental benefits if maintained in agricultural 

24 production and enrolled in the environmental 

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1 signed to assist producers in improving the en2 vironmental performance of working agricul3 tural land.’’. 

4 (i) CONSERVATION RESERVE ENHANCEMENT PRO5 GRAM.—Section 1234(f)(1) of such Act is (16 U.S.C. 

6 3834(f)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

7 new sentence: ‘‘The Secretary may waive this payment 

8 limitation for persons participating in a conservation re9 serve enhancement program if the Secretary determines 

10 such a waiver is necessary to achieve the objectives of the 

11 conservation reserve enhancement program.’’. 

12 (j) EARLY TERMINATION CLAUSE FOR BIOENERGY

13 PRODUCTION.—At the end of section 1231(e), add the fol14 lowing new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(4) EARLY TERMINATION OPTION FOR BIO16 ENERGY PRODUCTION.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

18 offer to producers applying for entry into the 

19 Conservation Reserve through the general 

20 signup under section 1234(c)(2)(A), the option 

21 of including a contract provision to allow the af22 fected acreage to exit from the reserve at any 

23 time after an initial period of 3 years but prior 

24 to competing a full contract term in order to 

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1 produce a sustainable cellulosic bioenergy crop 

2 on the affected acres. 

3 ‘‘(B) ELIGIBLE LANDS.—Lands eligible to 

4 be covered by an early termination from the re5 serve are those acres having an erodibility index 

6 value less than 15 and are otherwise eligible for 

7 enrollment in the conservation reserve except 

8 land that is to be enrolled under the continuous 

9 signup or the conservation reserve enhancement 

10 program under section 1234(c)(2)(B). 

11 ‘‘(C) RESTRICTIONS.—In the event that a 

12 producer with an early termination clause in 

13 the conservation reserve contract chooses to ex14 ercise this option, the Secretary shall require 

15 the producer to restrict any agricultural produc16 tion during the remaining term that the af17 fected acres would have had under the contract 

18 to the production of a sustainable cellulosic bio19 energy crop on the lands. 

20 ‘‘(D) PAYMENT REDUCTION.—If a pro21 ducer chooses to have the option clause included 

22 in the conservation reserve contract, the Sec23 retary shall reduce the annual rental payment 

24 otherwise payable for the contract to be paid on 

25 those acres during the time of enrollment. 

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1 ‘‘(E) CONTRACT TERMINATION.—If a pro2 ducer exercises the option to have the affected 

3 acreage leave the reserve in order to produce a 

4 sustainable cellulosic bioenergy crop, the Sec5 retary shall terminate the CRP contract and 

6 cease making any payment to the producer for 

7 these acres.’’. 

8 SEC. 216. WETLANDS RESERVE PROGRAM. 

9 (a) EXTENSION.— 

10 (1) FUNDING EXTENSION.—Section 1241(a)(2) 

11 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

12 3841(a)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘The’’ and in13 serting ‘‘For each of fiscal years 2002 through 

14 2013, the’’. 

15 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

16 1237(c) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3837(c)) is amended 

17 by striking ‘‘2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’. 

18 (b) MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT.—Section 1237(b)(1) of 

19 such Act (16 U.S.C. 3837(b)(1)) is amended by striking 

20 ‘‘2,275,000 acres’’ and inserting ‘‘5,000,000 acres’’. 

21 (c) WETLAND EASEMENT CONSERVATION PLAN.— 

22 Section 1237A(b)(3) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3837a(b)(3)) 

23 is amended by inserting before the semicolon at the end 

24 the following: ‘‘and activities necessary to maintain hydromstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 logic, habitat, and other functional values of the wet2 lands’’. 

3 (d) COST-SHARE AND MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE.— 

4 Section 1237C of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3837c) is amend5 ed— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘including 

7 necessary hydrologic and habitat maintenance activi8 ties,’’ after ‘‘values,’’; and 

9 (2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

10 following new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(4) MANAGEMENT COSTS.—The Secretary 

12 may make payments to owners to cover up to the 

13 full actual cost of undertaking any ongoing or peri14 odic management activities necessary to maintain 

15 the functional values of wetland enrolled in the wet16 lands reserve program.’’. 

17 SEC. 217. PILOT PROGRAM FOR CONSERVATION RISK MAN18 AGEMENT. 

19 Chapter 5 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Secu20 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb et seq.) is amended 

21 by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 1240R. PILOT PROGRAM FOR CONSERVATION RISK 

23 MANAGEMENT. 

24 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

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1 ‘‘(1) Numerous studies have identified risk as a 

2 major barrier to the adoption of well established con3 servation measures such as Best Management Prac4 tices (BMPs). 

5 ‘‘(2) Studies have determined that conservation 

6 risk management guarantees are among the most 

7 cost effective means of inducing conservation adop8 tion. 

9 ‘‘(3) The Pennsylvania Department of Agri10 culture has successfully operated an experimental 

11 conservation risk management program in conjunc12 tion with the Agricultural Conservation Innovation 

13 Center of the American Farmland Trust. 

14 ‘‘(b) PILOT PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary 

15 shall establish a pilot program to support innovative con16 servation risk management tools to encourage the imple17 mentation of conservation and best management practices 

18 on working lands. 

19 ‘‘(b) CONSERVATION RISK MANAGEMENT.—The Sec20 retary shall undertake a pilot project in the locations spec21 ified in paragraph (c) to encourage the adoption of con22 servation practices and best management practices on 

23 working lands by offering producers innovative tools to 

24 manage the business and production risk of implementing 

25 conservation and/or best management practices on some 

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1 portion of their operations. Such risk management tools 

2 shall include price and yield guarantees that are contin3 gent on conversion to conservation and/or best manage4 ment practices, such as reduced application rates of nutri5 ents. 

6 ‘‘(c) PILOT PROJECTS.—Pilot projects in conserva7 tion risk management shall be undertaken in the following 

8 locations: 

9 ‘‘(1) Chesapeake Bay watershed. 

10 ‘‘(2) Great Lakes Basin. 

11 ‘‘(3) New York’s Finger Lakes Region. 

12 ‘‘(4) Ohio River Watershed. 

13 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity 

14 Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall provide $20 mil15 lion each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 to carry out 

16 the pilot conservation risk management program author17 ized by this section. The funds shall be allocated in the 

18 following manner: 

19 ‘‘(1) $10 million to establish and maintain a 

20 guarantee pool, from which, payments can be made 

21 to producers participating in the pilot conservation 

22 risk management program that suffered losses when 

23 implementing conservation and/or best management 

24 practices. 

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1 ‘‘(2) $5 million to administer and deliver the 

2 pilot conservation risk management program to pro3 ducers. 

4 ‘‘(3) $5 million for research to improve and 

5 maintain the integrity of the pilot conservation risk 

6 management program. The research shall focus on 

7 the following priority areas: 

8 ‘‘(A) Impact of short-term and long-term 

9 weather changes on the performance of con10 servation and best management practices. 

11 ‘‘(B) Genomic markers indicating nutrient 

12 insufficiency. 

13 ‘‘(C) Improving actuarial analysis and per14 formance. 

15 ‘‘(D) Impact of new fertility recommenda16 tions on yield and net returns. 

17 ‘‘(E) Impact of reduced tillage practices 

18 for continuous corn on yield and net returns. 

19 ‘‘(F) Research on other risk management 

20 tools to improve the adoption of conservation 

21 and best management practices. 

22 ‘‘(G) Impact of emerging technologies and 

23 enhanced nutrient management techniques, 

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1 trient testing, precision farming practices, on 

2 yield and net returns. 

3 ‘‘(e) REPORT.—The Secretary shall conduct an as4 sessment of the effectiveness of the conservation risk man5 agement pilot and publish reports, available to the public, 

6 with results of the assessment. Such assessments shall be 

7 undertaken at least midway during and at the end of the 

8 pilot program.’’. 

9 Subtitle B—Conservation Corridor 

10 Demonstration Program 

11 SEC. 221. CONSERVATION CORRIDOR DEMONSTRATION 

12 PROGRAM. 

13 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

14 (1) The Chesapeake Bay restoration will not 

15 achieve its goals as expected under the Chesapeake 

16 2000 agreement by the 2010 deadline. 

17 (2) The Delmarva Peninsula, comprised of the 

18 Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland 

19 and Virginia and the State of Delaware contributes 

20 a large percentage of nutrients and sediment load21 ings to the Chesapeake Bay each year. 

22 (3) Agricultural lands, forests and open space 

23 provide the greatest contribution per dollar of invest24 ment to water quality improvements and are critical 

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1 to the restoration of water quality in the Chesapeake 

2 Bay. 

3 (4) Effective, efficient and targeted use of fund4 ing for conservation programs on farms on the Del5 marva Peninsula is the best way to ensure meaning6 ful contributions of the very willing agricultural pro7 duction industries to be better environmental stew8 ards and contribute more to the Chesapeake Bay 

9 restoration. 

10 (b) DELMARVA CONSERVATION CORRIDOR DEM11 ONSTRATION PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall establish 

12 the program, known as the ‘‘Conservation Corridor Dem13 onstration Program’’, under which the States of Delaware, 

14 Maryland, and Virginia or any one of those States shall 

15 submit a plan to integrate agriculture and forestry con16 servation programs, coordinated across the landscape, of 

17 the Department of Agriculture and State and local efforts 

18 toward conservation on agricultural lands and sustain19 ability of farming on the Peninsula. 

20 (c) SUBMISSION OF CONSERVATION CORRIDOR

21 PLAN.— 

22 (1) SUBMISSION AND PROPOSAL.—To be eligi23 ble to participate in the demonstration program, a 

24 State, or combination of States referred to in sub25 section (b) shall— 

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1 (A) submit to the Secretary a plan that— 

2 (i) proposes specific criteria and com3 mitment of resources in the geographic re4 gion designated in the plan; and 

5 (ii) describes how the linkage of Fed6 eral, State, and local resources will im7 prove— 

8 (I) the economic viability of agri9 culture; and 

10 (II) the environmental integrity 

11 of the watersheds in the Delmarva Pe12 ninsula; 

13 (B) demonstrate to the Secretary, in devel14 oping the plan, the State, or combination of 

15 States has solicited and taken into account the 

16 views of local residents. 

17 (2) DRAFT OF MEMORANDUM OF AGREE18 MENT.—If the conservation corridor plan is sub19 mitted by more than one State, the plan shall pro20 vide a draft memorandum of agreement among enti21 ties in each submitting State. 

22 (d) REVIEW OF PLAN.—Not later than 90 days after 

23 the date of receipt of a conservation corridor plan, the Sec24 retary— 

25 (1) shall review the plan; and 

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1 (2) may approve the plan for implementation 

2 under this subtitle if the Secretary determines that 

3 the plan meets the requirements specified in sub4 section (e). 

5 (e) CRITERIA FOR APPROVAL.—The Secretary may 

6 approve a plan only if, as determined by the Secretary, 

7 the plan provides for each of the following: 

8 (1) VOLUNTARY ACTIONS.—Actions taken 

9 under the plan— 

10 (A) are voluntary; 

11 (B) require the consent of willing land12 owners; and 

13 (C) provide a mechanism by which the 

14 landowner may withdraw such consent without 

15 adverse consequences other than the loss of any 

16 payments to the landowner conditioned on con17 tinued enrollment of the land. 

18 (2) NO EFFECT ON UNENROLLED LAND.—The 

19 enrollment of land in a conservation program incor20 porated through the plan will neither— 

21 (A) adversely affect any adjacent land not 

22 so enrolled; nor 

23 (B) create any buffer zone on such 

24 unenrolled land. 

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1 (3) SUFFICIENT STAFFING.—Staffing, consid2 ering both Federal and non-Federal resources, is 

3 sufficient to ensure success of the plan. 

4 SEC. 222. IMPLEMENTATION OF CONSERVATION CORRIDOR 

5 PLAN. 

6 (a) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—On approval of 

7 a conservation corridor plan, the Secretary may enter into 

8 a memorandum of agreement with the State, local govern9 ment, or combination of States that submitted the plan 

10 to— 

11 (1) guarantee specific program resources for 

12 implementation of the plan; 

13 (2) establish various compensation rates to the 

14 extent that the parties to the agreement consider 

15 justified; and 

16 (3) provide streamlined and integrated paper17 work requirements. 

18 (b) CONTINUED COMPLIANCE WITH PLAN APPROVAL

19 CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall terminate the memo20 randum of agreement entered into under subsection (a) 

21 with respect to an approved conservation corridor plan and 

22 cease the provision of resources for implementation of the 

23 plan if the Secretary determines that, in the implementa24 tion of the plan— 

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1 (1) the State or combination of States that sub2 mitted the plan has deviated from— 

3 (A) the plan; 

4 (B) the criteria on which approval of the 

5 plan was conditioned; or 

6 (C) the cost-sharing requirements or any 

7 other condition of the plan; or 

8 (2) the economic viability of agriculture in the 

9 geographic region designated in the plan is being 

10 hindered. 

11 (c) PROGRESS REPORT.—At the end of the 3-year pe12 riod that begins on the date on which funds are first pro13 vided with respect to a conservation corridor plan under 

14 the demonstration program, the State, local government, 

15 or combination of States that submitted the plan shall 

16 submit to the Secretary— 

17 (1) a report on the effectiveness of the activities 

18 carried out under the plan; and 

19 (2) an evaluation of the economic viability of 

20 agriculture in the geographic region designated in 

21 the plan. 

22 (d) DURATION.—The demonstration program shall 

23 be carried out for not less than 3 nor more than 5 years 

24 beginning on the date on which funds are first provided 

25 under the demonstration program. 

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1 SEC. 223. FUNDING REQUIREMENTS. 

2 (a) COST SHARING.— 

3 (1) REQUIRED NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—Subject 

4 to paragraph (2), as a condition on the approval of 

5 a conservation corridor plan, the Secretary shall re6 quire the State and local participants to contribute 

7 financial resources sufficient to cover at least 50 

8 percent of the total cost of the activities carried out 

9 under the plan. 

10 (2) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary may reduce 

11 the cost-sharing requirement in the case of a specific 

12 project or activity under the demonstration program 

13 on good cause and on demonstration that the project 

14 or activity is likely to achieve extraordinary natural 

15 resource benefits. 

16 (b) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary shall 

17 direct funds (under programs amended by subtitle A of 

18 this title) on a priority basis to implement the plan by 

19 prioritizing to projects in areas identified by the plan. 

20 SEC. 224. RELATION TO EXISTING PROGRAM. 

21 This subtitle supercedes subtitle G of title II of the 

22 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Public 

23 Law 107–171; 16 U.S.C. 3801 note). 

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1 TITLE III—ENERGY 

2 SEC. 301. DEFINITION OF BIOMASS. 

3 Section 9001(3)(B)(i) of the Farm Security and 

4 Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8101(3)(B)(i)) 

5 is amended by inserting ‘‘and crop waste’’ after ‘‘agricul6 tural crops’’. 

7 SEC. 302. RESEARCH ON BIOBASED PRODUCTS. 

8 Section 9002(k)(2)(A) of the Farm Security and 

9 Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8102(k)(2)(A)) 

10 is amended— 

11 (1) by striking ‘‘$1,000,000’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘$10,000,000’’; and 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘2002 through 2007’’ and in14 serting ‘‘2008 through 2013’’. 

15 SEC. 303. DEVELOPMENT OF BIOREFINERIES. 

16 Section 9003(h) of the Farm Security and Rural In17 vestment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8103(h)) is amended to 

18 read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(h) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity 

20 Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall make available to 

21 carry out this section $100,000,000 for each of fiscal 

22 years 2008 through 2013.’’. 

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1 SEC. 304. ENERGY AUDIT AND RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVEL2 OPMENT PROGRAM. 

3 Section 9005(i) of the Farm Security and Rural In4 vestment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8105(i)) is amended to 

5 read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

7 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

8 $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013.’’. 

9 SEC. 305. RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS AND ENERGY EF10 FICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM. 

11 Section 9006 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest12 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8106) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 

14 following new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(3) PREFERENCE FOR COMMUNITY

16 PROJECTS.—In awarding grants or providing loans 

17 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give pref18 erence for activities that— 

19 ‘‘(A) are undertaken jointly by more than 

20 one eligible entity in a local community, as de21 termined by the Secretary; 

22 ‘‘(B) involve direct cooperation between 

23 two or more eligible entities, as determined by 

24 the Secretary; or 

25 ‘‘(C) foster community or cooperative ap26 proaches to renewable energy and energy effimstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ciency development, as determined by the Sec2 retary.’’; 

3 (2) by striking subsection (f); 

4 (3) by redesignating subsection (e) as sub5 section (f); 

6 (4) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol7 lowing new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(e) PRODUCTION-BASED INCENTIVE IN LIEU OF

9 GRANT.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the authority 

11 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall, on the re12 quest of an applicant eligible to receive payments 

13 under this section, make production-based payments 

14 to the applicant in lieu of a grant. 

15 ‘‘(2) CONTINGENCY.—The Secretary may not 

16 make a production-based payment under paragraph 

17 (1) unless the applicant demonstrates documented 

18 energy production and sales from a renewable en19 ergy system to a third party. 

20 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—The value of a production21 based payment under this subsection may not exceed 

22 the lesser of— 

23 ‘‘(A) 25 percent of the eligible project 

24 costs; or 

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1 ‘‘(B) any other limit that the Secretary 

2 considers appropriate.’’; and 

3 (5) by adding at the end the following new sub4 section: 

5 ‘‘(g) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity 

6 Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall make available to 

7 carry out this section— 

8 ‘‘(1) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, to re9 main available until expended; 

10 ‘‘(2) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, to re11 main available until expended; 

12 ‘‘(3) $130,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, to re13 main available until expended; 

14 ‘‘(4) $180,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, to re15 main available until expended; and 

16 ‘‘(5) $250,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 

17 and 2013, to remain available until expended.’’. 

18 SEC. 306. BIOMASS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. 

19 Section 310 of the Biomass Research and Develop20 ment Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 7624 note; Public Law 106– 

21 224) is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 310. FUNDING. 

23 ‘‘(a) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity 

24 Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall make available to 

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1 carry out this title $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

2 2008 through 2013. 

3 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In ad4 dition to amounts transferred under subsection (a), there 

5 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title 

6 $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013. 

7 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts made 

8 available under subsection (a) or appropriated pursuant 

9 to the authorization of appropriations in subsection (b) 

10 shall remain available until expended.’’. 

11 SEC. 307. COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND EXTENSION 

12 PROJECTS FOR CARBON CYCLE, RENEWABLE 

13 ENERGY, AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE 

14 NORTHEAST AND MID-ATLANTIC UNITED 

15 STATES. 

16 The Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 (Public 

17 Law 106–224) is amended by inserting after section 227 

18 the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 228. COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND EXTENSION 

20 PROJECTS FOR CARBON CYCLE, RENEWABLE 

21 ENERGY, AND CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE 

22 NORTHEAST AND MID-ATLANTIC UNITED 

23 STATES. 

24 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

25 grants to eligible universities described in subsection (b) 

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1 in order to conduct research on carbon cycle, renewable 

2 energy, and climate change. 

3 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE NORTHEAST AND MID-ATLANTIC

4 UNIVERSITIES.—The eligible universities or consortiums 

5 containing one or more eligible universities described in 

6 this subsection are— 

7 ‘‘(1) Cornell University; 

8 ‘‘(2) the University of the District of Columbia; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(3) public universities in the following States: 

11 ‘‘(A) Maine. 

12 ‘‘(B) Delaware. 

13 ‘‘(C) Connecticut. 

14 ‘‘(D) Maryland. 

15 ‘‘(E) Massachusetts. 

16 ‘‘(F) New Hampshire. 

17 ‘‘(G) New Jersey. 

18 ‘‘(H) New York. 

19 ‘‘(I) Pennsylvania. 

20 ‘‘(J) Rhode Island. 

21 ‘‘(K) Vermont. 

22 ‘‘(L) Virginia. 

23 ‘‘(c) USE.—The universities described in subsection 

24 (b) shall use funds provided pursuant to a grant under 

25 this section to— 

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1 ‘‘(1) conduct research to improve the scientific 

2 basis of using land management practices to in3 crease soil carbon sequestration, including research 

4 on the use of new technologies to increase carbon 

5 cycle effectiveness, such as biotechnology and 

6 nanotechnology; 

7 ‘‘(2) enter into partnerships to identify, develop, 

8 and evaluate agricultural best practices, including 

9 partnerships between— 

10 ‘‘(A) Federal, State, or private entities; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(B) the Department of Agriculture; 

13 ‘‘(3) develop computer models to predict and 

14 assess the carbon cycle; 

15 ‘‘(4) estimate and develop mechanisms to meas16 ure carbon levels made available as a result of— 

17 ‘‘(A) voluntary Federal conservation pro18 grams; 

19 ‘‘(B) private and Federal forests; and 

20 ‘‘(C) other land uses; 

21 ‘‘(5) develop outreach programs, in coordination 

22 with the Cooperative State Research, Education, and 

23 Extension Service of the Department of Agriculture, 

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1 tural best practices that is useful to agricultural pro2 ducers; 

3 ‘‘(6) conduct research on the effects of in4 creased greenhouse gases and global warming upon 

5 agriculture in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic re6 gions of the United States; and 

7 ‘‘(7) conduct studies of the potential for pro8 duction of— 

9 ‘‘(A) ethanol and other biofuels from cel10 lulosic materials produced in the Northeast and 

11 Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States; 

12 ‘‘(B) electricity produced from cellulosic 

13 materials produced in the Northeast and Mid14 Atlantic regions of the United States; and 

15 ‘‘(C) natural gas produced from agricul16 tural waste and animal waste produced in the 

17 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the 

18 United States. 

19 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more than three 

20 percent of the funds made available pursuant to subsection 

21 (e) may be used for administrative costs incurred in car22 rying out this section. 

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

24 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

25 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013.’’. 

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1 SEC. 308. INDUSTRIAL SITE REDEVELOPMENT THROUGH 

2 CELLULOSIC PROGRAM. 

3 Section 9010 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest4 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8108) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)(1), to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(1) BIOFUEL.—The term ‘biofuel’ means liq7 uid transportation fuel, including biodiesel, fuel 

8 grade ethanol, and woody biomass.’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (a)(3)(A), to read as follows: 

10 ‘‘(A) residue and waste material from the 

11 production of agricultural crops (including 

12 wheat and rice straw, corn stover, sugar ba13 gasse, and trimmings from fruits and tree 

14 nuts);’’; 

15 (3) by striking subsection (a)(4) and inserting 

16 the following new paragraphs: 

17 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE SITE.—The term ‘eligible site’ 

18 means either an active industrial or processing facil19 ity (including a distillery, ethanol plant, or paper 

20 mill), a site that once held such a facility that is no 

21 longer in active use, or land contiguous with and im22 mediately surrounding an active industrial or proc23 essing facility or a site that once held such a facility 

24 that is no longer in active use. 

25 ‘‘(5) ELIGIBLE PROJECT.—The term ‘eligible 

26 project’ means any project that utilizes an eligible 

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1 site for the industrial production of biofuel directly 

2 from an eligible commodity. 

3 ‘‘(6) ELIGIBLE PRODUCER.—The term ‘eligible 

4 producer’ means a producer operating an eligible 

5 project.’’; and 

6 (4) by striking subsections (b) and (c) and in7 serting the following new subsections: 

8 ‘‘(b) INDUSTRIAL SITE REDEVELOPMENT THROUGH

9 CELLULOSIC PROGRAM.— 

10 ‘‘(1) GRANTS, LOANS, AND LOAN GUARAN11 TEES.—The Secretary shall provide grants, loans, 

12 and loan guarantees to an eligible producer for the 

13 following activities: 

14 ‘‘(A) Purchase of equipment for an eligible 

15 project. 

16 ‘‘(B) Purchase of construction or related 

17 services for an eligible project. 

18 ‘‘(C) Construction of infrastructure for an 

19 eligible project. 

20 ‘‘(2) PRODUCTION BASED PAYMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In lieu of providing a 

22 grant under paragraph (a), the Secretary may 

23 provide annual payments to an eligible producer 

24 based on demonstrated production of biofuel 

25 from eligible commodities. 

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1 ‘‘(B) MAXIMUM PAYMENT PER GALLON.— 

2 The Secretary may provide payments to an eli3 gible producer of not more than two dollars for 

4 every gallon of biofuel produced by the eligible 

5 producer in a fiscal year. 

6 ‘‘(3) LIMITATIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) GRANTS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Grants provided 

9 under paragraph (1) may not exceed 

10 $25,000,000 per eligible project. 

11 ‘‘(ii) GRANTS, LOANS, AND LOAN

12 GUARANTEES.—The total combined 

13 amount of grants, loans, and loan guaran14 tees provided under paragraph (1) to an el15 igible producer or for an eligible project 

16 may not exceed $50,000,000. 

17 ‘‘(B) PRODUCTION BASED PAYMENTS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Production based 

19 payments provided under paragraph (2) 

20 may not exceed $25,000,000. 

21 ‘‘(ii) PRODUCTION BASED PAYMENTS, 

22 LOANS, AND LOAN GUARANTEES.—The 

23 total combined amount of production based 

24 payments provided under paragraph (2) 

25 and loans and loan guarantees provided 

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1 under paragraph (1) to an eligible pro2 ducer or for an eligible project may not ex3 ceed $50,000,000. 

4 ‘‘(4) MATCHING REQUIREMENT FOR GRANTS, 

5 LOANS, AND LOAN GUARANTEES.—A recipient of 

6 funds under this paragraph (1) shall provide match7 ing funds from non-Federal sources in an amount 

8 equal to or greater than the amount of Federal 

9 funds received. 

10 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity 

11 Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out 

12 this section not more than $150,000,000 for each of fiscal 

13 years 2008 through 2013.’’. 

14 SEC. 309. FARM AND RANCH ENERGY EFFICIENCY REBATE 

15 PROGRAM. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide com17 petitive grants to eligible entities described in subsection 

18 (b) to provide rebates for farmers, ranchers, rural school 

19 districts, and rural small businesses to purchase renewable 

20 energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements. 

21 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An eligible entity de22 scribed in this subsection is— 

23 (1) a State energy or agriculture office; 

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1 (2) a nonprofit energy efficiency or renewable 

2 energy organization that uses public funds provided 

3 directly or under contract with a State agency; 

4 (3) a nonprofit organization with a dem5 onstrated ability to administer a State-wide energy 

6 efficiency or renewable energy rebate program; or 

7 (4) a consortium of entities described in para8 graphs (1), (2), and (3). 

9 (c) MERIT REVIEW.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

11 a merit review process to review applications for 

12 grants under subsection (a) that uses the expertise 

13 of the Department of Agriculture, other Federal and 

14 State agencies, and non-governmental organizations. 

15 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In reviewing the applica16 tion of an eligible entity to receive a grant under 

17 subsection (a), the Secretary shall consider— 

18 (A) the experience and expertise of the en19 tity in establishing and administering a State20 wide clean energy rebate program; 

21 (B) the annual projected energy savings or 

22 production increases resulting from the pro23 posed program; 

24 (C) the environmental benefits resulting 

25 from the proposed program; and 

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1 (D) other appropriate factors, as deter2 mined by the Secretary. 

3 (d) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.—An eligible entity 

4 that is awarded a grant pursuant to subsection (a) shall 

5 provide assurances to the Secretary that funds provided 

6 to the entity under this subsection will be used in addition 

7 to, and not in place of, the amount of Federal, State, and 

8 local funds otherwise expended for rebate programs. 

9 (e) REBATE AMOUNT.—The amount of a rebate pro10 vided from a grant under this subsection shall not exceed 

11 the lesser of— 

12 (1) $10,000; or 

13 (2) 50 percent of the cost incurred to purchase 

14 a renewable energy system or an energy efficiency 

15 improvement. 

16 (f) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity Cred17 it Corporation, the Secretary shall make available to carry 

18 out this section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 

19 through 2013. 

20 SEC. 310. ALTERNATIVE USES FOR BIOFUEL BYPRODUCTS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

22 grants to eligible universities or consortiums containing 

23 one or more eligible universities in the Northeast and Mid24 Atlantic regions of the United States described in sub25 section (b) to conduct research on alternative uses for bymstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 products produced as a result of the production of biofuel 

2 and bio-energy. 

3 (b) ELIGIBLE NORTHEAST AND MID-ATLANTIC UNI4 VERSITIES.—The eligible universities referred to in sub5 section (a) are the following or consortium containing one 

6 of more of the following: 

7 (1) Cornell University. 

8 (2) The University of the District of Columbia. 

9 (3) Public universities in the following States: 

10 (A) Maine. 

11 (B) Delaware. 

12 (C) Connecticut. 

13 (D) Maryland. 

14 (E) Massachusetts. 

15 (F) New Hampshire. 

16 (G) New Jersey. 

17 (H) New York. 

18 (I) Pennsylvania. 

19 (J) Rhode Island. 

20 (K) Vermont. 

21 (L) Virginia. 

22 (c) GRANT LIMITATION.—The amount of a grant 

23 provided to an eligible university under this section shall 

24 not exceed the lesser of— 

25 (1) $1,000,000 in any fiscal year; or 

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1 (2) 10 percent of the available funds in any fis2 cal year. 

3 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) BIOFUEL.—The term ‘‘biofuel’’ means liq5 uid transportation fuel, including biodiesel and fuel 

6 grade ethanol. 

7 (2) BIO-ENERGY.—The term ‘‘bio-energy’’ 

8 means heat or electricity produced from any of the 

9 following sources: 

10 (A) Solar panels or concentrators. 

11 (B) Wind capturing devices. 

12 (C) Small-scale hydro-electric devices. 

13 (D) Methane and other bio-digesters. 

14 (E) Landfill digesters. 

15 (F) Biomass. 

16 (G) Waste materials from cropping or live17 stock production. 

18 (3) BY-PRODUCTS.—The term ‘‘by-products’’ 

19 means the following materials: 

20 (A) Solid and liquid matter produced in 

21 the process of producing biofuel or bio-energy 

22 that may be converted to food, feed, fiber, or 

23 energy. 

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1 (B) Unused electricity, energy or heat pro2 duced from the biofuel or bio-energy production 

3 process. 

4 (C) Unused solid or liquid materials not 

5 consumed during the biofuel or bio-energy pro6 duction process. 

7 (e) FUNDING.—There is authorized to be appro8 priated to carry out this title $10,000,000 for each of fis9 cal years 2008 through 2013. 

10 SEC. 311. NATIONAL NET METERING FOR FARM ENERGY. 

11 (a) ADOPTION OF STANDARD.—Section 111(d) of the 

12 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 

13 2621(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(11) NET METERING.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each electric utility 

16 shall make available upon request net metering 

17 service to any electric consumer that the electric 

18 utility serves. 

19 ‘‘(B) REFERENCES.—For purposes of im20 plementing this paragraph, any reference con21 tained in this section to the date of enactment 

22 of this Act shall be deemed to be a reference to 

23 the date of enactment of this paragraph.’’. 

24 (b) SPECIAL RULES FOR NET METERING.—Section 

25 115 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 

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1 (16 U.S.C. 2625) is amended by adding at the end the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(i) NET METERING.— 

4 ‘‘(1) In this subsection: 

5 ‘‘(A) The term ‘eligible onsite generating 

6 facility’ means— 

7 ‘‘(i) a facility on the site of a residen8 tial electric consumer with a maximum 

9 generating capacity of 25 kilowatts or less; 

10 or 

11 ‘‘(ii) a facility on the site of a com12 mercial electric consumer with a maximum 

13 generating capacity of 1,000 kilowatts or 

14 less, that is fueled solely by a renewable 

15 energy resource. 

16 ‘‘(B) The term ‘net metering service’ 

17 means service to an electric consumer under 

18 which electric energy generated by that electric 

19 consumer from an eligible onsite generating fa20 cility and delivered to the local distribution fa21 cilities may be used to offset electric energy 

22 provided by the electric utility to the electric 

23 consumer during the applicable billing period. 

24 ‘‘(C) The term ‘renewable energy resource’ 

25 means— 

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1 ‘‘(i) solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, 

2 or wave energy; 

3 ‘‘(ii) landfill gas; 

4 ‘‘(iii) energy produced from livestock 

5 waste; 

6 ‘‘(iv) energy produced from a bio-di7 gester; 

8 ‘‘(v) fuel cells; and 

9 ‘‘(vi) a combined heat and power sys10 tem. 

11 ‘‘(2) In undertaking the consideration and mak12 ing the determination concerning net metering es13 tablished by section 111(d)(11), the following shall 

14 apply: 

15 ‘‘(A) An electric utility— 

16 ‘‘(i) shall charge the owner or oper17 ator of an onsite generating facility rates 

18 and charges that are identical to those that 

19 would be charged other electric consumers 

20 of the electric utility in the same rate 

21 class; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) shall not charge the owner or op23 erator of an onsite generating facility any 

24 additional standby, capacity, interconnec25 tion, or other rate or charge. 

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1 ‘‘(B) An electric utility that sells electric 

2 energy to the owner or operator of an onsite 

3 generating facility shall measure the quantity of 

4 electric energy produced by the onsite facility 

5 and the quantity of electricity consumed by the 

6 owner or operator of an onsite generating facil7 ity during a billing period in accordance with 

8 normal metering practices. 

9 ‘‘(C) If the quantity of electric energy sold 

10 by the electric utility to an on-site generating 

11 facility exceeds the quantity of electric energy 

12 supplied by the onsite generating facility to the 

13 electric utility during the billing period, the 

14 electric utility may bill the owner or operator 

15 for the net quantity of electric energy sold, in 

16 accordance with normal metering practices. 

17 ‘‘(D) If the quantity of electric energy sup18 plied by the onsite generating facility to the 

19 electric utility exceeds the quantity of electric 

20 energy sold by the electric utility to the onsite 

21 generating facility during the billing period— 

22 ‘‘(i) the electric utility may bill the 

23 owner or operator of the onsite generating 

24 facility for the appropriate charges for the 

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1 billing period in accordance with subpara2 graph (B); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) the owner or operator of the on4 site generating facility shall be credited for 

5 the excess kilowatt-hours generated during 

6 the billing period, with the kilowatt-hour 

7 credit appearing on the bill for the fol8 lowing billing period. 

9 ‘‘(E) An eligible onsite generating facility 

10 and net metering system used by an electric 

11 consumer shall meet all applicable safety, per12 formance, reliability, and interconnection stand13 ards established by the National Electrical 

14 Code, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics 

15 Engineers, and Underwriters Laboratories. 

16 ‘‘(F) The Commission, after consultation 

17 with State regulatory authorities and nonregu18 lated electric utilities and after notice and op19 portunity for comment, may adopt, by rule, ad20 ditional control and testing requirements for 

21 onsite generating facilities and net metering 

22 systems that the Commission determines are 

23 necessary to protect public safety and system 

24 reliability. 

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1 ‘‘(G) An electric utility must provide net 

2 metering services to electric consumers until the 

3 cumulative generating capacity of net metering 

4 systems equals 10.0 percent of the utility’s peak 

5 demand during the most recent calendar year. 

6 ‘‘(H) Nothing in this subsection precludes 

7 a State from imposing additional requirements 

8 regarding the amount of net metering available 

9 within a State consistent with the requirements 

10 of this section.’’. 

11 TITLE IV—HEALTHY DIETS 

12 SEC. 401. EXPANSION OF FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLE 

13 PROGRAM. 

14 Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School 

15 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769) is amended in subsection 

16 (g)— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

18 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

19 (A), by striking ‘‘July 2004’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘July 2007’’; and 

21 (B) by amending subparagraphs (A) and 

22 (B) to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(A) 100 elementary or secondary schools 

24 in each State; 

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1 ‘‘(B) additional elementary or secondary 

2 schools in each State in proportion to the stu3 dent population of the State; and’’. 

4 (2) in paragraph (3)(A), by striking ‘‘paragraph 

5 (1)(B)’’ and inserting ‘‘paragraph (1)’’; 

6 (3) in paragraph (5), in each of subparagraphs 

7 (A) and (B), by striking ‘‘2008’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘2011’’; and 

9 (4) in paragraph (6)(B)— 

10 (A) in clause (i)— 

11 (i) by striking ‘‘October 1, 2004, and 

12 on each October 1 thereafter,’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘October 1, 2007, and on each October 

14 1 thereafter,’’; and 

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘$9,000,000’’ and in16 serting ‘‘$300,000,000’’; and 

17 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(iii) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 

19 For fiscal year 2008 and each fiscal year 

20 thereafter, of the amount available to carry 

21 out this subsection, the Secretary may re22 serve not more than 1 percent of that 

23 amount for administrative expenses in car24 rying out this subsection. 

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1 ‘‘(iv) STATE ADMINISTRATIVE

2 COSTS.—For fiscal year 2008 and each fis3 cal year thereafter, of the amount received 

4 by a State to carry out this subsection, the 

5 State may use not more than 5 percent of 

6 that amount for administrative expenses in 

7 carrying out this subsection. To be eligible 

8 to use such funds for such expenses, the 

9 State must submit to the Secretary a plan 

10 indicating how the State intends to use 

11 such funds. 

12 ‘‘(v) FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.—The 

13 Secretary shall establish requirements to 

14 be followed by States in administering this 

15 subsection. The initial set of requirements 

16 shall be established not later than 1 year 

17 after the date of the enactment of this 

18 clause.’’. 

19 SEC. 402. SECTION 32 SPECIALTY CROP PURCHASES. 

20 (a) MINIMUM LEVEL OF PURCHASES.—Section 32 of 

21 the Act of August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c) is amended 

22 in the sixth sentence by inserting after ‘‘and their prod23 ucts’’ the following: ‘‘, and, for each of fiscal years 2008 

24 through 2013, the Secretary of Agriculture shall devote 

25 not less than $400,000,000 of sums appropriated under 

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1 this section to purchases of non-basic agricultural com2 modities, such as fruits, vegetables, and other specialty 

3 food crops’’. 

4 (b) EXPANSION OF DOD FRESH PROGRAM.—Such 

5 section is further amended by inserting after the sixth sen6 tence, as amended by subsection (a), the following new 

7 sentence: ‘‘Of the funds specified in the preceding sen8 tence, the Secretary of Agriculture shall expend not less 

9 than $50,000,000 fiscal year 2008, $75,000,000 for both 

10 fiscal years 2009 and 2010, $100,000,000 for fiscal year 

11 2011, and $125,000,000 for fiscal years 2012 and 2013 

12 for the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables for distribu13 tion to schools and service institutions in accordance with 

14 section 6(a) of the Richard B. Russell National School 

15 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1755(a)).’’. 

16 SEC. 403. SCHOOL PREFERENCE STUDY. 

17 The Secretary of Agriculture shall carry out a study 

18 on the preferences of elementary and secondary schools 

19 for commodity distribution, including the extent to which 

20 such schools prefer commodity distribution to include 

21 fresh fruits and vegetables, and submit to Congress a re22 port on the results of the study. The report shall include 

23 an analysis of the logistical issues that would impede ef24 forts to increase the extent to which commodity distribu25 tion to schools includes fresh fruits and vegetables, and 

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1 shall include recommendations for improving the avail2 ability of fresh fruits and vegetables to schools. 

3 SEC. 404. INDEPENDENT EVALUATION OF DEPARTMENT OF 

4 AGRICULTURE COMMODITY PURCHASE 

5 PROCESS. 

6 (a) EVALUATION REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Agri7 culture shall arrange to have performed an independent 

8 evaluation of the commodity purchasing processes (and 

9 the statutory and regulatory authority underlying such 

10 processes) used by the Department of Agriculture to re11 move surplus commodities from the market and support 

12 commodity prices and producer incomes, especially with 

13 regard to activities under section 32 of the Act of August 

14 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c) and the importance of increas15 ing purchases of perishable specialty crops. 

16 (b) SUBMISSION OF RESULTS.—Not later than 1 year 

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

18 of Agriculture shall submit to Congress a report on the 

19 results of the evaluation. 

20 SEC. 405. ALLOW GEOGRAPHIC PREFERENCES IN FOOD 

21 PURCHASING PROGRAMS. 

22 Section 9(j)(1)(A) of the Richard B. Russell National 

23 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(j)(1)(A)) is amended 

24 by striking ‘‘encourage’’ and inserting ‘‘allow’’. 

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1 SEC. 406. AUTHORIZATION LEVEL FOR FARM-TO-CAFE2 TERIA ACTIVITIES. 

3 Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School 

4 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769) is amended in subsection 

5 (i)(2) by striking ‘‘such sums as are necessary’’ and all 

6 that follows through the period at the end and inserting 

7 ‘‘to carry out this subsection $20,000,000 for each of fis8 cal years 2008 through 2013.’’. 

9 SEC. 407. EXTENSION OF WIC FARMER’S MARKET NUTRI10 TION PROGRAM. 

11 Section 17(m)(9)(A) of the Child Nutrition Act of 

12 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(m)(9)(A)) is amended— 

13 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘2009’’ and insert14 ing ‘‘2013’’; and 

15 (2) by striking clause (ii) and inserting the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(ii) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of the 

18 Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall make 

19 available to carry out this subsection $20,000,000 for fis20 cal year 2008, $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, 

21 $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, $60,000,000 for fiscal 

22 year 2011, and not less than $75,000,000 for fiscal year 

23 2012 and each fiscal year thereafter. Such funds shall re24 main available until expended.’’. 

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1 SEC. 408. SENIOR FARMERS’ MARKET NUTRITION PRO2 GRAM. 

3 Section 4402 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest4 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3007) is amended— 

5 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘$5,000,000’’ 

6 and all that follows through ‘‘2007’’, and inserting 

7 ‘‘$20,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, $30,000,000 for 

8 fiscal year 2009, $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, 

9 $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, and not less than 

10 $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 and each fiscal 

11 year thereafter’’; 

12 (2) in subsection (b)— 

13 (A) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

14 the end; 

15 (B) in paragraph (3) by striking the period 

16 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

17 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(4) to promote the transition to organic and 

19 other environmentally beneficial food production sys20 tems.’’; and 

21 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub22 section: 

23 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS; BENEFITS LEVELS.— 

24 The regulations required by subsection (c)— 

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1 ‘‘(1) shall allow for participation by farmers 

2 markets, and roadside stands, community supported 

3 agriculture programs; and 

4 ‘‘(2) shall not limit the ability of State or re5 gional programs to set benefit levels per individual 

6 senior.’’. 

7 SEC. 409. DISABLED FARMERS MARKET NUTRITION PILOT 

8 PROGRAM. 

9 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that low-income dis10 abled individuals suffer from similar forms of malnutrition 

11 as low-income seniors, and that the disabled population 

12 would reap nutritional benefits from such a farmers mar13 ket voucher program where they are able to purchase 

14 fresh, healthy food from local farmers. 

15 (b)(1) PILOT PROGRAM ESTABLISHMENT.—The Sec16 retary of Agriculture shall carry out a pilot program with 

17 respect to the States specified in paragraph (d) under 

18 which the Secretary creates a farmers’ market nutrition 

19 program for disabled individuals. 

20 (2) Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora21 tion, the Secretary of Agriculture shall use $1,000,000 for 

22 fiscal year 2008 to carry out this section, and such sums 

23 as necessary for fiscal years 2009 through 2013. 

24 (c) PROGRAM PURPOSES.—The purposes of the farm25 ers’ market nutrition pilot program are— 

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1 (1) to provide resources in the form of fresh, 

2 nutritious, unprepared, locally grown fruits, vegeta3 bles, and herbs from farmers’ markets, roadside 

4 stands, and community supported agriculture pro5 grams to low-income disabled individuals; 

6 (2) to increase the domestic consumption of ag7 ricultural commodities by expanding or aiding in the 

8 expansion of domestic farmers’ markets, roadside 

9 stands, and community supported agriculture pro10 grams; and 

11 (3) to develop or aid in the development of new 

12 and additional farmers’ markets, roadside stands, 

13 and community supported agriculture programs. 

14 (d) STATES.—The Secretary shall use funds referred 

15 to in subsection (b)(2) for pilot programs on the West 

16 Coast in California, in the North East, in the South East, 

17 and in the Mid-West. 

18 (e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may issue such 

19 regulations as the Secretary considers necessary to carry 

20 out the farmers’ market nutrition program. 

21 (f) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

22 term ‘‘disabled individual’’ means an individual who has 

23 a disability as defined in section 3 of the Americans with 

24 Disabilities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102). 

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1 SEC. 410. FARMERS’ MARKET PROMOTION PROGRAM. 

2 Section 6 of the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Mar3 keting Act of 1976 (7 U.S.C. 3005) is amended by strik4 ing subsections (d) and (e) and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(d) CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab7 lish criteria and guidelines for the submission, eval8 uation, and funding of proposed projects under the 

9 Program. 

10 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall prioritize 

11 the funding of projects that will support, encourage, 

12 or promote the transition to organic and other envi13 ronmentally beneficial forms of agricultural produc14 tion. 

15 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity 

16 Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use $25,000,000 

17 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 to carry out 

18 this section, of which $5,000,000 shall be used to support 

19 the use of electronic benefit transfers at farmers’ mar20 kets.’’. 

21 SEC. 411. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND DEPARTMENT OF 

22 AGRICULTURE PROCUREMENT OF LOCALLY 

23 PRODUCED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. 

24 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

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1 (1) Locally procured agricultural products, as 

2 compared to products transported from distant 

3 sources— 

4 (A) are often harvested closer to full ripe5 ness and can have higher nutritional quality; 

6 (B) can have improved ripeness, taste, or 

7 selection, which can increase rates of consump8 tion of agricultural products; and 

9 (C) are more efficient to store, distribute, 

10 and package. 

11 (2) Use of local produce— 

12 (A) reduces dependence upon foreign oil by 

13 reducing fuel consumption rates associated with 

14 the production or transportation of agricultural 

15 products; 

16 (B) can help to improve the ability of those 

17 using the procurement system to provide edu18 cation on nutrition, farming, sustainability, en19 ergy efficiency, and the importance of local pur20 chases to the local economy; 

21 (C) helps to maintain a robust logistics 

22 network for agricultural product procurement; 

23 and 

24 (D) promotes farm, business, and economic 

25 development by accessing local markets. 

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1 (3) Section 9(j) of the Richard B. Russell Na2 tional School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(j)) directs 

3 the Secretary of Agriculture to encourage institu4 tions participating in the school lunch program es5 tablished under that Act and the school breakfast 

6 program established by section 4 of the Child Nutri7 tion Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) to purchase, in 

8 addition to other food purchases, locally produced 

9 foods, to the maximum extent practicable and appro10 priate. 

11 (b) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE GEOGRAPHIC PRO12 CUREMENT PREFERENCE.—Notwithstanding any other 

13 provision of law, the Department of Defense may use a 

14 geographic preference to purchase locally produced agri15 cultural products for— 

16 (1) the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia; 

17 (2) the Department of Defense Farm to School 

18 Program; 

19 (3) the Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and 

20 Vegetable Program; 

21 (4) the service academies; 

22 (5) Department of Defense domestic dependent 

23 schools; 

24 (6) other Department of Defense schools under 

25 chapter 108 of title 10, United States Code; 

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1 (7) commissary and exchange stores; and 

2 (8) morale, welfare, and recreation facilities op3 erated by the Department of Defense. 

4 (c) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND RELATED

5 ENTITIES GEOGRAPHIC PROCUREMENT PREFERENCE.— 

6 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Depart7 ment of Agriculture, schools, local educational agencies, 

8 and other entities may use a geographic preference to pur9 chase locally produced agricultural products for— 

10 (1) the school breakfast program established by 

11 section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 

12 U.S.C. 1773); 

13 (2) the school lunch program established under 

14 the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 

15 (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); 

16 (3) the summer food service program for chil17 dren established under section 13 of the Richard B. 

18 Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 

19 1761); and 

20 (4) the child and adult care food program es21 tablished under section 17 of the Richard B. Russell 

22 National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766). 

23 (d) ADDITION OF GEOGRAPHIC PREFERENCE.—In 

24 the case of the purchase of agricultural products, specifi25 cally fresh, dried or frozen fruits and vegetables and other 

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1 specialty crops reflecting local preferences and support of 

2 local agriculture to the maximum extent practicable and 

3 appropriate, will be acquired from pre-approved local and 

4 regional vendors and distributors authorized by the Sec5 retary who have agreed to supply eligible products to the 

6 above referenced schools and service institutions. The pre7 approved vendors and distributors must demonstrate an 

8 ability to supply products from local growers and proc9 essors and comply with food safety standards developed 

10 by the Secretary and consistently provide products that 

11 meet standards of grade, size, freshness and quality as 

12 required by the Secretary or local procurement officer. 

13 This should not preclude the above referenced schools and 

14 service institutions from purchasing from potential local 

15 farmers in compliance with applicable state procurement 

16 laws and statutes. 

17 (e) REPORTING.—A school, local educational agency, 

18 or other entity participating in one or more of the pro19 grams described in subsection (c) shall report to the Sec20 retary of Agriculture if the school, local educational agen21 cy, or other entity pays more than 10 percent more than 

22 the lowest bid to purchase locally produced agricultural 

23 products in accordance with this section. 

24 (f) REVIEW.—The Secretary of Defense and the Sec25 retary of Agriculture shall periodically review the use of 

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1 the geographic preference provided by this section to pre2 vent fraud or abuse. 

3 TITLE V—FORESTRY 

4 SEC. 501. NATIONAL AND STATE FOREST PRIORITIZATION 

5 AND PLANNING. 

6 (a) NATIONAL PRIORITIES.—Within 12 months of 

7 passage of this legislation, the Secretary, in coordination 

8 with other Federal agencies, shall develop national prior9 ities for the Nation’s privately-owned forest lands that in10 clude an explanation of the most pressing threats to the 

11 sustainability, management and conservation of private 

12 forests and expected roles for Federal agencies and USDA 

13 conservation and forest programs in partnering with 

14 States and private landowners to address identified 

15 threats. 

16 (b) STATE FOREST PLANS.—Within 36 months of 

17 passage of this legislation, each State forester, or equiva18 lent State official as designated by the Governor of that 

19 State, in consultation with State conservationists, State 

20 wildlife agencies, and other appropriate agencies and 

21 stakeholders, shall develop a State forest plan that in22 cludes— 

23 (1) an outline of threats to the sustainability, 

24 management, and conservation of privately-owned 

25 forests in that State, with particular reference to 

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1 those threats outlined in the Secretary’s national 

2 priorities that are relevant to the respective State; 

3 (2) goals and strategies for addressing identi4 fied threats and maintaining the productivity and 

5 capacity of forest resources in that State, including 

6 how coordinated application of USDA conservation 

7 and forest programs can address relevant threats 

8 and support private landowners; and 

9 (3) a program to monitor and measure progress 

10 towards reaching goals and implementing strategies 

11 in the plan. 

12 (c) APPROPRIATIONS.—$10 million shall be provided 

13 to USDA and the States annually in fiscal years 2008, 

14 2009, and 2010 to carry out this section, with such sums 

15 as necessary provided in future fiscal years for updating 

16 of plans as the Secretary shall deem appropriate. 

17 SEC. 502. HEALTHY FORESTS RESERVE PROGRAM. 

18 (a) METHODS OF ENROLLMENT.—Section 502(f)(1) 

19 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

20 U.S.C. 6572(f)(1)) is amended by striking subparagraph 

21 (C) and inserting the following new subparagraph: 

22 ‘‘(C) a permanent easement,’’. 

23 (b) FUNDING.—Section 508 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

24 6578) is amended to read as follows: 

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1 ‘‘SEC. 508. FUNDING FOR HEALTHY FORESTS RESERVE 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 ‘‘(a) FUNDING SOURCE.—For each of fiscal years 

4 2008 through 2013, the Secretary shall allocate $50 mil5 lion from the funds, facilities, and authorities of the Com6 modity Credit Corporation to carry out the healthy forests 

7 reserve program, including the provision of technical as8 sistance under the program. 

9 ‘‘(b) SECTION 11 CAP.—The use of Commodity Cred10 it Corporation funds under subsection (a) to provide tech11 nical assistance under the healthy forests reserve program 

12 shall not be considered an allotment or fund transfer from 

13 the Commodity Credit Corporation for purposes of the 

14 limitation on expenditures for technical assistance imposed 

15 by section 11 of the Commodity Credit Corporation Char16 ter Act (15 U.S.C. 714i).’’. 

17 SEC. 503. COMMUNITY FOREST AND OPEN SPACE CON18 SERVATION PROGRAM. 

19 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

20 (1) the United States Forest Service recently 

21 projected that 44 million acres of private forest will 

22 be developed across the Nation through 2030, in23 cluding many of the most important remaining par24 cels within and adjacent to communities, creating an 

25 urgent need for local governments to have the finanmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 cial resources to purchase the most publicly impor2 tant parcels as they come up for sale; 

3 (2) the rapidly expanding base of private 

4 forestland owners created by forest parcelization in5 cludes many individuals with no experience in forest 

6 stewardship, creating an urgent need for demonstra7 tion sites for proper forest management, for which 

8 many communities are using municipal or county 

9 forestland; 

10 (3) in fast growing communities of all sizes 

11 across the Nation, remaining parcels of forestland 

12 play an essential role in protecting public water sup13 plies, leading many local governments to purchase 

14 these lands for municipal or county ownership; 

15 (4) rising rates of obesity and other public 

16 health problems related to inactivity have been 

17 shown to be ameliorated by improving public access 

18 to safe and pleasing areas for outdoor recreation, 

19 leading many local governments to purchase recre20 ation lands for municipal or county ownership; 

21 (5) across the Nation, many communities of di22 verse types and sizes are deriving significant finan23 cial benefit from owning and managing municipal or 

24 county forestland as a source of local revenue that 

25 also contributes significantly to the health of the formstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 est products economy at the local and national lev2 els; 

3 (6) public hunting, fishing, and trapping access 

4 and subsequently participation have declined as for5 ests and watersheds nationwide are parcelized 

6 among a growing base of private owners who often 

7 post their land against public use, leading many mu8 nicipalities and counties to purchase forestland to 

9 guarantee access for sportsmen and women; and 

10 (7) there is a national interest in financially as11 sisting communities in the purchase of important 

12 forest parcels that will maintain the diverse public 

13 benefits of forestland close to or within all manner 

14 of communities nationwide, from close-knit rural 

15 communities to fast growing suburban and exurban 

16 areas. 

17 (b) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.— 

18 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agri19 culture shall establish a program within the United 

20 States Forest Service, to be known as the Commu21 nity Forest and Open Space Conservation Program, 

22 in cooperation with appropriate State and local units 

23 of government for the purpose of enabling munici24 palities and counties to acquire forest areas that are 

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1 tant to that locality and that are threatened by con2 version to non-forest uses. 

3 (2) PURPOSE.—Areas purchased under this 

4 program are intended to conserve community access 

5 to and benefit from forests for a wide variety of pub6 lic purposes that may include but are not limited to 

7 model forest stewardship, sustainable timber produc8 tion, forest-based educational and cultural activities, 

9 wildlife habitat, watershed protection, and public ac10 cess for outdoor recreation including hunting and 

11 fishing. 

12 (c) INTERESTS IN LAND.— 

13 (1) MUNICIPAL OR COUNTY OWNERSHIP.—All 

14 properties acquired using funds under this program 

15 shall be owned in fee by a municipality or county. 

16 (2) NONPROFIT OWNERSHIP.—Upon request of 

17 a participating State, designated nonprofit organiza18 tions operating within that State may also own lands 

19 using funds under this program, providing that the 

20 land is open for public access consistent with the 

21 purposes and criteria of this program. 

22 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

23 (1) INITIAL PROGRAMS.—Not later than 1 year 

24 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec25 retary shall establish at least 1 State program in 

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1 each of the New England, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, 

2 South, West, and Pacific Northwest regions of the 

3 United States, upon application from a willing State 

4 in that region. No State or region shall be compelled 

5 to participate in the program. 

6 (2) AUTHORITY.—Authority for implementation 

7 of the Community Forest Conservation and Open 

8 Space Program in each participating State shall lie 

9 with the State forester, equivalent State official, or 

10 other appropriate State natural resource manage11 ment agency as designated by the Governor of that 

12 State. 

13 (3) ASSESSMENT OF NEED.—Each partici14 pating State shall prepare an Assessment of Need 

15 identifying geographic program focus areas within 

16 that State and priority objectives for conservation 

17 based on conditions and public needs in that State. 

18 This requirement may be satisfied by inclusion as 

19 part of an integrated statewide forest planning proc20 ess for application of Federal programs in that 

21 State. 

22 (e) ELIGIBILITY AND CRITERIA.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Within 1 year from the date 

24 of enactment of this section and in consultation with 

25 State Forest Stewardship Advisory Committees, 

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1 State Urban and Community Forestry Advisory 

2 Committees, and similar organizations, the Secretary 

3 shall establish eligibility and ranking criteria for 

4 projects to receive funding through this program. 

5 (2) CRITERIA.—Of land proposed to be included 

6 in the Community Forest and Open Space Conserva7 tion Program, the Secretary shall develop criteria 

8 that give priority to lands which meet identified local 

9 open space and natural resource needs as captured 

10 in town plans, regional plans, or other relevant local, 

11 regional, or State planning documents, can be effec12 tively managed to model good forest stewardship for 

13 private landowners, support forest-based educational 

14 programs including vocational education in forestry, 

15 provide significant protection of public water sup16 plies or other waterways, can offer long-term eco17 nomic benefit to communities through forestry, con18 tain important wildlife habitat, provide convenient 

19 public access for outdoor recreation including hunt20 ing and fishing, and are threatened with conversion 

21 to non-forest uses. Special consideration shall be 

22 given to proposals reflecting coordination and joint 

23 planning at regional scale among 2 or more munici24 palities and/or counties. 

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1 (f) APPLICATION AND RANKING.—Any municipality 

2 or county that wishes to participate may prepare and sub3 mit a project application to acquire forest lands within a 

4 State’s geographic program focus area to the Community 

5 Forest and Open Space Conservation Program in that 

6 State at such time in such form and containing such infor7 mation as the Secretary may prescribe. This application 

8 must include certification from the appropriate unit(s) of 

9 local government that the project is consistent with any 

10 comprehensive plans for development adopted by such 

11 unit(s). States will rank all project submissions and sub12 mit to the Secretary. The Secretary shall create a national 

13 list ranking all submitted projects subject to the criteria 

14 described in section 5(b). 

15 (g) DUTIES OF OWNERS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—For lands acquired through 

17 this program, the municipality or county shall be re18 quired to manage the property in a manner that is 

19 consistent with the purposes for which the land was 

20 purchased through the Community Forest and Open 

21 Space Conservation Program and shall not convert 

22 such property to other non-forest uses. Public access 

23 for compatible recreational uses, as determined by 

24 the municipality or county, shall be required. 

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1 (2) FOREST MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Within 2 

2 years of closing on any purchase using funds under 

3 this program, a municipality or county must com4 plete a forest management plan for the purchased 

5 property subject to the approval of the responsible 

6 State agency. Management plans shall be created 

7 through a public process that allows for community 

8 participation and input. 

9 (3) REIMBURSEMENT AND PENALTY.—Should a 

10 municipality or county sell land acquired with funds 

11 obtained through this program, the municipality or 

12 county must reimburse the Federal Government the 

13 full amount of original funding plus a penalty equal 

14 to 50 percent of the current sale price or appraised 

15 value, whichever is higher. Any municipality or coun16 ty that sells lands acquired using funds through this 

17 program shall no longer be eligible for future grants 

18 from this program. 

19 (h) COST SHARING.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with terms 

21 and conditions that the Secretary shall prescribe, 

22 costs for the acquisition of lands or project costs 

23 shall be shared among participating entities includ24 ing State, county, municipal, and other govern25 mental units, landowners, corporations, or private 

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1 organizations. Such costs may include, but are not 

2 limited to, those associated with planning, adminis3 tration, property acquisition, and property manage4 ment. 

5 (2) MATCHING REQUIREMENT.—The Federal 

6 share of total project costs shall not exceed 50 per7 cent for any project, including any in-kind contribu8 tion. Payments under this section shall be in accord9 ance with Federal appraisal and acquisition stand10 ards and procedures. 

11 (i) STATE ADMINISTRATION AND TECHNICAL AS12 SISTANCE.—In order to assist municipalities and counties 

13 in model stewardship of lands acquired under this pro14 gram, 10 percent of all funds appropriated each year for 

15 the Community Forest Conservation Program shall be al16 located to the responsible State agencies in participating 

17 States to administer the program and to provide technical 

18 assistance to municipalities and counties for forest stew19 ardship, including development and implementation of an 

20 approved forest management plan. 

21 (j) APPROPRIATION.—There are authorized to be ap22 propriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out 

23 this section. 

24 (k) PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION AND LACK OF

25 REGULATORY EFFECT.— 

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1 (1) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL

2 LAND USE.—Nothing in this Act modifies any au3 thority of Federal, State, or local governments to 

4 regulate land use. 

5 (2) PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY

6 OWNERS.—Nothing in this Act requires the owner of 

7 any private property to participate in private forest 

8 conservation, financial, or technical assistance or 

9 any other programs established under this Act. 

10 TITLE VI—NUTRITION 

11 Subtitle A—Food Stamp Program 

12 SEC. 601. PREVENTING REDUCTIONS IN BENEFITS. 

13 Section 3(o) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 

14 U.S.C. 2012(o)) is amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘on October 1, 1996,’’ the sec16 ond place it appears; and 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘on September’’ and all that fol18 lows through ‘‘2002’’, and inserting ‘‘during the im19 mediately preceding fiscal year’’. 

20 SEC. 602. STRENGTHENING THE FOOD PURCHASING 

21 POWER OF LOW-INCOME AMERICANS. 

22 Section 5(e)(1) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 

23 U.S.C. 2014(e)(1)) is amended— 

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1 (1) In subparagraph (a)(ii) by striking ‘‘not less 

2 than $134’’ and all that follows to the end of the 

3 clause and inserting the following: 

4 ‘‘not less than $156, $267, $220, and 

5 $137, respectively. For October 1, 2008, 

6 and each fiscal year thereafter, an amount 

7 that is equal to the amount from the pre8 vious fiscal year adjusted to the nearest 

9 lower dollar increment to reflect changes in 

10 the Consumer Price Index for all urban 

11 consumers published by the Bureau of 

12 Labor Statistics, for items other than food, 

13 for the twelve months ending the preceding 

14 June 30.’’; and 

15 (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii) by striking ‘‘not 

16 less than $269.’’ and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘not less than $313. For October 1, 2008, 

18 and each fiscal year thereafter, an amount 

19 that is equal to the amount from the pre20 vious fiscal year adjusted to the nearest 

21 lower dollar increment to reflect changes in 

22 the Consumer Price Index for All Urban 

23 Consumers published by the Bureau of 

24 Labor Statistics, for items other than food, 

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1 for the twelve months ending the preceding 

2 June 30.’’. 

3 SEC. 603. CHILD CARE DEDUCTION. 

4 Section 5(e)(3)(A) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 

5 (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)(3)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘, the 

6 maximum allowable level of which shall be $200 per month 

7 for each dependent child under 2 years of age and $175 

8 per month for each other dependent,’’. 

9 SEC. 604. EXCLUSION OF COMBAT-RELATED MILITARY PAY 

10 FROM COUNTABLE INCOME. 

11 Section 5(d) of the Food Stamp Act of 2007 (7 

12 U.S.C. 2014(d)) is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘and (18)’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘(18)’’; and 

15 (2) by inserting before the period at the end the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(19) any additional payment received under chapter 

18 5 of title 37, United States Code, by a member of the 

19 United States Armed Forces deployed to a designated 

20 combat zone for the duration of the member’s deployment 

21 if the additional pay is the result of deployment to or while 

22 serving in a combat zone, and it was not received imme23 diately prior to serving in the combat zone’’. 

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1 SEC. 605. EXCLUSION OF RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS FROM 

2 COUNTABLE FINANCIAL RESOURCES. 

3 (a) RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS.—Section 5(g)(2)(B)(v) 

4 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

5 2014(g)(2)(B)(v)), as amended by section 604, is amend6 ed by striking ‘‘or retirement account (including an indi7 vidual account)’’ and inserting ‘‘account’’. 

8 (b) MANDATORY AND DISCRETIONARY EXCLU9 SIONS.—Section 5(g) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 

10 U.S.C. 2014(g)) is amended by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(8) EXCLUSION OF RETIREMENT ACCOUNTS

13 FROM COUNTABLE FINANCIAL RESOURCES.— 

14 ‘‘(A) MANDATORY EXCLUSIONS.—The Sec15 retary shall exclude from financial resources 

16 under this subsection the value of any funds in 

17 a plan, contract, or account, described in sec18 tion 401(a), 403(a), 403(b), 408, 408A, 457(b), 

19 or 501(c)(18) of the Internal Revenue Code of 

20 1986 and the value of funds in a Federal Thrift 

21 Savings Plan account as provided in section 

22 8439 of title 5 of the United States Code. 

23 ‘‘(B) DISCRETIONARY EXCLUSIONS.—The 

24 Secretary may exclude from financial resources 

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1 tirement plans, contracts, or accounts (as deter2 mined by the Secretary by regulation).’’. 

3 SEC. 606. ALLOWABLE COUNTABLE RESOURCES. 

4 Section 5(g) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 

5 U.S.C. 2014(g)) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘(g)(1) The Secretary’’ and in7 serting the following: 

8 ‘‘(g) ALLOWABLE FINANCIAL RESOURCES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) TOTAL AMOUNT.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’. 

11 (2) in subparagraph (A) (as so designated by 

12 paragraph (1))— 

13 (A) by inserting ‘‘(as adjusted in accord14 ance with subparagraph (B))’’ after ‘‘$2,000’’; 

15 and 

16 (B) by inserting ‘‘(as adjusted in accord17 ance with subparagraph (B))’’ after ‘‘$3,000’’; 

18 and 

19 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on Oc22 tober 1, 2007, and each October 1 there23 after, the amounts in subparagraph (A) 

24 shall be adjusted to the nearest $100 in25 crement to reflect changes for the 12- 

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1 month period ending the preceding June in 

2 the Consumer Price Index for All Urban 

3 Consumers published by the Bureau of 

4 Labor Statistics of the Department of 

5 Labor. 

6 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT.—Each adjust7 ment under clause (i) shall be based on the 

8 unrounded amount for the prior 12-month 

9 period.’’. 

10 SEC. 607. FACILITATING SIMPLIFIED REPORTING. 

11 Section 6(c) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 

12 U.S.C. 2015(c)(1)(A)) is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (1)(a) by— 

14 (A) striking ‘‘reporting by’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘reporting’’; 

16 (B) inserting ‘‘for periods shorter than 

17 four months by’’ after the clause designations 

18 in clauses (I) and (ii); and 

19 (C) inserting ‘‘by’’ after the clause des20 ignation in clause (iii); and 

21 (2) in paragraph (3) by— 

22 (A) striking ‘‘Reports required to be filed 

23 monthly under paragraph (1)’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘Except as provided in paragraph (1)(D)(ii), 

25 periodic reports filed under paragraph (1)’’; 

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1 (B) striking ‘‘required to be filed month2 ly’’; 

3 (C) striking ‘‘subject matter included in 

4 such reports’’ and inserting ‘‘such households’’; 

5 and 

6 (D) inserting after the third sentence the 

7 following: ‘‘The State agency shall not be re8 quired to act on information about such house9 hold received from any source between such 

10 periodic reports unless the information clearly 

11 indicates that the household is not eligible, sub12 ject to standards established by the Secretary, 

13 or the household requests an increase in bene14 fits.’’. 

15 SEC. 608. SIMPLIFYING WORK REQUIREMENT. 

16 (a) Section 6 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 

17 U.S.C. 2015) is amending by striking subsection (o). 

18 (b) Section 16(h)(1) of the food stamp act of 1977 

19 (7 U.S.C. 2025(h)(1)) is amended— 

20 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

21 (A) in clause (vi)(II) by striking ‘‘and’’; 

22 (B) in clause (vii) by striking the period at 

23 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (C) by adding at the end the following 

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1 ‘‘(viii) for each of fiscal years 2008 

2 through 2012, $110,000,000.’’; and 

3 (2) by striking subparagraph (E). 

4 SEC. 609. MINIMUM BENEFIT. 

5 Section 8(a) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 

6 U.S.C. 2017(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘$10 per month.’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘20 percent of the thrifty food plan for a 

8 household containing one member, as determined by the 

9 Secretary under section 3(o).’’. 

10 SEC. 610. REAUTHORIZATION OF FOOD STAMP PROGRAM 

11 AND FOOD DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM ON IN12 DIAN RESERVATIONS. 

13 (a) GRANTS FOR SIMPLE APPLICATION AND ELIGI14 BILITY DETERMINATION SYSTEMS AND IMPROVED AC15 CESS TO BENEFITS.—Section 11(t)(1) of the Food Stamp 

16 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2020(t)(1)) is amended by striking 

17 ‘‘2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2012’’. 

18 (b) FOOD STAMP EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING.— 

19 Section 16(h)(1) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

20 2025(h)(1)) is amended— 

21 (1) in subparagraph (A)(vii) by striking ‘‘2002 

22 through 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2008 through 2012’’; 

23 and 

24 (2) in subparagraph (E)(i) by striking ‘‘2002 

25 through 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2008 through 2012’’. 

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1 (c) REDUCTIONS IN PAYMENTS FOR ADMINISTRA2 TIVE COSTS.—Section 16(k)(3) of the Food Stamp Act 

3 of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2025(k)(3)) is amended— 

4 (1) in the first sentence of subparagraph (A), 

5 by striking ‘‘2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2012’’; and 

6 (2) in subparagraph (B)(ii) by striking ‘‘2007’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘2012’’. 

8 (d) CASH PAYMENT PILOT PROJECTS.—Section 

9 17(b)(1)(B)(vi) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

10 2026(b)(1)(B(vi)) is amended by striking ‘‘2007’’ and in11 serting ‘‘2012’’. 

12 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

13 18(a)(1) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

14 2027(a)(1)) is amended in the 1st sentence by striking 

15 ‘‘2003 through 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2008 through 

16 2012’’. 

17 (f) CONSOLIDATED BLOCK GRANTS FOR PUERTO

18 RICO AND AMERICAN SAMOA.—Section 19(a)(2)(A)(ii) of 

19 the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2028(a)(2)(A)(ii)) 

20 is amended by striking ‘‘2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2012’’. 

21 SEC. 611. ACCOUNTABILITY FOR PAPERWORK REQUIRE22 MENTS. 

23 Section 11(e)(3) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 

24 U.S.C. 2020(e)(3)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, Provided, 

25 That no application shall be denied for lack of verification 

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1 unless the State agency determines that the household re2 fused to comply with a request for verification made by 

3 an individual designated under paragraph (6)(B)’’ after 

4 ‘‘of an application,’’. 

5 SEC. 612. PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR BIOMETRIC 

6 TECHNOLOGY. 

7 Section 7 of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

8 2016) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(k) LIMITATION.—No State agency shall establish 

10 any additional requirements or conditions on households 

11 to receive benefits, other than those specified in this sec12 tion.’’. 

13 SEC. 613. PREVENTING CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. 

14 Section 16(a) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 

15 U.S.C. 2025(a)) is amended by inserting ‘‘directly or indi16 rectly’’ before ‘‘receive or benefit’’ in the final sentence. 

17 SEC. 614. LIMITATION ON CONTRACTING. 

18 Section 16(a) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 

19 U.S.C. 2025(a)) is amended by inserting at the end: ‘‘The 

20 Secretary shall not make any payments for administrative 

21 costs under this or any other section of law relating to 

22 a contract that a State agency concluded in violation of 

23 this Act or the Secretary’s regulations, whether or not the 

24 Secretary may approve the contract subsequent to its let25 ting, or for any personnel costs to carry out functions 

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1 specified under section 11(e)(3) except by persons de2 scribed under section 11(e)(6)(B).’’. 

3 SEC. 615. FAIRNESS FOR LEGAL IMMIGRANTS. 

4 Notwithstanding sections 401(a), 402(a), and 403(a) 

5 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Rec6 onciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 1611(a), 1612(a), 

7 1613(a)) and section 6(f) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 

8 (7 U.S.C. 2015(f)), persons who are lawfully residing in 

9 the United States shall be not be ineligible for food stamps 

10 on the basis of their immigration status or date of entry 

11 into the United States. 

12 SEC. 616. CLARIFYING ELIGIBILITY. 

13 Section 421 of the Personal Responsibility and Work 

14 Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 

15 1631(d)(3)) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘to the extent that a qualified 

17 alien is eligible under section 1612(a)(2)(J) of this 

18 title’’; and 

19 (2) inserting ‘‘to the extent that a child is a 

20 member of the food stamp household’’. 

21 SEC. 617. ENSURING PROPER SCREENING. 

22 Section 11(e)(2)(B) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 

23 (7 U.S.C. 2020(e)(2)(B)) is amended— 

24 (1) by redesignating clauses (vi) and (viii) as 

25 clauses (vii) and (viii); and 

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1 (2) by inserting the following after clause (v): 

2 ‘‘(vi) shall provide a method for imple3 menting 8 U.S.C. 1631 that does not re4 quire any unnecessary information from 

5 persons who may be exempt from that

6 provision;’’. 

7 SEC. 618. CLARIFICATION OF SIMPLIFIED ADMINISTRATIVE 

8 REPORTING REQUIREMENT. 

9 Section 11(a) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 

10 U.S.C. 2020(a)) is amended by adding the following at 

11 the end— 

12 ‘‘The administrative reporting requirement under 8 

13 U.S.C. 1631(e)(2) shall be satisfied by the submission of 

14 an aggregate report on the numbers of such exceptions 

15 granted each year.’’. 

16 Subtitle B—Other Nutrition 

17 Programs 

18 SEC. 631. COMMODITIES FOR THE EMERGENCY FOOD AS19 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

20 Section 27(a) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 

21 U.S.C. 2036(a)) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘(a) purchase of commodities’’ 

23 and all that follows through ‘‘through 2007’’ and in24 serting the following: 

25 ‘‘(a) PURCHASE OF COMMODITIES.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As provided in paragraph 

2 (2), for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012’’; 

3 (2) by striking ‘‘$140,000,000 of’’; and 

4 (3) by inserting at the end: 

5 ‘‘(2) AMOUNTS.—The following amounts are 

6 made available to carry out this subsection: 

7 ‘‘(A) for fiscal year 2008, $250,000,000; 

8 ‘‘(B) for each of fiscal years 2009 through 

9 2012, the dollar amount of commodities avail10 able in the immediately preceding fiscal year 

11 adjusted by the percentage by which the thrifty 

12 food plan has been adjusted under section 

13 3(o)(4) between June 30, 2007 and June 30 of 

14 the immediately preceding fiscal year.’’. 

15 SEC. 632. REAUTHORIZE THE COMMODITY SUPPLEMENTAL 

16 FOOD PROGRAM (CSFP). 

17 Section 4(a) of the Agriculture and Consumer Protec18 tion Act of 1973 (7 U.S.C. 612c note; Public Law 93– 

19 86) is amended in the first sentence by striking ‘‘2007’’ 

20 and inserting ‘‘2012’’. 

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1 SEC. 633. REAUTHORIZATION OF AND INCREASED FUNDING 

2 FOR COMMUNITY FOOD PROJECT COMPETI3 TIVE GRANTS. 

4 (a) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE.—Section 

5 25(b) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2034(b)) 

6 is amended— 

7 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘From 

8 amounts made available to carry out this Act, the 

9 Secretary may’’ and inserting ‘‘The Secretary shall’’; 

10 and 

11 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

12 following: 

13 ‘‘(2) FUNDING AMOUNTS.—From amounts 

14 made available to carry out this Act, the Secretary 

15 shall use for fiscal year 2008 $30,000,000 and for 

16 each fiscal year thereafter the amount available in 

17 the preceding year adjusted to reflect changes in the 

18 in Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers 

19 published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the 

20 twelve months ending the preceding June 30.’’. 

21 (b) PREFERENCE FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS.—Section 

22 25(d) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2034(d)) 

23 is amended— 

24 (1) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

25 end; 

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1 (2) in paragraph (4) by striking the period at 

2 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

3 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(5) serve special project needs in areas of— 

5 ‘‘(A) transportation and processing for ex6 panding institutional and emergency food serv7 ice demand for local food; 

8 ‘‘(B) retail access to healthy foods in un9 derserved markets; 

10 ‘‘(C) integration of urban and metro-area 

11 food production in food projects; and 

12 ‘‘(D) technical assistance for youth, so13 cially disadvantaged individuals, and limited re14 source groups.’’. 

15 (c) MATCHING FUNDS REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

16 25(e)(1) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

17 2034(e)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘50’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘75’’. 

19 (d) TERM OF GRANT.—Section 25(f)(2) of the Food 

20 Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2034(f)(2)) is amended by 

21 striking ‘‘3’’ and inserting ‘‘5’’. 

22 (e) FUNDING.—Section 25(h)(4) of the Food Stamp 

23 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2034(h)(4)) is amended— 

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1 (1) by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2003 through 

2 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2008 through 

3 2013’’; and 

4 (2) by striking ‘‘$200,000’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘$500,000’’. 

6 TITLE VII—CROP INSURANCE 

7 SEC. 701. REAUTHORIZATION OF AND ADDITIONAL FUND8 ING FOR AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT AS9 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

10 (a) REAUTHORIZATION.—Subsection (b)(4)(B) of 

11 section 524 of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 

12 1524) is amended— 

13 (2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2003 

14 through 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2008 

15 through 2013’’; and 

16 (3) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2004 

17 through 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2008 

18 through 2013’’. 

19 (b) FUNDING LEVELS.—Such subsection is further 

20 amended— 

21 (1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘$20,000,000’’ 

22 and inserting ‘‘$40,000,000’’; and 

23 (2) in clause (iii)— 

24 (A) in subclause (I), by striking 

25 ‘‘$14,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$19,000,000’’; 

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1 (B) in subclause (II), by striking 

2 ‘‘$1,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,000,000’’; and 

3 (C) in subclause (III), by striking 

4 ‘‘$5,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$19,000,000’’. 

5 SEC. 702. REAUTHORIZATION, EXPANSION, AND IMPROVE6 MENT OF ADJUSTED GROSS REVENUE (AGR) 

7 INSURANCE PILOT PROGRAM. 

8 (a) REAUTHORIZATION.—Subsection (e)(1) of section 

9 523 of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1524) 

10 is amended by striking ‘‘2004 reinsurance year’’ and in11 serting ‘‘2013 reinsurance year’’. 

12 (b) EXPANSION.—Subsection (e)(2)(a) of section 523 

13 of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1524) is 

14 amended by striking ‘‘the Corporation shall include in the 

15 pilot program for the 2003 reinsurance year at least 8 

16 counties in the State of California and at least 8 counties 

17 in the State of Pennsylvania’’ and inserting ‘‘the Corpora18 tion shall include in the adjusted gross revenue insurance 

19 pilot programs (AGR and AGR–Lite) for the 2008 

20 through 2013 reinsurance years all counties and States 

21 which meet the criteria for selection, pending required rat22 ing.’’. 

23 (c) SPECIFIC POLICY IMPROVEMENTS.—Subsection 

24 (e) of section 523 of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

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1 U.S.C. 1524) is amended by adding at the end the fol2 lowing new paragraphs: 

3 ‘‘(3) COVERAGE LEVELS.—The Corporation 

4 shall, to the maximum extent possible, provide high5 er coverage levels for the adjusted gross revenue in6 surance pilot program including an 85 percent cov7 erage level with a 100 percent payment rate. 

8 ‘‘(4) ACCURATE REFLECTION OF RISK.—The 

9 Corporation shall, to the maximum extent possible, 

10 provide coverage levels for AGR and AGR–Lite that 

11 accurately reflect a producers’ risk under conditions 

12 of increasing intended revenue. 

13 ‘‘(5) INCOME FLOOR.—In order to maintain 

14 adequate coverage levels during low income years, 

15 the Corporation shall, to the maximum extent pos16 sible, provide a 10 percent floor to declines in a pro17 ducers’ 5-year income history, which is used in de18 termining coverage levels. 

19 ‘‘(6) INCLUSION OF PAYMENTS.—The Corpora20 tion shall, to the maximum extent possible, include 

21 crop insurance payments and Noninsured Crop Dis22 aster Assistance as allowable income in producers’ 5- 

23 year income history, which is used to determine pre24 mium rates. 

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1 ‘‘(7) LIVESTOCK RISK ANALYSIS.—The Cor2 poration shall conduct additional analysis to more 

3 accurately reflect dairy and livestock commodities. 

4 ‘‘(8) CARRYOVER COMMODITIES.—The Corpora5 tion shall, to the maximum extent possible, provide 

6 clarity and direction regarding the coverage and in7 ventory rules for commodities with carryover inven8 tory, including but not limited to, Christmas trees, 

9 shellfish, nursery, and livestock. 

10 ‘‘(9) QUARANTINE AND BIO-TERRORISM.—The 

11 Corporation shall, to the maximum extent possible, 

12 include the peril of quarantine and bio-terrorism as 

13 insurable causes of loss. 

14 ‘‘(10) LOCAL MARKET VALUE.— 

15 ‘‘(A) The Corporation shall, to the max16 imum extent possible, establish local market 

17 value for direct marketers by using the best 

18 available estimate from direct marketers rather 

19 than commercial buyers. 

20 ‘‘(B) The Corporation shall, to the max21 imum extent possible, require that the value for 

22 estimating the revenue for the producer’s inten23 tion report for the current year be determined 

24 at the time the intentions report is filed. 

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1 ‘‘(11) EXCLUSION FROM INCOME REQUIRE2 MENT.—The Corporation shall remove the single 

3 crop income requirement, currently at 83.35 percent, 

4 that excludes potatoes from the Adjusted Gross Rev5 enue insurance program. 

6 ‘‘(12) DEFINITION OF ANIMALS.—The Corpora7 tion shall revise the definition of ‘animals’ eligible 

8 for coverage under the adjusted gross revenue insur9 ance pilot program to ensure that it is inclusive of 

10 production agriculture, specifically adding fryers and 

11 shellfish which are licensed commercial producers 

12 under the local approving authority in a certified 

13 growing area. For purposes of this section, a pro14 ducer who can document an insurable interest in 

15 livestock shall be eligible for inclusion in AGR and 

16 AGR–Lite policies. 

17 ‘‘(13) BEGINNING FARMERS.—The Corporation 

18 shall develop a pilot program that provides opportu19 nities for beginning farmers to utilize the adjusted 

20 gross revenue insurance program, such as, providing 

21 special consideration for premium rates to be estab22 lished based on similar farms historical information. 

23 ‘‘(14) SMALL FARMERS.—The Corporation shall 

24 develop a pilot program that provides opportunities 

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1 enue insurance program, such as, providing stream2 lined, reasonably priced coverage. 

3 ‘‘(15) LATE FISCAL YEAR INCOME TAX FIL4 ERS.—The Corporation shall, to the maximum ex5 tent possible, revise program requirements to ensure 

6 that producers that file income taxes in a fiscal year 

7 that does not match the calendar year are treated 

8 equitably to calendar year tax filers, such as, pay9 ment of premiums during or after the insurance year 

10 and requirements for multiple years of a producer’s 

11 intention report. 

12 ‘‘(16) COMMODITIES PRODUCED FOR FEED.— 

13 The Corporation shall, to the maximum extent pos14 sible, revise program requirements to include com15 modities produced for on-farm feed as an intended 

16 commodity.’’. 

17 SEC. 703. CROP INSURANCE INCENTIVES FOR BEGINNING 

18 FARMERS. 

19 Subsection (e)(2) of section 508 of the Federal Crop 

20 Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1524) is amended— 

21 (1) by inserting after paragraph (G) the fol22 lowing new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(H) The portion of the premium paid by 

24 the Corporation, in subparagraphs (B), (C), 

25 (D), (E), (F), and (G) shall be increased by 50 

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1 percent for beginning farmers, as defined by 

2 USDA, in their first year of farming and de3 creasing by 10 percentage points each year for 

4 5 years thereafter.’’. 

5 SEC. 704. CROP INSURANCE APPEALS. 

6 Subsection (j)(2) of section 508 of the Federal Crop 

7 Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1524) is amended— 

8 (1) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘only’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(C) The Secretary shall establish alter12 native claims procedures under which the Cor13 poration, or an approved provider, can settle 

14 appeals for denied claims which utilizes the 

15 State committee of the Farm Service Agency as 

16 a third-party arbiter.’’. 

17 SEC. 705. EXPANDED COVERAGE BASED ON HISTORICAL 

18 DATA. 

19 Subsection (d)(3) of section 522 of the Federal Crop 

20 Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1524) is amended by inserting 

21 after paragraph (G) the following new paragraph: 

22 ‘‘(H) to develop policies or other risk man23 agement tools that provide protection for all 

24 crops and/or commodities produced commer25 cially within each county, utilizing the promstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ducers historical production as the basis for 

2 protection.’’. 

3 SEC. 706. COVERAGE AREA FLEXIBILITY. 

4 Subsection (a) of section 508 of the Federal Crop In5 surance Act (7 U.S.C. 1524) is amended by inserting after 

6 paragraph (8) the following new paragraph: 

7 ‘‘(9) COVERAGE AREA FLEXIBILITY.—Notwith8 standing any other provisions of this title, the Cor9 poration shall provide flexibility to producers to sep10 arate insurance units for each FSA tract or to use 

11 section equivalents where mile-square section surveys 

12 are not in effect.’’. 

13 SEC. 707. PROVISION OF ORGANIC INSURANCE PROGRAMS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 508(d) of the Federal 

15 Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508) is amended by insert16 ing after paragraph (c) the following: 

17 ‘‘(d) SURCHARGE PROHIBITION.—The Corporation 

18 may not require producers to pay a premium surcharge 

19 for using scientifically sound sustainable and organic 

20 farming practices and systems.’’. 

21 (b) ORGANIC COMMODITIES.—Section 508(c) of the 

22 Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508) is amended 

23 by adding a new (5)(C)(v) as follows: 

24 ‘‘(v) in the case of organic commod25 ities, shall be, no later than October 1, 

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1 2009, the expected or the actual organic 

2 market price of the agricultural com3 modity, as determined by the Corpora4 tion.’’. 

5 SEC. 708. EDUCATION AND RISK MANAGEMENT ASSIST6 ANCE. 

7 Section 524(a)(3) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

8 (7 U.S.C. 1524) is amended in subparagraph (C) by strik9 ing ‘‘2’’ and inserting ‘‘3’’. 

10 TITLE VIII—DAIRY 

11 SEC. 801. CONTINUATION OF THE MILK INCOME LOSS CON12 TRACT PROGRAM. 

13 (a) CONTINUATION OF PROGRAM; PAYMENT PER14 CENTAGE RATE.—Section 1502(c)(3)(C) of the Farm Se15 curity and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 

16 7982(c)(3)(C)) is amended by striking ‘‘0 percent’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘and ending on September 30, 2013, 45 per18 cent’’. 

19 (b) MAXIMUM PAYMENT QUANTITY.—Section 

20 1502(d)(2)) of the Farm Security and Rural Investment 

21 Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7982(d)(2)) is amended in the first 

22 sentence by striking ‘‘2,400,000 pounds’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘4,800,000 pounds’’. 

24 (c) CONTRACT SIGNUP AND DURATION.—Section 

25 1502 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 

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1 2002 (7 U.S.C. 7982) is amended in subsections (f) and 

2 (g)(1) by striking ‘‘September 30, 2007’’ each place it ap3 pears and inserting ‘‘September 30, 2013’’. 

4 SEC. 802. MINIMUM PRICE FOR CLASS I MILK UNDER FED5 ERAL MILK MARKETING ORDERS. 

6 Section 8c(5) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 

7 U.S.C. 608c(5)), reenacted with amendments by the Agri8 cultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, is amended 

9 by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(P) CLASS I MILK PRICING.— 

11 ‘‘(i) MINIMUM PRICE.—Notwith12 standing any other provision of law, begin13 ning on October 1, 2007, the minimum 

14 price for Class I milk under each Federal 

15 milk marketing order issued under this 

16 subsection shall be $15.58 per hundred17 weight. 

18 ‘‘(ii) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.— 

19 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on 

20 October 1, 2008, and each October 1 

21 thereafter, the amount in clause (i) 

22 shall be adjusted by the percent that 

23 equals the total percentage change for 

24 the 12-month period ending the pre25 ceding June 30 in the Consumer Price 

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1 Index for All Urban Consumers pub2 lished by the Bureau of Labor Statis3 tics of the Department of Labor. 

4 ‘‘(II) REQUIREMENT.—Each ad5 justment under subclause (I) shall be 

6 based on the unrounded amount for 

7 the prior 12-month period.’’. 

8 SEC. 803. DAIRY EXPORT INCENTIVE AND DAIRY INDEM9 NITY PROGRAMS. 

10 (a) DAIRY EXPORT INCENTIVE PROGRAM.—Section 

11 153(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (15 U.S.C. 713a– 

12 14(a)) is amended by striking ‘‘2007’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘2013’’. 

14 (b) DAIRY INDEMNITY PROGRAM.—Section 3 of Pub15 lic Law 90–484 (7 U.S.C. 450l) is amended by striking 

16 ‘‘2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’. 

17 SEC. 804. FUNDING OF DAIRY PROMOTION AND RESEARCH 

18 PROGRAM. 

19 Section 113(e)(2) of the Dairy Production Stabiliza20 tion Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 4504(e)(2)) is amended by 

21 striking ‘‘2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’. 

22 SEC. 805. FEDERAL MILK MARKETING ORDERS. 

23 (a) 2-CLASS SYSTEM FOR CLASSIFYING MILK.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 

25 30, 2008, the Secretary shall conduct a study of the 

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1 economic benefits to milk producers of establishing 

2 a 2-class system for classifying milk under Federal 

3 milk marketing orders issued under section 8c(5) of 

4 the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(5)), 

5 reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural 

6 Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, consisting of a 

7 fluid milk class and a manufacturing grade milk 

8 class (with the price for both classes determined 

9 using the component prices of butterfat, protein, and 

10 other solids). 

11 (2) AMENDMENT TO ORDERS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary deter13 mines (on the basis of the study conducted 

14 under paragraph (1)) that a 2-class system for 

15 classifying milk under Federal milk marketing 

16 orders would have a positive impact on milk 

17 producers, the Secretary submit a report to the 

18 Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep19 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, 

20 Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate that in21 cludes the text of proposed amendments to the 

22 Federal milk marketing orders to implement 

23 the 2-class system for classifying milk. 

24 (B) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The proposed 

25 amendments described in subparagraph (A) 

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1 shall take effect not earlier than the date that 

2 is 180 days after the date on which the report 

3 is submitted under that subparagraph. 

4 (b) DEADLINE FOR ISSUANCE OF ORDERS.—Section 

5 8c(4) of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 

6 608c(4)), reenacted with amendments by the Agricultural 

7 Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, is amended by striking 

8 ‘‘After’’ and inserting ‘‘Not later than 30 days after’’. 

9 (c) ADVANCED PRICING.—Section 8c(5) of the Agri10 cultural Adjustment Act (7 U.S.C. 608c(5)), reenacted 

11 with amendments by the Agricultural Marketing Agree12 ment Act of 1937, is amended by adding at the end the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(P) ADVANCED PRICING.—Not later than 

15 September 30, 2007, in calculating the ad16 vanced price of Class I butterfat milk and Class 

17 I and II skim milk under Federal milk mar18 keting orders, the Secretary shall use the 4- 

19 week component prices that are used to cal20 culate prices for Class III and Class IV milk, 

21 as determined by the Secretary.’’. 

22 (d) ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT.—The Sec23 retary shall— 

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1 (1) carry out a review of the milk–feed ratio 

2 during the 1-year period ending on the date of en3 actment of this Act; and 

4 (2) not later than September 30, 2008, and 

5 each time a proposed change in the Federal milk 

6 marketing order formulas is considered by the Sec7 retary— 

8 (A) assess the economic impact, over a 1- 

9 and 2-year period, of proposed changes in Fed10 eral milk marketing order formulas on— 

11 (i) milk supply; 

12 (ii) farm profitability; 

13 (iii) consumer demand; and 

14 (iv) market prices; 

15 (B) submit to the Committee on Agri16 culture of the House of Representatives and the 

17 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For18 estry a report that describes the results of the 

19 assessment; and 

20 (C) consider, and include in the record, the 

21 results of the assessment before making a deci22 sion on any proposed change to the Federal 

23 milk marketing order formulas. 

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1 SEC. 806. DAIRY PROCESSING EQUIPMENT LOAN GUAR2 ANTEE FUND. 

3 (a) LOANS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 310B(a) of the Con5 solidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 

6 U.S.C. 1932(a)) is amended— 

7 (A) by designating the first through fifth 

8 sentences as paragraphs (1) through (5), re9 spectively; 

10 (B) by striking ‘‘SEC. 310B. (a) The Sec11 retary’’ and inserting the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 310B. RURAL INDUSTRIALIZATION ASSISTANCE. 

13 ‘‘(a) LOANS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; 

15 (C) by striking ‘‘for the purposes of (1) 

16 improving’’ and inserting ‘‘for the purposes 

17 of— 

18 ‘‘(A) improving’’; 

19 (D) by striking ‘‘abatement and control, 

20 (2) the conservation’’ and inserting ‘‘abatement 

21 and control; 

22 ‘‘(B) the conservation’’; 

23 (E) by striking ‘‘rural areas, (3) reducing’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘rural areas; 

25 ‘‘(C) reducing’’; 

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1 (F) by striking ‘‘rural areas, and (4) to fa2 cilitate economic’’ and inserting ‘‘rural areas; 

3 ‘‘(D) facilitating economic’’; and 

4 (G) by striking ‘‘foreign trade.’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘foreign trade; and 

6 ‘‘(E) providing processors of dairy prod7 ucts with incentives for investing in new equip8 ment and technologies by using not more than 

9 $15,000,000 each fiscal year to— 

10 ‘‘(i) make loans to dairy processors 

11 and cooperatives to cover not more than 50 

12 percent of the cost of acquisition and adop13 tion of new equipment, equipment up14 grades, and new technologies— 

15 ‘‘(I) at a fixed rate of interest 

16 not to exceed the prime lending rate 

17 plus 1 percent; and 

18 ‘‘(II) with a term of not to ex19 ceed 15 years; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) guarantee loans made to dairy 

21 processors and cooperatives for the acquisi22 tion and adoption of new dairy equipment, 

23 equipment upgrades, and new technologies, 

24 at a guarantee rate of 90 percent.’’. 

25 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

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1 (A) Section 307(a)(6)(B)(ii) of the Con2 solidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 

3 U.S.C. 1927(a)(6)(B)(ii)) is amended by strik4 ing ‘‘clause (1) of section 310B(a)’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘section 310B(a)(1)(A)’’. 

6 (B) Section 333A(g)(1)(B) of the Consoli7 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 

8 U.S.C. 1983a(g)(1)(B)) is amended by striking 

9 ‘‘310B(a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘310(a)(1)(A)’’. 

10 (C) Section 381E(d)(3)(B) of the Consoli11 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 

12 U.S.C. 2009d(d)(3)(B)) is amended by striking 

13 ‘‘310B(a)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘310B(a)(1)(A)’’. 

14 (b) LENDING POWER FOR DAIRY PROCESSING CO15 OPERATIVES.—Section 3.7 of the Farm Credit Act of 

16 1971 (12 U.S.C. 2128) is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘(g) DAIRY PROCESSING COOPERATIVES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The banks for cooperatives 

20 may use not more than $15,000,000 each fiscal year 

21 to provide dairy processing cooperatives with work22 ing capital lines of credit and accounts receivable fi23 nancing for the purpose of accessing export mar24 keting opportunities for milk and milk products. 

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1 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—Financing provided by the 

2 banks for cooperatives for a project under paragraph 

3 (1) may not exceed the lesser of— 

4 ‘‘(A) $1,000,000; or 

5 ‘‘(B) 75 percent of the costs of carrying 

6 out the project. 

7 ‘‘(3) TERM.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

9 subparagraph (B), the term of a line of credit 

10 described in paragraph (1) shall not exceed 24 

11 months. 

12 ‘‘(B) REVOLVING LINES OF CREDIT.—A 

13 revolving line of credit may be used for multiple 

14 transactions. 

15 ‘‘(4) DUE DATE.—An accounts receivable fi16 nancing loan under this subsection shall be due on 

17 the earlier of— 

18 ‘‘(A) the date on which the receivable is 

19 paid; or 

20 ‘‘(B) 180 days after the date of disburse21 ment. 

22 ‘‘(5) USE OF FINANCING.— 

23 ‘‘(A) WORKING CAPITAL LINE OF CREDIT

24 FINANCING.—Working capital line of credit fi25 nancing under this subsection may be used— 

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1 ‘‘(i) to acquire inventory for the pro2 duction of milk; 

3 ‘‘(ii) to pay direct and indirect costs 

4 (such as design, engineering, labor, and 

5 overhead costs) used for— 

6 ‘‘(I) the manufacture or purchase 

7 of goods, including work-in-process, 

8 for the production of milk; or 

9 ‘‘(II) for the provision of services 

10 for the production of milk; or 

11 ‘‘(iii) to support standby letters of 

12 credit used as bid bonds, performance 

13 bonds, or payment guarantees. 

14 ‘‘(B) ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE FINANC15 ING.—Accounts receivable financing under this 

16 subsection may be used to finance export ac17 counts receivables for milk and milk products 

18 sold on payment terms of not more than 180 

19 days after the date of arrival at the port of im20 portation, if the finance export accounts receiv21 able have been insured by the Commodity Cred22 it Corporation or other guarantor approved by 

23 the Secretary.’’. 

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1 SEC. 807. FEDERAL LOAN FORGIVENESS PROGRAM. 

2 The National Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

3 Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘Subtitle P—Federal Dairy 

6 Education Loan Forgiveness 

7 ‘‘SEC. 1495. SHORT TITLE. 

8 ‘‘This subtitle may be cited as the ‘Federal Dairy 

9 Education Loan Forgiveness Act’. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 1496. DEFINITIONS. 

11 ‘‘In this subtitle: 

12 ‘‘(1) FAMILY DAIRY FARM.—The term ‘family 

13 dairy farm’ means the real property of a dairy 

14 farm— 

15 ‘‘(A) owned by— 

16 ‘‘(i) one or more immediate family 

17 members; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) a family dairy farm corporation; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(B) used for the production, for commer21 cial purposes, of milk or milk products. 

22 ‘‘(2) FAMILY DAIRY FARM CORPORATION.—The 

23 term ‘family dairy farm corporation’ means a cor24 poration— 

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1 ‘‘(A) at least 75 percent of the assets of 

2 which are devoted to active involvement in 

3 farming; and 

4 ‘‘(B) at least 75 percent of each class of 

5 stock of which is continuously owned by one or 

6 more immediate family members. 

7 ‘‘(3) IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER.—The term 

8 ‘immediate family member’ means a spouse, child, 

9 stepchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, brother, 

10 stepbrother, sister, stepsister, or similar relative-in11 law of an owner of real property, as determined by 

12 the Secretary. 

13 ‘‘(4) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.— 

14 The term ‘institution of higher education’ has the 

15 meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the 

16 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)). 

17 ‘‘(5) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 

18 the Federal dairy education loan forgiveness pro19 gram established under section 1497(a). 

20 ‘‘(6) QUALIFIED APPLICANT.—The term ‘quali21 fied applicant’ means a resident of the United States 

22 who, as determined by the Secretary— 

23 ‘‘(A) holds a 2- or 4-year degree in a field 

24 related to the production of agricultural prod25 ucts from an institution of higher education; 

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1 ‘‘(B) on or after January 1, 2008, has 

2 commenced the first year of full-time ownership 

3 or operation of a family dairy farm; and 

4 ‘‘(C) is the borrower of an outstanding 

5 qualified loan as a result of pursuing a degree 

6 described in subparagraph (A). 

7 ‘‘(7) QUALIFIED LOAN.—The term ‘qualified 

8 loan’ means— 

9 ‘‘(A)(i) a loan made, insured, or guaran10 teed under section 428 or 428H of the Higher 

11 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1078, 1078– 

12 8); 

13 ‘‘(ii) a Federal Direct Stafford Loan or a 

14 Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan 

15 made under section 455 of that Act (20 U.S.C. 

16 1087e); or 

17 ‘‘(iii) a consolidation loan under section 

18 428C of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1078–3), or a 

19 Federal Direct Consolidation Loan under sec20 tion 455 of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1087e), to the 

21 extent that the amount of the loan was used to 

22 repay a loan described in clause (i) or (ii); and 

23 ‘‘(B) a loan under part B or D of title IV 

24 of that Act (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.); or 

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1 ‘‘(C) a loan under a guaranteed student 

2 loan program of the Department. 

3 ‘‘SEC. 1497. FEDERAL DAIRY EDUCATION LOAN FORGIVE4 NESS PROGRAM. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap6 propriations, the Secretary shall carry out a Federal dairy 

7 education loan forgiveness program under which the Sec8 retary shall assume the obligation to repay an amount cal9 culated in accordance with subsection (c) for one or more 

10 qualified loans made to eligible qualified applicants in ac11 cordance with this section. 

12 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—A qualified applicant shall sub13 mit to the Secretary an application and such documenta14 tion of continued eligibility as the Secretary determines 

15 to be appropriate. 

16 ‘‘(c) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The maximum amount 

17 that the Secretary may repay under the program for each 

18 qualified applicant shall be equal to the average annual 

19 cost of tuition at land-grant colleges and universities (as 

20 determined by the Secretary annually), for each year that 

21 the qualified applicant— 

22 ‘‘(1) is an owner or operator of a family dairy 

23 farm; and 

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1 ‘‘(2) has not otherwise received loan repayment 

2 on behalf of the qualified applicant under this sec3 tion or any other Federal or State program. 

4 ‘‘(d) PROHIBITION.—Nothing in this section author5 izes the refunding of any repayment of a qualified loan. 

6 ‘‘(e) EXCLUSION FROM INCOME.—Any payment to, 

7 or on behalf of, a qualified applicant under this subtitle 

8 shall not be included in the gross income of the qualified 

9 applicant for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 

10 1986. 

11 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

13 appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry 

14 out this subtitle. 

15 ‘‘(2) INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.—If the total 

16 amount of funds appropriated to carry out this sub17 title is insufficient to provide loan repayment under 

18 the program for all eligible qualified applicants, the 

19 Secretary shall provide loan repayment to eligible 

20 qualified applicants on a pro rata basis.’’. 

21 SEC. 808. MANDATORY REPORTING OF DAIRY COMMOD22 ITIES. 

23 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 272 of the Agricultural 

24 Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1637a) is amended to 

25 read as follows: 

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1 ‘‘SEC. 272. DEFINITIONS. 

2 ‘‘In this subtitle: 

3 ‘‘(1) DAIRY COMMODITY.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘dairy com5 modity’ means a product manufactured from 

6 milk or a milk-derived ingredient. 

7 ‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘dairy com8 modity’ includes— 

9 ‘‘(i) fluid milk; 

10 ‘‘(ii) cheese; 

11 ‘‘(iii) butter; 

12 ‘‘(iv) nonfat dry milk; 

13 ‘‘(v) skim milk; 

14 ‘‘(vi) whey products; 

15 ‘‘(vii) dry proteins (such as a milk 

16 protein concentrate, casein, and a casein17 ate); 

18 ‘‘(viii) a lactose product; and 

19 ‘‘(ix) a fresh dairy product (such as 

20 yogurt and ice cream). 

21 ‘‘(2) DAIRY PROCESSOR.—The term ‘dairy proc22 essor’ means a person or legal entity that commer23 cially processes milk into cheese, butter, nonfat dry 

24 milk, or other dairy solids. 

25 ‘‘(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

26 the Secretary of Agriculture.’’. 

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1 (b) MANDATORY REPORTING.—Section 273 of the 

2 Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1637b) is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

5 subsections (d) and (e), respectively; and 

6 (2) by striking subsections (a) and (b) and in7 serting the following: 

8 ‘‘(a) DAILY REPORTING.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The corporate officers or 

10 officially-designated representatives of each dairy 

11 processor shall report to the Secretary at least once 

12 each reporting day, not later than 10:00 a.m. Cen13 tral Time, for each sales transaction involving a 

14 dairy commodity, information concerning— 

15 ‘‘(A) the sales price; 

16 ‘‘(B) the quantity sold; 

17 ‘‘(C) the location of the sales transaction; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(D) product characteristics, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) moisture level; 

21 ‘‘(ii) packaging size; 

22 ‘‘(iii) grade; 

23 ‘‘(iv) if appropriate, fat or protein 

24 level; 

25 ‘‘(v) heat level for dried products; and 

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1 ‘‘(vi) other defining product character2 istics. 

3 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

4 the information reported under paragraph (1) avail5 able to the public not less frequently than once each 

6 reporting day, categorized by location and product 

7 characteristics. 

8 ‘‘(b) WEEKLY REPORTING.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The corporate officers or 

10 officially-designated representatives of each dairy 

11 processor shall report to the Secretary, on the first 

12 reporting day of each week, not later than 9:00 a.m. 

13 Central Time, for the prior week information con14 cerning— 

15 ‘‘(A) the sales prices for sales transactions 

16 involving dairy commodities, categorized by 

17 product characteristics; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the quantities of dairy commodities 

19 sold. 

20 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

21 the information reported under paragraph (1) avail22 able to the public on the first reporting day of the 

23 each week, not later than 10:00 a.m. Central Time, 

24 categorized by location and product characteristics. 

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1 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL ORDER PRICES.—The Secretary 

2 shall use weekly prices published under paragraph 

3 (2) to calculate Federal milk marketing order prices. 

4 ‘‘(c) MONTHLY REPORTING.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The corporate officers or 

6 officially-designated representatives of each dairy 

7 processor shall report to the Secretary, on the first 

8 reporting day of each month, not later than 9:00 

9 a.m. Central Time, the quantity of all dairy com10 modities processed by the dairy processor during the 

11 prior month. 

12 ‘‘(2) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 

13 the information reported under paragraph (1) avail14 able to the public on the first reporting day of the 

15 each month, not later than 10:00 a.m. Central Time, 

16 categorized by location and product characteristics.’’. 

17 TITLE IX—MISCELLANEOUS 

18 PROVISIONS 

19 SEC. 901. NATIONAL ORGANIC TRANSITION AND STEWARD20 SHIP INCENTIVE PROGRAM. 

21 (a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds of the Com23 modity Credit Corporation, the Secretary of Agri24 culture (acting through the Natural Resources Con25 servation Service) shall use $50,000,000 for each of 

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1 the fiscal years 2008 through 2013, to remain avail2 able until expended, to establish a national organic 

3 agriculture conversion and stewardship incentives 

4 program to assist producers developing and imple5 menting organic infrastructure and practices for 

6 conversion of land and animals to certified organic 

7 production and for the adoption of advanced organic 

8 farming conservation systems. 

9 (2) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 days 

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec11 retary shall establish a program to reimburse pro12 ducers for the costs of conversion and technical as13 sistance to organic food production as defined at the 

14 Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 

15 6501 et seq.) 

16 (3) PROGRAM.—Under the program established 

17 under paragraph (2), the Secretary (acting through 

18 the Natural Resources Conservation Service) shall 

19 use $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 

20 through 2013 to assist producers developing and im21 plement infrastructure, practices and activities nec22 essary to conversion land and animals to meet the 

23 requirements of the Organic Foods Production Act 

24 of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) 

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1 (b) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—During each of the 

2 2008 through 2013 fiscal years, the Secretary shall pro3 vide incentive payments to producers who enter into con4 tracts with the Secretary under the program. 

5 (c) ELIGIBLE PRACTICES AND ACTIVITIES.—The 

6 Secretary shall provide payments for: 

7 (1) Organic practices and activities during con8 version to certified organic production consistent 

9 with an approved Organic System Plan to conversion 

10 to certified organic crops and livestock production 

11 and handling under the national organic production 

12 program established under the Organic Foods Pro13 duction Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.). 

14 (2) Advanced organic practices consistent with 

15 an approved Organic System Plan. 

16 (3) Organic animal welfare measures, so long as 

17 such practices and activities are necessary to imple18 ment an organic practice standard and are con19 sistent with an approved plan to transition to cer20 tified organic production. 

21 (4) Technical assistance, including the costs of 

22 developing an approved Organic System Plan under 

23 this section. 

24 (5) Farm infrastructure necessary to implement 

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1 ing facilities and fencing, so long as such infrastruc2 ture is consistent with an approved Organic System 

3 Plan. 

4 (6) Other measures the Secretary, after con5 sulting with the National Organic Technical Com6 mittee, determines are appropriate. 

7 (d) ELIGIBLE PRODUCERS.— 

8 (1) PLAN SUBMISSION.—To be eligible for pay9 ments under this section, the producer shall develop, 

10 submit and implement an Organic System Plan that 

11 describes the conservation and environmental pur12 poses to be achieved through conservation practices 

13 and activities and that demonstrates an existing 

14 market or reasonable expectation of a future market 

15 for the organic production and contains expected 

16 costs for infrastructure and practices included in 

17 conversion. 

18 (2) COMPLIANCE.—Compliance with organic 

19 certification requirements must be verified by a 

20 USDA-Accredited Certifying Agent (ACA) in order 

21 for producers to qualify for payments. 

22 (3) CONVERSION PAYMENTS FOR CERTIFIED

23 ORGANIC PRODUCERS.—A certified organic producer 

24 under the program shall be eligible for payments to 

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1 make the conversion to organic production for land 

2 and livestock not previously certified organic. 

3 (e) LIMITATIONS ON PAYMENTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in (2) 

5 and (3), an individual or entity may not receive, di6 rectly or indirectly, cost-share or incentive payments 

7 under this section that, in the aggregate, exceed 

8 $10,000 per year, for a period not to exceed four 

9 years. 

10 (2) SPECIALTY CROPS.—In the case of an indi11 vidual or entity who annually produces three or more 

12 types of specialty crops, the individual or entity may 

13 not receive, directly or indirectly, cost-share or in14 centive payments under this section that, in the ag15 gregate, exceed $20,000 per year, for a period not 

16 to exceed four years. 

17 (3) DAIRY.—In the case of an individual or en18 tity whose principal farming enterprise is dairy, the 

19 individual or entity may not receive, directly or indi20 rectly, cost-share or incentive payments under this 

21 section that, in the aggregate, exceed $20,000 per 

22 year, for a period not to exceed four years. 

23 (f) SUSPENSION AUTHORITY.—To ensure orderly and 

24 continued growth in organic farming, the following re25 quirements apply: 

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1 (1) Prior to each fiscal year and no later than 

2 October 1st of each year, the Secretary shall publish 

3 organic commodity specific assessments analyzing 

4 the domestic production and consumption, import 

5 and export organic market demand and growth po6 tential for each organic commodity and the antici7 pated number and total amount of new reimburse8 ments for the following year affecting each com9 modity. 

10 (2) The Secretary shall not enroll new pro11 ducers under this subsection if, for any particular 

12 agricultural commodity, any new producers would 

13 produce an increased amount of that agricultural 

14 commodity that the Secretary finds is reasonably an15 ticipated to affect the continuing economic viability 

16 of farmers currently certified under the national or17 ganic production program or would create unreason18 able geographic disparities in the distribution of re19 imbursements provided under this section. 

20 (g) TECHNICAL AND EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.— 

21 The Secretary shall provide not less than 50 percent of 

22 the total program funds from the funds provided by this 

23 section for technical and educational assistance, of which 

24 not less than 50 percent shall be used for cooperative 

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1 agreements with qualified non-profit and non-govern2 mental organizations and consultants. 

3 (h) NATIONAL PROGRAM REVIEW.—In conjunction 

4 with the National Organic Technical Committee, the Sec5 retary shall conduct a National Program Review, including 

6 public hearings. This review and shall be initiated within 

7 four years from the start of this program and shall evalu8 ate and make recommendations; to resolve any program 

9 deficiencies, redress any under served states, commodities, 

10 regions and to ensure that the program is contributing 

11 positively to the profitability of small and intermediate 

12 producers and existing organic producers. 

13 (i) APPEALS.—An applicant seeking conversion as14 sistance under this section has the right to appeal an ad15 verse decision by the Secretary with regard to an applica16 tion for assistance, as provide in Section 275 of the De17 partment of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 

18 U.S.C. 6991–7002). 

19 (j) REPORTING.—Not later than March 1 of each 

20 year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress and the Na21 tional Organic Technical Committee a report detailing 

22 State-by-State expenditures on conversion assistance, in23 cluding the number of producers served by the program, 

24 the practices implemented, an assessment of the impacts 

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1 of the program on organic food production, and rec2 ommended reforms, if any. 

3 SEC. 902. NATIONAL ORGANIC TECHNICAL COMMITTEE. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

5 a National Organic Technical Committee to oversee devel6 opment and implementation of the National Organic Con7 version and Stewardship Incentive Program required by 

8 section 901 and to improve the organic agriculture inter9 face with all other conservation programs and activities 

10 administered by the NRCS, including development of cri11 teria for the approval of qualified organic technical advi12 sors. The committee must take into account the regional 

13 and industry competitiveness and economic growth poten14 tial for industry sectors. 

15 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the National 

16 Organic Technical Committee shall be comprised of: 

17 (1) Three organic farmers. 

18 (2) Two organic certifying agents. 

19 (3) One organic inspector. 

20 (4) One representative of an environmental or21 ganization knowledgeable about organic agriculture. 

22 (5) One scientist with expertise in conservation 

23 planning. 

24 (6) One industry representative from organic 

25 retailer/wholesaler. 

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1 SEC. 903. NATIONAL ORGANIC CERTIFICATION COST SHARE 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 Section 10606 of the Farm Security and Rural In4 vestment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 6523) is amended to read 

5 as follows: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 10606. NATIONAL ORGANIC CERTIFICATION COST 

7 SHARE PROGRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Of funds of the Commodity 

9 Credit Corporation, the Secretary of Agriculture (acting 

10 through the Agricultural Marketing Service) shall use 

11 $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, to remain available until 

12 expended, to establish a national organic certification cost13 share program to assist producers and handlers of agricul14 tural products in obtaining certification under the national 

15 organic production program established under the Organic 

16 Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.). 

17 ‘‘(b) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

19 the Secretary shall pay under this section not more 

20 than 75 percent of the costs incurred by a producer 

21 or handler in obtaining certification under the na22 tional organic production program, as certified to 

23 and approved by the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The maximum 

25 amount of a payment made to a producer or handler 

26 under this section shall be $750. 

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1 ‘‘(c) REPORTING.—The Secretary shall provide an 

2 annual report to Congress by March of each year, detail3 ing the state-by-state expenditures under this program, in4 cluding the number of producers and handlers served by 

5 the program in the previous fiscal year. 

6 ‘‘(d) RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Agricultural Mar8 keting Service shall keep accurate, up-to-date 

9 records of requests and disbursements from the pro10 gram, as well as to require accurate and consistent 

11 record-keeping from the States (or other entities) re12 ceiving program payments. 

13 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS.—Within 30 

14 days of the closing date for States to request fund15 ing, the Agricultural Marketing Service shall— 

16 ‘‘(A) enumerate the States requesting 

17 funding, along with the amount of their re18 quests; and 

19 ‘‘(B) distribute the funding to the States. 

20 ‘‘(3) STATE REQUIREMENTS.—Annual funding 

21 requests from each State should include data from 

22 the previous year’s program, including— 

23 ‘‘(A) a detailing of which entities requested 

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1 ments were for, as well as any discrepancies be2 tween requests and fulfillments; 

3 ‘‘(B) data to back up increases in requests 

4 expected in the coming year, including informa5 tion from certifiers, or other data showing 

6 growth projections; and 

7 ‘‘(C) justifications as to why an annual re8 quest is below the previous year’s request.’’. 

9 SEC. 904. EXCLUSION OF 100 PERCENT OF GAIN ON SALES 

10 OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS OR CONSERVA11 TION EASMENTS ON AGRICULTURAL LAND 

12 TO ELIGIBLE ENTITIES FOR CONSERVATION 

13 PURPOSES. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part I of subchapter P of chapter 

15 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to treat16 ment of capital gains) is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following new section: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 1203. 100-PERCENT EXCLUSION OF GAIN ON SALES OF 

19 DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS OR CONSERVATION 

20 EASEMENTS ON AGRICULTURAL LAND TO EL21 IGIBLE ENTITIES FOR CONSERVATION PUR22 POSES. 

23 ‘‘(a) EXCLUSION.—Gross income shall not include 

24 100 percent of any gain from the sale of development 

25 rights or a conservation easement that is a permanent 

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1 deed restriction and requires that the land subject to the 

2 deed restriction be made available for agricultural pur3 poses if— 

4 ‘‘(1) such land or interest in land was owned by 

5 the taxpayer or a member of the taxpayer’s family 

6 (as defined in section 2032A(e)(2)) at all times dur7 ing the 3-year period ending on the date of the sale, 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(2) such land or interest in land is being ac10 quired by an eligible entity which provides the tax11 payer, at the time of acquisition, a written letter of 

12 intent which shall include the following statement: 

13 ‘The purchaser’s intent is that this acquisition will 

14 serve the conservation purpose specified in clause 

15 (iii) (II) of section 170(h)(4)(A) of the Internal Rev16 enue Code of 1986 and the land will remain avail17 able for agricultural production.’. 

18 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—For purposes of this sec19 tion, the term ‘eligible entity’ means— 

20 ‘‘(1) any agency of the United States or of any 

21 State or local government, or 

22 ‘‘(2) any other organization that— 

23 ‘‘(A) is organized and at all times operated 

24 principally for one or more of the conservation 

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1 purposes specified in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of 

2 section 170(h)(4)(A), 

3 ‘‘(B) is described in section 501(c)(3) and 

4 exempt from tax under section 501(a), and 

5 ‘‘(C)(i) meets the requirements of section 

6 509(a)(2), or 

7 ‘‘(ii) meets the requirements of section 

8 509(a)(3) and is controlled by an organization 

9 described in section 509(a)(2). 

10 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 

11 ‘‘(1) FARMLAND.—The term ‘farmland’ in12 cludes all land capable of being used for agricultural 

13 production and is comprised of at least 50 percent 

14 of any combination of prime, unique, or statewide 

15 important farmland. 

16 ‘‘(2) PRIME FARMLAND.—The term ‘prime 

17 farmland’ means land that has the best combination 

18 of physical and chemical characteristics for pro19 ducing food, feed, fiber, forage, oilseed, and other 

20 agricultural crops with minimum inputs of fuel, fer21 tilizer, pesticides, and labor, and without intolerable 

22 soil erosion, as determined by the Secretary of Agri23 culture. Prime farmland includes land that possesses 

24 such characteristics but is being used currently to 

25 produce livestock and timber. It does not include 

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1 land already in or committed to urban development 

2 or water storage. 

3 ‘‘(3) UNIQUE FARMLAND.—The term ‘unique 

4 farmland’ means land other than prime farmland 

5 that is used for production of specific high-value 

6 food and fiber crops, as determined by the Secretary 

7 of Agriculture. It has the special combination of soil 

8 quality, location, growing season, and moisture sup9 ply needed to economically produce sustained high 

10 quality or high yields of specific crops when treated 

11 and managed according to acceptable farming meth12 ods. Examples of such crops include citrus, tree 

13 nuts, olives, cranberries, fruits, and vegetables. 

14 ‘‘(4) STATEWIDE IMPORTANT FARMLAND.—The 

15 term ‘Statewide important farmland’ means farm16 land, other than prime or unique farmland, that is 

17 of Statewide or local importance for the production 

18 of food feed, fiber, forage, or oilseed crops, as deter19 mined by the appropriate State or unit of local gov20 ernment agency or agencies, and that the Secretary 

21 of Agriculture determines should be considered as 

22 farmland for the purposes of this section. 

23 ‘‘(5) STOCK IN HOLDING CORPORATIONS.—For 

24 purposes of this section, the term ‘farmland or an 

25 interest in farmland’ shall include stock in any cormstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 poration, if the fair market value of the corpora2 tion’s farmland or interests in farmland equals or 

3 exceeds 90 percent of the fair market value of all of 

4 such corporation’s assets at all times during the 3- 

5 year period ending on the date of the sale.’’. 

6 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of sec7 tions for part I of subchapter P of chapter 1 of the Inter8 nal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following new item: 

‘‘Sec. 1203. 100-percent exclusion of gain on sales of development rights or 

conservation easements on agricultural land to eligible entities 

for conservation purposes.’’. 

10 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

11 this section shall apply to sales occurring on or after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act. 

13 SEC. 905. ESTABLISHMENT OF RESEARCH GRANTS PRO14 GRAM FOR PRODUCERS TO IMPROVE SUR15 VIVABILITY OF SPECIALITY CROPS AND LIVE16 STOCK. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

18 shall establish a program to award grants to eligible enti19 ties to improve the survivability of United States specialty 

20 crops, forests, and domestic livestock against invasive spe21 cies and emerging pathogenic organisms that have entered 

22 or are likely to enter the United States. 

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1 (b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—The Secretary of Agri2 culture shall determine eligible entities for grants under 

3 this section. Such entities shall include the following: 

4 (1) Nonprofit United States trade organizations 

5 and foundations. 

6 (2) Nonprofit State and regional organizations. 

7 (3) United States agricultural cooperatives, 

8 commodity boards and commissions, university re9 search and extension programs. 

10 (4) Small United States businesses in the spe11 cialty crop, forest, and livestock industries with req12 uisite expertise. 

13 (c) USE OF FUNDS.—Funds from grants under this 

14 program shall be used for one or more of the following: 

15 (1) Research that addresses plant breeding, ge16 netics, and genomics to improve specialty crop char17 acteristics, such as environmental responses and tol18 erances and pest and disease management. 

19 (2) Research and efforts to identify threats 

20 from invasive species and emerging pathogenic orga21 nisms that are detrimental to United States spe22 cialty crops, United States forest species, or domes23 tic livestock, including early pest detection and mi24 gration surveillance programs. 

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1 (3) Development and implementation of re2 gional, industry-specific strategic plans to prevent, 

3 eradicate, or contain invasive species or emerging 

4 pathogenic organisms threats after such threats have 

5 been identified. 

6 (4) Research regarding methods of prevention, 

7 eradication, containment, and detection of invasive 

8 species or emerging pathogenic organisms. 

9 (d) FUNDING.— 

10 (1) AMOUNTS AVAILABLE.—Of the funds of the 

11 Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary of Ag12 riculture shall make available $100,000,000 for each 

13 of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 to carry out this 

14 section. 

15 (2) FEDERAL COSTS.—Federal costs shall not 

16 exceed 50 percent of the total cost of a research 

17 project funded under this section. 

18 SEC. 906. NATIONAL CLEAN PLANT NETWORK. 

19 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

20 Department of Agriculture, as part of the Cooperative 

21 State Research, Education, and Extension Service, a pro22 gram to be known as the ‘‘National Clean Plant Net23 work’’. The Secretary of Agriculture shall use the network 

24 to develop a sustainable national funding source for clean 

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1 mined by the Secretary to be of priority for the United 

2 States. Such funding shall be used to award grants to enti3 ties that have the expertise, facilities, and climate nec4 essary to efficiently produce, maintain, and distribute 

5 healthy planting stock for specialty crops. 

6 (b) PRIORITIES.—Section 1408A(c) of the Specialty 

7 Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004 (7 U.S.C. 3123a(c)) 

8 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(4) Priorities for Federal research activities 

10 related to United States specialty crops.’’. 

11 (c) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity Cred12 it Corporation, the Secretary of Agriculture shall make 

13 available $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 

14 2012 to carry out this section. 

15 SEC. 907. EARLY PEST DETECTION AND SURVEILLANCE IM16 PROVEMENT PROGRAM. 

17 (a) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS AUTHORIZED.—The 

18 Secretary of Agriculture shall enter into a cooperative 

19 agreement with each State department of agriculture that 

20 agrees to conduct early pest detection surveillance activi21 ties in accordance with guidelines established under the 

22 Cooperative Agricultural Pest Survey program of the De23 partment of Agriculture. These activities of the Depart24 ment of Agriculture of a state may include inspection and 

25 surveillance of domestic plant shipments between that 

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1 State and other States, provided that such inspections do 

2 not mpede the reasonable flow of interstate commerce and 

3 any such activities resulting in quarantine of a shipment 

4 is solely based on sound science. 

5 (b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall consult 

6 with the National Plant Board and the National Associa7 tion of State Departments of Agriculture in carrying out 

8 this section. 

9 (c) BASE FUNDS UNDER AGREEMENTS.—The Sec10 retary shall provide each State department of agriculture 

11 with which the Secretary enters into a cooperative agree12 ment under this section not less than $250,000 for each 

13 of fiscal years 2008 through 2012. 

14 (d) ADDITIONAL FUNDS; SPECIAL CONSIDER15 ATIONS.—In addition to funds provided under subsection 

16 (c), the Secretary shall provide funds to a State depart17 ment of agriculture that the Secretary determines is in 

18 a State that has a high risk of being affected by one or 

19 more pest, based on the following factors: 

20 (1) The number of international airports and 

21 maritime facilities in that State. 

22 (2) The volume of international passenger and 

23 cargo entry into that State. 

24 (3) The geographic location of that State and 

25 if such location is conducive to agricultural pest and 

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1 disease establishment due to the climate or crop di2 versity of that State. 

3 (4) Whether the Secretary has declared an 

4 emergency in that State pursuant to section 442 of 

5 the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7772) due to an 

6 agricultural pest or disease of Federal concern. 

7 (5) Such other factors as the Secretary con8 siders appropriate. 

9 (e) USE OF FUNDS.— 

10 (1) PEST DETECTION AND SURVEILLANCE AC11 TIVITIES.—A State department of agriculture that 

12 receives funds under this section shall use the funds 

13 to carry out early pest detection and surveillance ac14 tivities to prevent the introduction of a pest or facili15 tate the eradication of a pest. 

16 (2) SUBAGREEMENTS.—Notwithstanding this 

17 section, a State department of agriculture may use 

18 funds received under subsection (c) or (d) to enter 

19 into subagreements with political subdivisions in 

20 such State that have legal responsibilities relating to 

21 agricultural pest and disease surveillance. 

22 (3) TREATMENT OF FUNDS.—Not more than 5 

23 percent of the funds provided under subsection (c) 

24 or (d) may be used for administrative costs to carry 

25 out a cooperative agreement under this section. 

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1 (f) NO EFFECT ON PILT PAYMENTS.—The receipt of 

2 funds by the Department of Agriculture under this section 

3 shall have no effect on the amount of any payment re4 ceived by the State of such State Department of Agri5 culture under chapter 69 of title 31, United States Code. 

6 (g) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall use $50,000,000 

7 of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation for each 

8 of fiscal years 2008 through 2012 to carry out this sec9 tion. 

10 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 (1) STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.— 

12 The term ‘‘State department of agriculture’’ means 

13 an agency of a State that has a legal responsibility 

14 to perform early pest detection and surveillance ac15 tivities. 

16 (2) EARLY PEST DETECTION AND SURVEIL17 LANCE.—The term ‘‘early pest detection and surveil18 lance’’ means the full range of activities undertaken 

19 to find newly introduced pests, whether new to the 

20 United States or new to certain areas of the United 

21 States, before the pests become etablished, or before 

22 pest infestations become too large and costly to 

23 eradicate or control. 

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1 (3) PEST.—The term ‘‘pest’’ has the meaning 

2 given the term ‘‘plant pest’’ in section 403(14) of 

3 the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7702(14)). 

Æ 

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