II 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 919 

To reauthorize Department of Agriculture conservation and energy programs 

and certain other programs of the Department, to modify the operation 

and administration of these programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 20, 2007 

Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mrs. BOXER, Mr. KERRY, Mr. CARDIN, and Mr. 

LAUTENBERG) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To reauthorize Department of Agriculture conservation and 

energy programs and certain other programs of the Department, to modify the operation and administration 

of these programs, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Healthy Farms, Foods, and Fuels Act of 2007’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

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TITLE I—CONSERVATION 

Sec. 101. Conservation reserve program. 

Sec. 102. Wetlands reserve program. 

Sec. 103. Conservation security program. 

Sec. 104. Reauthorization of and increased enrollment authority for grassland 

reserve program. 

Sec. 105. Environmental quality incentives program. 

Sec. 106. Reauthorization of and increased funding for wildlife habitat incentive 

program. 

Sec. 107. Cooperative conservation partnership initiative. 

Sec. 108. Regional equity in funding of certain Department of Agriculture conservation programs. 

Sec. 109. Exclusion of payments under Department of Agriculture conservation 

programs from adjusted gross income limitation. 

Sec. 110. Reauthorization of and additional funding for agricultural management assistance program. 

Sec. 111. Community Forests and Open Space Conservation Program. 

Sec. 112. Farmland protection and farm viability programs. 

Sec. 113. Healthy forests reserve program. 

Sec. 114. Integrated pest management initiative. 

Sec. 115. Conservation access initiative to encourage greater participation by 

socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers in conservation 

programs. 

Sec. 116. Conservation loan guarantee program. 

Sec. 117. Pilot program for comprehensive conservation planning. 

Sec. 118. Technical assistance under Department of Agriculture conservation 

programs. 

TITLE II—ENERGY 

Sec. 201. Definition of biomass. 

Sec. 202. Support for development of biorefineries. 

Sec. 203. Reauthorization of energy audit and renewable energy development 

program. 

Sec. 204. Reauthorization of and increased funding for renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements program. 

Sec. 205. Reauthorization of Department of Agriculture bioenergy program. 

Sec. 206. Reauthorization of and increased funding for biomass research and 

development. 

Sec. 207. Reauthorization of carbon cycle research. 

TITLE III—HEALTHY FOOD CHOICES 

Sec. 301. Reauthorization of and increased funding for community food project 

competitive grants. 

Sec. 302. Expansion of fresh fruit and vegetable program. 

Sec. 303. Authorization level for farm-to-cafeteria activities. 

Sec. 304. Extension of WIC farmer’s market nutrition program. 

Sec. 305. Senior farmers’ market nutrition program. 

Sec. 306. Farmers’ market promotion program. 

Sec. 307. Department of Defense and Department of Agriculture procurement 

of locally produced agricultural products. 

Sec. 308. Fruit and vegetable nutrition promotion program. 

Sec. 309. Use of ‘‘Dietary Guidelines for Americans’’ in special nutrition programs and school lunch programs. 

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Sec. 310. Section 32 specialty crop purchases. 

Sec. 311. Amendments to the food stamp program. 

Sec. 312. Food stamp fruit and vegetable electronic benefit transfer pilot 

project. 

TITLE IV—PROMOTION OF NEW MARKETS AND FARM VIABILITY 

Sec. 401. Farm viability program. 

Sec. 402. National organic certification and transition cost share program. 

Sec. 402A. National Organic Technical Committee. 

Sec. 403. Organic agriculture research and extension initiative. 

Sec. 404. Funding for education grants programs for Hispanic-serving institutions. 

Sec. 405. Extension and funding increase for the Value-Added Agricultural 

Product Market Development Grant Program. 

1 TITLE I—CONSERVATION 

2 SEC. 101. CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM. 

3 (a) EXTENSION.— 

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

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

6 is amended— 

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

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

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

10 and inserting ‘‘For each of fiscal years 2002 

11 through 2013, the’’. 

12 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 1231 

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

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

15 and inserting ‘‘2013’’; 

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

17 and inserting ‘‘2013’’; 

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

2 ‘‘2002’’ and inserting ‘‘2008’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘2007’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’. 

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

6 (16 U.S.C. 3831(b)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking the period at the end of para8 graph (1) and inserting a semicolon; 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of paragraph 

10 (4)(C); 

11 (3) by striking the period at the end of para12 graph (5) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

14 paragraphs: 

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

16 otherwise ineligible, if the land is to be devoted to 

17 native vegetation appropriate to the locale and— 

18 ‘‘(A) will provide suitable habitat for State 

19 or federally listed threatened or endangered 

20 species or species determined by the Secretary 

21 of the Interior to be species of concern; or 

22 ‘‘(B) will contribute to the restoration of 

23 an endangered ecosystem or rare and declining 

24 forest ecosystem, as defined by the Secretary.’’. 

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

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

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

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

5 and 

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

7 paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(2) ENROLLMENT GOALS.—For the period be9 ginning on the date of the enactment of this para10 graph and ending on December 31, 2013, the Sec11 retary shall establish a goal— 

12 ‘‘(A) to enroll not less than 7,000,000 

13 acres of eligible land, including land to be de14 voted to the restoration of rare and declining 

15 forests, through the continuous enrollment pro16 gram and the conservation reserve enhancement 

17 program; and 

18 ‘‘(B) to maintain enrollment of at least 

19 7,800,000 acres in the Prairie Pothole Region 

20 National Conservation Priority Area.’’. 

21 (d) CONTRACTS TO RESTORE RARE AND DECLINING

22 FORESTS.—Section 1231(e)(2) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

23 3831(e)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

24 new subparagraph: 

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1 ‘‘(C) RARE AND DECLINING FORESTS.—In 

2 the case of land to be devoted to the restoration 

3 of rare and declining forest ecosystems, as de4 termined by the Secretary, the Secretary may 

5 enter into contracts of more than 15 years.’’. 

6 (e) BALANCE OF NATURAL RESOURCE PURPOSES.— 

7 Section 1231(j) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3831(j)) is amend8 ed— 

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

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) EQUITABLE BALANCE OF CONSERVATION

12 PURPOSES.—In determining’’; 

13 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert14 ing ‘‘, but need not balance all conservation purposes 

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

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

17 paragraph: 

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

19 which a contract offer will achieve the conservation 

20 purposes of the program related to wildlife habitat, 

21 the Secretary shall consider the extent to which the 

22 contract offer will contribute to increased popu23 lations of wildlife, including waterfowl, nongame 

24 grassland birds and neotropical migrants, and assist 

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

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1 (f) DUTIES OF PARTICIPANTS.—Section 1232(a) of 

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

3 (1) in paragraph (4)— 

4 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

5 and (B) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respec6 tively; and 

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

8 as so redesignated, the following new subpara9 graph: 

10 ‘‘(A) approved vegetative cover shall not 

11 include vegetative cover inappropriate to the lo12 cale;’’; 

13 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (5) through 

14 (10) as paragraphs (6) through (11), respectively; 

15 (3) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol16 lowing new paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(5) to undertake appropriate management ac18 tivities on the land as needed throughout the term 

19 of the contract to achieve the purposes of the con20 servation reserve program;’’; and 

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

22 as so redesignated, by inserting after ‘‘may be con23 ducted’’ the following: ‘‘, taking into account grass24 land types and species, location, weather conditions, 

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1 vesting and grazing activities will advance the con2 servation purposes of the program’’. 

3 (g) CONSERVATION PLAN.—Section 1232(b)(1) of 

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

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

6 and inserting ‘‘, including appropriate management 

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

8 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub9 paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(C) criteria for conducting any commer11 cial use to be permitted, including criteria for 

12 managed harvesting and grazing specifying fre13 quency, timing, number of animal units, per14 centage of field, and other criteria to ensure 

15 that managed harvesting and grazing advances 

16 the conservation purposes of the program; 

17 and’’. 

18 (h) COST-SHARE AND MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE.— 

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

20 amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting before the pe22 riod at the end the following: ‘‘, except that the Sec23 retary shall pay 75 percent of the cost of estab24 lishing bottomland hardwood trees and longleaf 

25 pine’’; and 

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

2 paragraph: 

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

4 shall pay 75 percent of the cost of management ac5 tivities, including the use of prescribed fire, control 

6 of invasive species, and native understory restoration 

7 on land devoted to trees, that are required under a 

8 contract entered into under this subchapter, subject 

9 to such limits as the Secretary may establish.’’. 

10 (i) ACCEPTANCE OF CONTRACT OFFERS.—Section 

11 1234(c)(3) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3834(c)(3)) is amend12 ed— 

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

14 the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) MAXIMIZING ENVIRONMENTAL BENE16 FITS.—In determining’’; 

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

18 through ‘‘take into consideration’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘shall take into consideration’’; 

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

21 ‘‘benefits. The Secretary shall establish criteria for 

22 the acceptance of contract offers that will maximize 

23 environmental benefits, including criteria related to 

24 the characteristics of the land that is the subject of 

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1 the contract offer, its location, proposed cover and 

2 proposed management practices.’’; 

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

4 the following: 

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

6 establish’’; 

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

8 in order to more effectively address specific State or 

9 regional resource concerns and conservation prior10 ities, including restoration of rare and declining for11 est ecosystems.’’; and 

12 (6) by adding at the end the following new sub13 paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(C) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER CONSERVA15 TION PROGRAMS.—In the enrollment of land in 

16 the conservation reserve established under this 

17 subchapter, the Secretary shall give a priority 

18 to land that cannot produce comparable envi19 ronmental benefits if maintained in agricultural 

20 production and enrolled in the environmental 

21 quality incentives program or other program de22 signed to assist producers in improving the en23 vironmental performance of working agricul24 tural land.’’. 

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1 (j) CONSERVATION RESERVE ENHANCEMENT PRO2 GRAM.—Section 1234(f)(1) of such Act is (16 U.S.C. 

3 3834(f)) is amended by adding at the end the following 

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

5 limitation for persons participating in a conservation re6 serve enhancement program if the Secretary determines 

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

8 conservation reserve enhancement program.’’. 

9 SEC. 102. WETLANDS RESERVE PROGRAM. 

10 (a) EXTENSION.— 

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

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

13 3841(a)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘The’’ and in14 serting ‘‘For each of fiscal years 2002 through 

15 2013, the’’. 

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

17 1237(c) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3837(c)) is amended 

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

19 (b) MAXIMUM AND YEARLY ENROLLMENT.—Section 

20 1237(b)(1) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3837(b)(1)) is amend21 ed— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘2,275,000 acres’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘5,000,000 acres’’; and 

24 (2) by striking ‘‘250,000 acres in each calendar 

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1 endar years 2008 and 2009 and 250,000 acres in 

2 each of calendar years 2010 through 2013’’. 

3 (c) ENROLLMENT OF RIPARIAN AREAS.—Section 

4 1237(d)(3) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3837(d)(3)) is amend5 ed by striking ‘‘that link’’ and all that follows through ‘‘an 

6 easement’’. 

7 (d) WETLAND EASEMENT CONSERVATION PLAN.— 

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

9 is amended by inserting before the semicolon at the end 

10 the following: ‘‘and management activities necessary to 

11 maintain the functional values of the wetlands’’. 

12 (e) VALUATION OF EASEMENTS.—Section 1237A(f) 

13 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3837a(f)) is amended by striking 

14 ‘‘but not to exceed’’ and all that follows through the end 

15 of the sentence and inserting ‘‘, and the amount of such 

16 compensation shall be based on appraisals of the current 

17 fair market agricultural value of the land to be encum18 bered by the easement. The Uniform Relocation Assist19 ance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 

20 (42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.) shall not apply to appraisals of 

21 land offered for enrollment in the wetlands reserve pro22 gram.’’. 

23 (f) COST-SHARE AND MANAGEMENT ASSISTANCE.— 

24 Section 1237C of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3837c) is amend25 ed— 

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1 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by inserting ‘‘including 

2 management activities,’’ after ‘‘values,’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (b), by adding at the end the 

4 following new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(4) MANAGEMENT COSTS.—The Secretary 

6 may make payments to owners to cover up to the 

7 full actual cost of undertaking any ongoing or peri8 odic management activities necessary to maintain 

9 the functional values of wetland enrolled in the wet10 lands reserve program.’’. 

11 (g) EASEMENT PRIORITIES.—Section 1237C(d) of 

12 such Act (16 U.S.C. 3837c(d)) is amended by striking 

13 ‘‘wildlife’’ and inserting ‘‘wildlife, particularly rare, threat14 ened, endangered, and candidate species, or for furthering 

15 the goals and objectives of the State’s comprehensive wild16 life conservation strategy’’. 

17 SEC. 103. CONSERVATION SECURITY PROGRAM. 

18 (a) REPEAL OF FUNDING CAP.—Section 1241(a)(3) 

19 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)(3)) 

20 is amended by striking ‘‘, using not more than’’ and all 

21 that follows through ‘‘2015’’. 

22 (b) PROGRAM EXTENSION.—Section 1238A(a) of the 

23 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3838a(a)) is 

24 amended by striking ‘‘2011’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’. 

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1 (c) THREE TIERS OF CONSERVATION SECURITY

2 CONTRACTS.—Section 1238A(d) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

3 3838a(d)) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (4)— 

5 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (R) 

6 and (S) as subparagraphs (S) and (T), respec7 tively; and 

8 (B) by inserting after subparagraph (Q), 

9 the following new subparagraph: 

10 ‘‘(R) enhancement of in-stream flows;’’; 

11 (2) in paragraph (5)— 

12 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

13 (A), by striking ‘‘paragraph (6)’’ and inserting 

14 ‘‘paragraph (7)’’; 

15 (B) in subparagraph (A)(ii)(I), by striking 

16 ‘‘1 significant resource’’ and inserting ‘‘2 sig17 nificant resources’’; and 

18 (C) in subparagraph (B)(ii)(I), by striking 

19 ‘‘1 significant resource’’ and inserting ‘‘3 sig20 nificant resources’’; 

21 (3) by redesignating paragraph (6) as para22 graph (7); and 

23 (4) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol24 lowing new paragraph: 

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1 ‘‘(6) SOIL QUALITY REQUIREMENTS FOR CER2 TAIN PRODUCERS.—Certified organic producers and 

3 producers implementing a resource-conserving crop 

4 rotation shall be deemed to meet any minimum re5 quirements related to soil quality and the preserva6 tion of soil carbon that the Secretary may establish 

7 for each tier of conservation security contracts.’’. 

8 (d) CONTRACT RENEWAL.—Section 1238A(e)(4) of 

9 such Act (16 U.S.C. 3838a(e)(4)) is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘subpara11 graph (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (B), (C), 

12 and (D)’’; and 

13 (2) by striking subparagraph (B) and inserting 

14 the following new subparagraphs: 

15 ‘‘(B) TIER I RENEWALS.—In the case of 

16 land enrolled under a Tier I conservation secu17 rity contract of a producer, the producer may— 

18 ‘‘(i) renew the contract if the producer 

19 agrees to a new conservation security plan 

20 that addresses at least one additional sig21 nificant resource concern and includes sig22 nificant new conservation practices and ac23 tivities, as determined by the Secretary; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) enroll the land under a Tier II or 

25 Tier III conservation security contract at 

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1 the time the Tier I contract expires if the 

2 producer demonstrates that the eligibility 

3 criteria for a Tier III conservation security 

4 contract are met. 

5 ‘‘(C) TIER II RENEWALS.—In the case of 

6 land enrolled under a Tier II conservation secu7 rity contract of a producer, the producer may— 

8 ‘‘(i) renew the contract if the producer 

9 agrees to a new conservation security plan 

10 that includes significant new conservation 

11 practices or activities, as determined by the 

12 Secretary; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) enroll the land under a Tier III 

14 conservation security contract at the time 

15 the Tier II contract expires if the producer 

16 demonstrates that the eligibility criteria for 

17 a Tier III conservation security contract 

18 are met. 

19 ‘‘(D) TIER III RENEWALS.—In the case of 

20 land enrolled under a Tier III conservation se21 curity contract of a producer, the producer may 

22 renew the contract, subject to a benchmark as23 sessment by the Secretary to determine whether 

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1 ments of the Tier III conservation security 

2 plan.’’. 

3 (e) ELIMINATION OF MAINTENANCE PAYMENTS.— 

4 Section 1238C(b)(1)(B) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

5 3838c(b)(1)(B)) is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing new sentence: ‘‘Effective for payments made after 

7 October 1, 2006, payments under a conservation security 

8 contract may not include amounts for the maintenance of 

9 existing land management and vegetative practices or the 

10 maintenance of existing land-based structural practices.’’. 

11 (f) MINIMUM CONTRACT PAYMENT.—Section 

12 1238C(b) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3838c(b)) is amended 

13 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(4) MINIMUM PAYMENT.—Notwithstanding 

15 any other provision in this subsection, a producer 

16 participating in the conservation security program 

17 shall be entitled to an annual payment of not less 

18 than $1,500 under a conservation security con19 tract.’’. 

20 (g) ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES.—Subsection (f) of 

21 section 1238C of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3838c) is amended 

22 to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(f) ENROLLMENT PROCEDURES.— 

24 ‘‘(1) NO USE OF COMPETITIVE BIDDING.—In 

25 entering into conservation security contracts with 

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1 producers under this subchapter, the Secretary shall 

2 not use competitive bidding or any similar proce3 dure. 

4 ‘‘(2) CONTINUOUS ENROLLMENT FOR TIER III

5 CONTRACTS.—The Secretary shall enroll lands that 

6 meet Tier III enrollment criteria on a continuous 

7 basis. 

8 ‘‘(3) PERIODIC ENROLLMENT OPPORTUNITIES

9 FOR TIER I AND II CONTRACTS.—The Secretary shall 

10 ensure that producers whose land meets the eligi11 bility criteria for enrollment under a Tier I or Tier 

12 II conservation security contract have the oppor13 tunity to enroll the land in the conservation security 

14 program once every three years.’’. 

15 (h) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Subsection (f) of sec16 tion 1238C of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3838c) is amended 

17 to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(g) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

19 ‘‘(1) PROVISION OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

20 For each of fiscal years 2003 through 2013, the 

21 Secretary shall provide appropriate technical assist22 ance to producers for the development and imple23 mentation of conservation security contracts. 

24 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—The amount expended to 

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1 servation security contract over the life of the con2 tract may not exceed 15 percent of the total amount 

3 expended over the life of the contract.’’. 

4 SEC. 104. REAUTHORIZATION OF AND INCREASED ENROLL5 MENT AUTHORITY FOR GRASSLAND RESERVE 

6 PROGRAM. 

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

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

9 amended by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the fol10 lowing new paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(5) For each of fiscal years 2002 through 

12 2013, the grassland reserve program under sub13 chapter C of chapter 2.’’. 

14 (b) ENROLLMENT GOALS AND LIMITATION ON USE

15 OF RENTAL AGREEMENTS.—Section 1238N(b) of such 

16 Act (16 U.S.C. 3838N(b)) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘2,000,000 

18 acres’’ and inserting ‘‘10,000,000 acres’’; and 

19 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

20 following new paragraphs: 

21 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON USE OF RENTAL AGREE22 MENTS.—Of the total number of acres enrolled in 

23 the program at any one time through the methods 

24 described in paragraph (2)(A), not more than 30 

25 percent of the acres shall be enrolled through the 

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1 use of rental agreements described in clause (i) of 

2 such paragraph. 

3 ‘‘(4) ENROLLMENT GOAL.—For the period be4 ginning on the date of the enactment of this para5 graph and ending on December 31, 2013, the Sec6 retary shall establish a goal to enroll not less than 

7 2,000,000 acres of native grasslands in the pro8 gram.’’. 

9 (c) ENROLLMENT OF CONSERVATION RESERVE PRO10 GRAM LAND.—Section 1238N of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

11 3838N) is amended by adding at the end the following 

12 new subsection: 

13 ‘‘(d) ENROLLMENT OF CONSERVATION RESERVE

14 PROGRAM LAND.— 

15 ‘‘(1) ENROLLMENT AUTHORIZED.—Subject to 

16 the eligibility requirements of subsection (c) and all 

17 other requirements of this subchapter, land enrolled 

18 in the conservation reserve program may be enrolled 

19 in the grassland reserve program if the Secretary de20 termines that the land is of high ecological value and 

21 under significant threat of conversion to other uses. 

22 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT.—The enrollment 

23 of conservation reserve program land under this sub24 section shall not exceed 50 percent of the total nummstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ber of acres enrolled in the grassland reserve pro2 gram in a given fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(3) PROHIBITION ON DUPLICATION OF PAY4 MENTS.—Land enrolled in the grassland reserve pro5 gram under this subsection shall no longer be eligi6 ble for payments under the conservation reserve pro7 gram.’’. 

8 (d) EQUITY FOR PASTURE-BASED OPERATIONS.— 

9 Section 1238N of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3838N) is further 

10 amended by inserting after subsection (d), as added by 

11 subsection (c), the following new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(e) EQUITY FOR PASTURE-BASED OPERATIONS.— 

13 Consistent with the other requirements of the program, 

14 the Secretary shall implement the program in a manner 

15 that ensures that, to the greatest extent practicable, land16 owners operating pasture-based systems have an equal op17 portunity to enroll in the program.’’. 

18 (e) BIODIVERSITY.—Section 1238O of such Act (16 

19 U.S.C. 3838o) is amended— 

20 (1) by redesignating subsections (d) and (e) as 

21 subsections (e) and (f), respectively; and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub23 section: 

24 ‘‘(f) BIODIVERSITY.—In emphasizing support for bio25 diversity consistent with the requirements of subsection 

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1 (c), the Secretary shall give priority to agreements and 

2 easements that protect and restore habitat for rare, 

3 threatened, endangered, and candidate species or further 

4 the goals and objectives of the State’s comprehensive wild5 life conservation strategy.’’. 

6 (f) SPECIAL GRASSLANDS RESERVE ENHANCEMENT

7 PROGRAM.—Section 1238P of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

8 3838p) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

9 subsection: 

10 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL GRASSLANDS RESERVE ENHANCE11 MENT AGREEMENTS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary may enter 

13 into a special grasslands reserve enhancement agree14 ment with a State under which the Secretary will 

15 make payments to the State or political subdivisions 

16 or agencies of the State to advance the purposes of 

17 the grassland reserve program in the State. 

18 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT LIMITATIONS.—Section 1305(d) 

19 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 

20 (7 U.S.C. 1308 note; Public Law 100–203) shall not 

21 apply to payments received by a State or political 

22 subdivision or agency thereof in connection with an 

23 agreement entered into under subsection (a).’’. 

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1 SEC. 105. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PRO2 GRAM. 

3 (a) EXTENSION.— 

4 (1) FUNDING EXTENSION AND INCREASE.— 

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

6 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)) is amended by striking para7 graph (6) and inserting the following new para8 graph: 

9 ‘‘(6) The environmental quality incentives pro10 gram under chapter 4, using, to the maximum ex11 tent practicable, $2,000,000,000 in each of fiscal 

12 years 2008 through 2013.’’. 

13 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

14 1240B of such Act is amended (16 U.S.C. 3839aa– 

15 2)— 

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

17 ‘‘2010’’ and inserting ‘‘2013’’; and 

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

19 and inserting ‘‘2013’’. 

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

21 3839aa) is amended— 

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

23 energy,’’ after ‘‘resources’’; and 

24 (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘and con25 serve energy,’’ after ‘‘wildlife’’. 

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1 (c) PREDATOR DETERRENCE.—Section 1240B(a) of 

2 such Act (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(a)) is amended by adding 

3 at the end the following paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(3) PREDATOR DETERRENCE.—A producer 

5 that implements practices or other measures as part 

6 of a system of proactive predator deterrence for 

7 large carnivores, including the use of range riders, 

8 removal of carcasses, and installation of electric 

9 fencing around calving areas, shall be eligible to re10 ceive cost-share or incentive payments under this 

11 chapter.’’. 

12 (d) BIDDING DOWN.—Subsection (c) of section 

13 1240B of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2) is amended to 

14 read as follows: 

15 ‘‘(c) BIDDING DOWN.—The Secretary shall not as16 sign a higher priority to any application because the appli17 cant is willing to accept a lower cost-share or incentive 

18 payment than the applicant would otherwise be entitled 

19 to receive. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed 

20 to relieve the Secretary of the obligation, when evaluating 

21 applications for cost-share payments and incentive pay22 ments, to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the proposed 

23 conservation practices, systems, and approaches described 

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

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

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1 (e) EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS FOR COST-SHARE

2 PAYMENTS AND INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.—Section 1240C 

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

4 follows: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 1240C. EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS FOR COST6 SHARE PAYMENTS AND INCENTIVE PAY7 MENTS. 

8 ‘‘(a) EVALUATION PRIORITIES AND CRITERIA.—In 

9 evaluating applications for cost-share payments and incen10 tive payments, the Secretary shall— 

11 ‘‘(1) prioritize applications based on their over12 all level of cost-effectiveness to ensure that the con13 servation practices, systems, and approaches pro14 posed are the most efficient means of achieving the 

15 anticipated environmental benefits of the project; 

16 ‘‘(2) prioritize applications based on how effec17 tively and comprehensively the project addresses the 

18 designated resource concern or resource concerns; 

19 ‘‘(3) reward higher levels of environmental per20 formance, such as advanced levels of management 

21 within land management practices; 

22 ‘‘(4) develop criteria for evaluating applications 

23 that will ensure that national, State, and local con24 servation priorities are effectively addressed; and 

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1 ‘‘(5) prioritize applications that will improve en2 vironmental performance on existing operations. 

3 ‘‘(b) SPECIAL RULE FOR PROJECTS TO IMPROVE

4 WILDLIFE HABITAT.—In evaluating applications for cost5 share payments and incentive payments primarily to im6 prove wildlife habitat, in addition to meeting the require7 ments of subsection (a), the Secretary shall give priority 

8 to applications that— 

9 ‘‘(1) protect and restore habitat for rare, 

10 threatened, endangered, and candidate species; or 

11 ‘‘(2) further the goals and objectives of the 

12 State’s comprehensive wildlife conservation strat13 egy.’’. 

14 (f) CONSERVATION INNOVATION GRANTS.—Section 

15 1240H of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–8) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘may’’ and in17 serting ‘‘shall’’; 

18 (2) in subsection (b)— 

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

20 ‘‘shall’’; 

21 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para22 graph (2); 

23 (C) by striking the period at the end of 

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

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1 (D) 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) FUNDING UNDER GROUND AND SURFACE

23 WATER CONSERVATION PROGRAM.—Subsection (c) sec24 tion 1240I of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–9) is amended 

25 to read as follows: 

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1 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall use 

2 $100,000,000 of the funds of the Commodity Credit Cor3 poration to carry out this section for each of fiscal years 

4 2008 through 2013. These funds are in addition to 

5 amounts made available under section 1241(a)(6) to carry 

6 out this chapter.’’. 

7 (h) ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS.—Chapter 4 of subtitle 

8 D of title XII of such Act is amended by adding at the 

9 end the following new sections: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 1240J. PROMOTION OF FOREST STEWARDSHIP PRAC11 TICES. 

12 ‘‘(a) COST-SHARE PAYMENTS AND INCENTIVE PAY13 MENTS.—In carrying out the program under this chapter, 

14 the Secretary shall promote forest stewardship by pro15 viding cost-share payments and incentive payments to 

16 non-industrial private forest owners to carry out eligible 

17 conservation activities, to— 

18 ‘‘(1) improve water quality; 

19 ‘‘(2) improve habitat for at-risk species; 

20 ‘‘(3) restore ecologically important forest types; 

21 or 

22 ‘‘(4) control invasive species. 

23 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority to 

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1 igible conservation activities in a coordinated way to ad2 dress the purposes described in subsection (a). 

3 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.— 

4 ‘‘(1) AMOUNTS.—The Secretary shall use funds 

5 of the Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out 

6 this section in the following amounts: 

7 ‘‘(A) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; 

8 ‘‘(B) $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2009; 

9 ‘‘(C) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2010; 

10 ‘‘(D) $75,000,000 million for each of fiscal 

11 years 2011 and 2012; and 

12 ‘‘(E) $100 million for fiscal year 2013. 

13 ‘‘(2) RELATION TO OTHER FUNDS.—The funds 

14 made available under paragraph (1) are in addition 

15 to amounts made available under section 1241(a)(6) 

16 to carry out this chapter. 

17 ‘‘SEC. 1240K. ENHANCED NUTRIENT AND MANURE MANAGE18 MENT. 

19 ‘‘(a) DEMONSTRATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF

20 NUTRIENT AND MANURE MANAGEMENT CONSERVATION

21 PRACTICES.—In carrying out the program under this 

22 chapter, the Secretary shall provide cost-share, incentive 

23 payments, and technical assistance to agricultural pro24 ducers to demonstrate and implement innovative and ad25 vanced conservation measures that hold substantial prommstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ise for producing cost-effective improvements to air and 

2 water quality by reducing the loss of nutrients to the envi3 ronment. Such conservation measures may include: 

4 ‘‘(1) Manure processing and treatment tech5 nologies to permit more effective use and transport 

6 of manure nutrients, including energy production. 

7 ‘‘(2) Innovative land management practices for 

8 nutrient loss reduction, such as soil amendments, in9 novative cropping or grazing systems, precision nu10 trient application, on-farm analysis of nutrient 

11 needs, and performance-based incentive systems. 

12 ‘‘(3) Feed management. 

13 ‘‘(4) Other projects that demonstrate and 

14 transfer the most cost-effective measures and tech15 nologies to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus losses. 

16 ‘‘(b) PRIORITIES.—The Secretary shall give priority 

17 to projects that— 

18 ‘‘(1) involve multiple landowners implementing 

19 conservation measures described in subsection (a) in 

20 a coordinated way to address the purposes of this 

21 section; 

22 ‘‘(2) have a high likelihood of advancing or 

23 demonstrating advanced manure or nutrient man24 agement measures; and 

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1 ‘‘(3) are anticipated to produce significant ben2 efits to air and water quality. 

3 ‘‘(c) LOCATIONS OF PROJECTS.—To be eligible to re4 ceive assistance under this section, a project must be lo5 cated in a watershed or subwatershed of a body of water 

6 impaired by nutrients in which either— 

7 ‘‘(1) the amount of nutrients contained in ma8 nure produced in the watershed or subwatershed ex9 ceeds the amount that can be applied to cropland at 

10 agronomic rates; or 

11 ‘‘(2) conventional nutrient management tech12 niques are inadequate to meet water quality stand13 ards. 

14 ‘‘(d) REGIONAL TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMIT15 TEES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es17 tablish regional technical advisory committees to as18 sist the Secretary in selecting projects for funding 

19 under this section. 

20 ‘‘(2) PARTICIPATION.—A regional technical ad21 visory committee shall include scientists and other 

22 persons with expertise related to innovative and ad23 vanced nutrient management, to be appointed from 

24 agencies within the Department of Agriculture, other 

25 Federal and State agencies, producer associations, 

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1 environmental organizations, and other interested 

2 groups. 

3 ‘‘(3) RELATIONSHIP TO STATE TECHNICAL

4 COMMITTEES.—Subtitle G, relating to State tech5 nical committees shall apply to a regional technical 

6 advisory committee, except that members of the 

7 committee shall be appointed on a regional basis 

8 consistent with paragraph (2). 

9 ‘‘(e) EQUAL TREATMENT.—In implementing this sec10 tion, the Secretary shall ensure that farms of all sizes are 

11 treated equitably. 

12 ‘‘(f) 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) $160,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

18 ‘‘(2) $175,000,000 for fiscal year 2009. 

19 ‘‘(3) $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

20 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 1240L. PERFORMANCE INCENTIVES FOR STATES. 

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

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

24 funds made available under this chapter shall be reserved 

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1 onstrate a high level of performance in implementing the 

2 environmental quality incentives program. 

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

4 State performance under subsection (a), the Secretary 

5 shall reward States that— 

6 ‘‘(1) consistently meet the requirements of sec7 tion 1240C in evaluating offers and payments; 

8 ‘‘(2) dedicate a portion of their annual environ9 mental quality incentives program allocation to 

10 multi-producer cooperative efforts to address specific 

11 resource concerns; 

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

13 agencies, local governments, educational institutions, 

14 and for-profit and nonprofit organizations to mon15 itor and evaluate the environmental outcomes associ16 ated with implementation of the environmental qual17 ity incentives program; 

18 ‘‘(4) demonstrate effective and efficient pro19 gram delivery, including the provision of adequate 

20 technical assistance to all program participants 

21 through appropriate staffing and through coopera22 tion with other Federal, State, Tribal, and local 

23 agencies, for-profit and nonprofit organizations, and 

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1 ning and implementation of conservation practices, 

2 systems, and approaches; 

3 ‘‘(5) support and encourage innovative ap4 proaches to addressing resource concerns; and 

5 ‘‘(6) demonstrate effective outreach and innova6 tive approaches to reaching and serving beginning 

7 farmers and ranchers, limited-resource producers, 

8 and operators with lower rates of historical partici9 pation in Federal farm and conservation programs.’’. 

10 SEC. 106. REAUTHORIZATION OF AND INCREASED FUNDING 

11 FOR WILDLIFE HABITAT INCENTIVE PRO12 GRAM. 

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

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

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

16 and inserting the following new subparagraphs: 

17 ‘‘(A) $85,000,000 in fiscal year 2007; 

18 ‘‘(B) $100,000,000 in fiscal year 2008; 

19 ‘‘(C) $140,000,000 in fiscal year 2009; 

20 ‘‘(D) $200,000,000 in each of fiscal years 

21 2010 and 2011; and 

22 ‘‘(E) $300,000,000 in each of fiscal years 

23 2012 and 2013.’’. 

24 (b) FUNDING SET-ASIDE FOR LONG-TERM AGREE25 MENTS.—Section 1240N(b)(2) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

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1 3839bb–1(b)(2)) is amended by striking subparagraph 

2 (B) and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(B) FUNDS FOR LONG-TERM AGREE4 MENTS.—To the maximum extent practicable, 

5 the Secretary shall use 25 percent of the funds 

6 made available under section 1241(a)(7) for a 

7 fiscal year to carry out during that fiscal year 

8 contracts and agreements described in subpara9 graph (A).’’. 

10 (c) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS AND PROGRAM PRIOR11 ITIES.—Section 1240N of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3839bb– 

12 1) is amended by adding at the end the following new sub13 section: 

14 ‘‘(d) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS AND PROGRAM PRIOR15 ITIES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) PRIORITIES.—In carrying out this section, 

17 the Secretary shall give priority to agreements and 

18 contracts that will— 

19 ‘‘(A) protect or restore habitat for a feder20 ally or State-listed rare, threatened, endan21 gered, and candidate species; or 

22 ‘‘(B) further the goals and objectives of a 

23 State’s comprehensive wildlife conservation 

24 strategy. 

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1 ‘‘(2) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS FOR CERTAIN

2 AGREEMENTS AND APPLICATIONS.—In a case in 

3 which the Secretary enters into an agreement or 

4 contract described in paragraph (1), the Secretary 

5 may provide incentive payments to landowners under 

6 the agreement or contract, including the cost of 

7 management activities needed during the term of the 

8 agreement or contract.’’. 

9 (d) FISH HABITAT.—Section 1240N of such Act (16 

10 U.S.C. 3839bb–1) is further amended by inserting after 

11 subsection (d), as added by subsection (c), the following 

12 new subsection: 

13 ‘‘(e) DEVELOPMENT OF FISH HABITAT.— 

14 ‘‘(1) PURPOSES OF COST-SHARE PAYMENTS.— 

15 Subsection (b)(1)(D) authorizes the Secretary to 

16 make cost-share payments to landowners to develop 

17 fish habitat. The development of fish habitat using 

18 such cost-share payments may include activities— 

19 ‘‘(A) to protect streamside areas, including 

20 through the installation of riparian fencing and 

21 improved stream crossings; 

22 ‘‘(B) to repair in-stream habitat; 

23 ‘‘(C) to improve water flows and water 

24 quality, including through channel restoration; 

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1 ‘‘(D) to initiate watershed management 

2 and planning in areas in which streams are in 

3 a degraded condition due to past agricultural or 

4 forestry practices; and 

5 ‘‘(E) to undertake other types of stream 

6 habitat improvement approved by the Secretary. 

7 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY PROJECTS.—When considering 

8 applications describing projects to protect or restore 

9 fish habitat, the Secretary shall give priority to ap10 plicants who will use the cost-share payments to 

11 carry out a project— 

12 ‘‘(A) to remove a small dam or in-stream 

13 structure; 

14 ‘‘(B) to improve fish passage, including 

15 through culvert repair and maintenance; 

16 ‘‘(C) to protect streamside areas; 

17 ‘‘(D) to improve water flows, including 

18 through irrigation efficiency improvements; or 

19 ‘‘(E) to improve in-stream flow quality or 

20 timing or temperature regimes. 

21 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY FOR PROJECTS INCLUDING UP22 LAND IMPROVEMENTS.—In addition to the priority 

23 projects described in paragraph (2), to ensure that 

24 projects intended to protect or restore fish habitat 

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1 tion, the Secretary shall give priority among applica2 tions describing such projects to applicants who 

3 demonstrate that upland improvements associated 

4 with the stream habitat improvement, including ero5 sion and nutrient management have been, or will be, 

6 carried out.’’. 

7 SEC. 107. COOPERATIVE CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP 

8 INITIATIVE. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.—Subtitle 

10 D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 is amend11 ed by adding at the end the following new chapter: 

12 ‘‘CHAPTER 6—COOPERATIVE CONSERVA13 TION PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE 

14 ‘‘SEC. 1240W. COOPERATIVE CONSERVATION PARTNERSHIP 

15 INITIATIVE. 

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

17 shall make grants and enter into agreements for not short18 er than two-year or longer than five-year terms with eligi19 ble entities specified in subsection (c) to preferentially en20 roll producers in one or more of the programs specified 

21 in subsection (b) to carry out special projects and initia22 tives through which multiple producers and other inter23 ested persons cooperate to improve water quality or ad24 dress other specific resources of concern related to agricul25 tural production on a local, State, or regional scale. 

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1 ‘‘(b) COVERED PROGRAMS.—The conservation pro2 grams referred to in subsection (a) are the following: 

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

4 the continuous signup portion of the program. 

5 ‘‘(2) Conservation reserve enhancement pro6 gram. 

7 ‘‘(3) Environmental quality incentives program. 

8 ‘‘(4) Farmland protection program. 

9 ‘‘(5) Grassland reserve program. 

10 ‘‘(6) Ground and surface water conservation 

11 program. 

12 ‘‘(7) Wetland reserve program. 

13 ‘‘(8) Wildlife habitat incentive program. 

14 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE PARTNERS.—Agreements may be en15 tered into under this section with any of the following (or 

16 a combination thereof): 

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

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

19 State-sponsored conservation districts. 

20 ‘‘(3) Indian tribes. 

21 ‘‘(4) Nongovernmental organizations and asso22 ciations, including conservation organizations and 

23 producer associations and cooperatives. 

24 ‘‘(d) APPLICATIONS.— 

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

2 shall establish a competitive process for considering 

3 applications for agreements under this section con4 sistent with the evaluation criteria listed in sub5 section (e). 

6 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM ALLOCATION.—Applications 

7 shall include— 

8 ‘‘(A) specification of the amount of fund9 ing or acres of one or more covered programs 

10 specified in subsection (b) proposed to be allo11 cated to carry out the special project or initia12 tive; and 

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

14 or acres over the life of the proposed project or 

15 initiative. 

16 ‘‘(e) EVALUATION CRITERIA.—In evaluating applica17 tions for agreements under this section the Secretary shall 

18 consider the extent to which— 

19 ‘‘(1) preferential enrollment in the covered pro20 grams specified in the application will effectively ad21 dress the environmental objectives established for 

22 the special project or initiative; and 

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

24 the application— 

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1 ‘‘(A) enjoys broad local and regional sup2 port from producers and other interested per3 sons, including governmental and nongovern4 mental organizations with appropriate expertise 

5 on the issues the project or initiative seeks to 

6 address; 

7 ‘‘(B) includes clear environmental objec8 tives and a high likelihood of success; 

9 ‘‘(C) includes a well defined project or ini10 tiative plan that identifies sensitive areas re11 quiring treatment and prioritizes conservation 

12 systems, practices, and activities needed to 

13 achieve environmental objectives; 

14 ‘‘(D) promises adequate and coordinated 

15 participation to achieve the objectives of the 

16 project or initiative; 

17 ‘‘(E) coordinates integration of local, 

18 State, and Federal efforts to make the best use 

19 of available resources and maximize cost-effec20 tive investments; 

21 ‘‘(F) leverages financial and technical re22 sources from sources other than the programs 

23 authorized by this subtitle, including financial 

24 and technical resources provided by Federal 

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1 governmental organizations and associations, 

2 and other private sector entities; 

3 ‘‘(G) describes how all necessary technical 

4 assistance will be provided to each producer 

5 participating in the project or initiative, includ6 ing cost estimates for technical assistance and 

7 whether such assistance will be provided by 

8 technical service providers; 

9 ‘‘(H) addresses a local, State, regional, or 

10 national environmental priority or priorities, 

11 with particular emphasis on any priority for 

12 which there is an existing State or federally ap13 proved plan in place for addressing that pri14 ority; 

15 ‘‘(I) links environmental and conservation 

16 objectives with other objectives, such as spur17 ring rural economic development through in18 creased opportunities in the project area for 

19 recreation, value-added enterprises, or direct 

20 marketing of agricultural products, and assist21 ing beginning, limited resource, tribal, and 

22 other producers maintain the viability of their 

23 operations; 

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

25 and measure results; and 

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1 ‘‘(K) clearly demonstrates that enrollment 

2 of producers in covered programs will be con3 sistent with the purposes and policies of each 

4 individual program, as established in statute, 

5 rules and regulations, and program guidance 

6 promulgated by implementing agencies. 

7 ‘‘(f) PRIORITIES.—To the maximum extent prac8 ticable, consistent with the requirements of subsection (d), 

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

10 are awarded and agreements are entered into under this 

11 section to support projects and initiatives that collectively 

12 address the full range of resource concerns facing pro13 ducers, ranchers, and small private forest landowners, in14 cluding specifically projects and initiatives that are de15 signed— 

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

17 in watersheds impacted by agriculture, particularly 

18 by increasing the participation of producers in im19 plementing best management practices in a water20 shed or developing environmentally and economically 

21 viable alternative uses for manure and litter; 

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

23 a geographical area where agricultural operations 

24 impact air quality, especially an area that, as deter25 mined by the Administrator of the Environmental 

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1 Protection Agency, is a nonattainment area with re2 spect to any of the national ambient air quality 

3 standards promulgated by the Administrator under 

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

5 ‘‘(3) to conserve water for environmental pur6 poses such as enhanced in stream flows or aquifer 

7 recharge in regions, States, or local areas where 

8 water quantity is a concern; 

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

10 State-listed endangered species or species of special 

11 concern or to further the goals and objectives of a 

12 State’s comprehensive wildlife conservation plan 

13 through the cooperative efforts of multiple pro14 ducers; 

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

16 other agricultural land through the cooperative ef17 forts of multiple producers in a geographical area; 

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

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

20 ‘‘(7) to reduce losses of pesticides to the envi21 ronment by engaging multiple producers in a geo22 graphic area in adoption of integrated pest manage23 ment practices and approaches; and 

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

25 development pressures in agricultural use. 

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1 ‘‘(g) COST SHARE.— 

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

3 shall not require more than 25 percent of the cost 

4 of a project or initiative supported under an agree5 ment entered into under this section to come from 

6 non-Federal sources. However, the Secretary may 

7 award more points to projects or initiatives offering 

8 to cover a higher percentage of the cost of the 

9 project or initiative from non-Federal sources. 

10 ‘‘(2) IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS.—If the Sec11 retary establishes a cost-share requirement for a 

12 project or initiative, the Secretary shall allow the use 

13 of in-kind contributions to meet that requirement. 

14 ‘‘(h) FUNDING.— 

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

16 fiscal year to implement the programs specified in 

17 subsection (b), the Secretary shall use 20 percent to 

18 provide funds under agreements entered into under 

19 this section. 

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

21 shall allocate to States 60 percent of the funds re22 served under paragraph (1) to allow State Conserva23 tionists, with the advice of State technical commit24 tees, to select projects and initiatives for funding 

25 under this section at the State level. 

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1 ‘‘(3) WATER QUALITY.—To the maximum ex2 tent practicable and consistent with the other re3 quirements of this section, the Secretary shall ensure 

4 that 50 percent of the funds awarded each year 

5 under this section are awarded to projects and ini6 tiatives that will improve water quality.’’. 

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

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

9 by striking subsection (f). 

10 SEC. 108. REGIONAL EQUITY IN FUNDING OF CERTAIN DE11 PARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVA12 TION PROGRAMS. 

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

14 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841) is amended to read as fol15 lows: 

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

17 CERTAIN CONSERVATION PROGRAMS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) MINIMUM ALLOCATION.—In allocating 

19 funds to States to implement the conservation pro20 grams under this subtitle D, other than the pro21 grams excluded by paragraph (2), the Secretary 

22 shall ensure that each State receives, at a minimum, 

23 $15,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2007 

24 through 2013. Funds provided as part of a cooper25 ative conservation partnership initiative under chapmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ter 6 to a project in a State or in a State adjacent 

2 to that State shall not be counted as part of the 

3 minimum base allocation to that State under this 

4 subsection. 

5 ‘‘(2) CERTAIN PROGRAMS EXCLUDED.—Para6 graph (1) does not apply to the following programs: 

7 ‘‘(A) The conservation reserve program 

8 under subchapter B of chapter 1. 

9 ‘‘(B) The wetlands reserve program under 

10 subchapter C of chapter 1. 

11 ‘‘(C) The conservation security program 

12 under subchapter A of chapter 2. 

13 ‘‘(D) The grassland reserve program under 

14 subchapter C of chapter 2.’’. 

15 SEC. 109. EXCLUSION OF PAYMENTS UNDER DEPARTMENT 

16 OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION PRO17 GRAMS FROM ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME 

18 LIMITATION. 

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

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

21 amended by striking subparagraph (C). 

22 (b) DURATION OF ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME LIMI23 TATION.—Such section is further amended by striking 

24 subsection (e). 

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1 SEC. 110. REAUTHORIZATION OF AND ADDITIONAL FUND2 ING FOR AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT AS3 SISTANCE PROGRAM. 

4 (a) REAUTHORIZATION.—Subsection (b)(4)(B) of 

5 section 524 of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 

6 1524) is amended— 

7 (1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2003 

8 through 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2008 

9 through 2013’’; and 

10 (2) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2004 

11 through 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2008 

12 through 2013’’. 

13 (b) FUNDING LEVELS.—Such subsection is further 

14 amended— 

15 (1) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘$20,000,000’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘$40,000,000’’; and 

17 (2) in clause (iii)— 

18 (A) in subclause (I), by striking 

19 ‘‘$14,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$28,000,000’’; 

20 (B) in subclause (II), by striking 

21 ‘‘$1,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$2,000,000’’; and 

22 (C) in subclause (III), by striking 

23 ‘‘$5,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$10,000,000’’. 

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1 SEC. 111. COMMUNITY FORESTS AND OPEN SPACE CON2 SERVATION PROGRAM. 

3 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find4 ings: 

5 (1) The United States Forest Service projects 

6 that 44 million acres of privately owned forested 

7 land will be developed in the United States by 2030, 

8 including many of the most important remaining 

9 forested parcels within and adjacent to communities. 

10 (2) There is an urgent need to assist local gov11 ernments in raising the funds necessary to purchase 

12 the most important of these parcels of privately 

13 owned forested land as they come up for sale. 

14 (3) The breakup of forested land into smaller 

15 parcels has resulted in an increasing number of own16 ers of privately owned forested land, but many of 

17 these owners have little or no experience in forest 

18 stewardship. 

19 (4) In fast growing communities of all sizes 

20 across the United States, the remaining parcels of 

21 privately owned forested land play an essential role 

22 in protecting public water supplies, which has led 

23 many local governments to purchase these lands for 

24 municipal or county ownership. 

25 (5) Rising rates of obesity and other public 

26 health problems related to inactivity have been 

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1 shown to be ameliorated by improving public access 

2 to safe and pleasing areas for outdoor recreation, 

3 which has led many local governments to purchase 

4 lands for recreational purposes under municipal or 

5 county ownership. 

6 (6) Across the United States, many commu7 nities of diverse types and sizes are deriving signifi8 cant financial benefit from owning and managing 

9 municipal or county forestlands as a source of local 

10 revenue that also contributes significantly to the 

11 health of the forest products economy at the local 

12 and national levels. 

13 (7) The access to privately owned forested land 

14 for hunting, fishing, and trapping has declined, and 

15 the number of persons participating in these activi16 ties has likewise declined, as these lands are divided 

17 into smaller parcels and more owners of privately 

18 owned forested land post their land against public 

19 use, which has led many local governments to pur20 chase forestlands to guarantee access for hunting, 

21 fishing, and trapping. 

22 (8) There is a national interest and an urgent 

23 need to assist local governments in raising the funds 

24 necessary to purchase important privately owned for25 ested land that will maintain the diverse public benemstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 fits of forestlands close to or within all manner of 

2 communities nationwide, from close-knit rural com3 munities to fast growing suburban and exurban 

4 areas. 

5 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROGRAM.—The Coopera6 tive Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2101 et 

7 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new 

8 section: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 21. COMMUNITY FORESTS AND OPEN SPACE CON10 SERVATION PROGRAM. 

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT AND PURPOSE.—The Sec12 retary of Agriculture shall establish within the Forest 

13 Service a program to be known as the ‘Community Forests 

14 and Open Space Conservation Program’ (in this section 

15 referred to as the ‘Program’) for the purpose of assisting 

16 local governments in a State selected to participate in the 

17 Program to acquire forested land that— 

18 ‘‘(1) is economically, culturally, and environ19 mentally important to the locality in which the land 

20 is located; 

21 ‘‘(2) is threatened by conversion to non-forest 

22 uses; and 

23 ‘‘(3) will conserve public access to and benefit 

24 from the land for a wide variety of public purposes, 

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1 ber production, forest-based educational and cultural 

2 activities, wildlife habitat protection, watershed pro3 tection, or outdoor recreation, including hunting and 

4 fishing. 

5 ‘‘(b) SELECTION OF PARTICIPATING STATES.— 

6 ‘‘(1) SELECTION.—Not later than one year 

7 after the date of the enactment of this section, the 

8 Secretary shall select at least one State in each of 

9 the New England, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, South, 

10 West, and Pacific Northwest regions of the United 

11 States to participate in the Program. The Secretary 

12 shall make the selections from among applications 

13 submitted by willing States. No State shall be com14 pelled to participate in the Program. 

15 ‘‘(2) IMPLEMENTATION.—Authority for imple16 mentation of the Program in a participating State 

17 shall lie with the State forester, equivalent State of18 ficial, or other appropriate State natural resource 

19 management agency designated by the Governor of 

20 the State. 

21 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBILITY AND RANKING CRITERIA.— 

22 ‘‘(1) STATE ASSESSMENT OF NEED.—Each par23 ticipating State shall prepare an assessment of need 

24 that identifies the geographic areas within the State 

25 that will be the focus of land acquisition activities 

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1 under the Program and priority objectives for con2 servation, based on conditions and public needs in 

3 the State. This requirement may be satisfied by in4 clusion of the assessment as part of an integrated 

5 State-wide forest planning process for application of 

6 Federal programs in the State. 

7 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT OF CRITERIA.—Not later 

8 than one year after the date of the enactment of this 

9 section, the Secretary shall establish eligibility and 

10 ranking criteria for the selection of land acquisition 

11 proposals to receive funding under the Program. The 

12 Secretary shall establish the criteria in consultation 

13 with State Forest Stewardship Advisory Committees, 

14 State Urban and Community Forestry Advisory 

15 Committees, and similar organizations. 

16 ‘‘(3) PRIORITIES.—In establishing the eligibility 

17 and ranking criteria under paragraph (2), the Sec18 retary shall give priority to the acquisition of lands 

19 that— 

20 ‘‘(A) meet identified local open space and 

21 natural resource needs, as expressed in town 

22 plans, regional plans, or other relevant local 

23 planning documents; 

24 ‘‘(B) can be effectively managed to model 

25 good forest stewardship for private landowners 

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1 and support forest-based educational programs, 

2 including vocational education in forestry; 

3 ‘‘(C) provide significant protection of pub4 lic water supplies or other waterways; 

5 ‘‘(D) can offer long-term economic benefit 

6 to communities through forestry; 

7 ‘‘(E) contain important wildlife habitat; 

8 ‘‘(F) provide convenient public access for 

9 outdoor recreation, including hunting and fish10 ing; and 

11 ‘‘(G) are most threatened with conversion 

12 to non-forest uses. 

13 ‘‘(d) APPLICATION AND RANKING OF PROPOSALS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) PREPARATION AND CONTENTS.—A local 

15 government in a participating State may prepare an 

16 application for assistance under the Program in the 

17 acquisition of forested land within the geographic 

18 program focus area in the State identified under 

19 subsection (c)(1). The application shall include cer20 tification by the appropriate unit or units of local 

21 government that the proposed land acquisition is 

22 consistent with any comprehensive plans for develop23 ment adopted by the unit of local government and 

24 include such other information as the Secretary may 

25 prescribe. 

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1 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION.—Participating States shall 

2 rank all applications according to priority and sub3 mit the applications to the Secretary at such times 

4 and in such form as the Secretary may prescribe. 

5 ‘‘(3) NATIONAL LIST.—The Secretary shall 

6 maintain a national list of all submitted applications, 

7 ranked according to the criteria established pursuant 

8 to subsection (c). 

9 ‘‘(e) OWNERSHIP OF LAND.— 

10 ‘‘(1) GOVERNMENT OWNERSHIP.—Except as 

11 provided in paragraph (2), all land acquired in whole 

12 or in part using funds provided under the Program 

13 shall be owned in fee simple by a local government, 

14 such as a municipality or county. 

15 ‘‘(2) NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION OWNERSHIP.— 

16 Upon the request of a participating State, des17 ignated nonprofit organizations operating within 

18 that State may also own land acquired using funds 

19 provided under the Program, subject to the condi20 tion that the land is open for public access con21 sistent with the purposes and criteria of the Pro22 gram. 

23 ‘‘(3) EFFECT OF VIOLATION.—If the owner of 

24 land acquired in whole or in part using funds pro25 vided under the Program sells the land, the owner 

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1 shall reimburse the Secretary for the full amount of 

2 the funds provided under the Program, plus a pen3 alty equal to 50 percent of the sale price or ap4 praised value of the land at the time of the sale, 

5 whichever is greater. The local government or des6 ignated nonprofit organization that sold the land 

7 shall no longer be eligible for assistance under the 

8 Program. 

9 ‘‘(f) DUTIES OF OWNERS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) USE AND PROHIBITION ON CONVERSION.— 

11 The owner of land acquired in whole or in part using 

12 funds provided under the Program shall manage the 

13 land in a manner that is consistent with the pur14 poses for which the land was purchased under the 

15 Program and shall not convert the property to other 

16 non-forest uses. Public access for compatible rec17 reational uses, as determined by the owner, shall be 

18 required. 

19 ‘‘(2) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Not later than two 

20 years after the closing date on the purchase of land 

21 using funds under the Program, the owner of the 

22 land shall complete a management plan for the land, 

23 which shall be subject to the approval of the respon24 sible State agency. Management plans shall be cremstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 ated through a public process that allows for com2 munity participation and input. 

3 ‘‘(g) COST SHARING REQUIREMENTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) COST SHARING.—In accordance with such 

5 terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe, 

6 costs for the acquisition of land under the Program, 

7 and other costs associated with the Program, shall 

8 be shared among participating entities, including 

9 State, county, municipal, and other governmental 

10 units, landowners, corporations, or private organiza11 tions. Such costs may include costs associated with 

12 planning, administration, property acquisition, and 

13 property management. The Secretary may authorize 

14 in-kind contributions. 

15 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL COST SHARE.—The Federal 

16 share of the cost to acquire land under the Program 

17 shall not exceed 50 percent of the total cost to ac18 quire the land. Payments under this section shall be 

19 made in accordance with Federal appraisal and ac20 quisition standards and procedures. 

21 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATION AND TECHNICAL ASSIST22 ANCE.—In order to assist local governments in 

23 achieving model stewardship of land acquired under 

24 the Program, 10 percent of all funds appropriated 

25 for a fiscal year for the Program shall be allocated 

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1 to the responsible State agencies in participating 

2 States to administer the Program and to provide 

3 technical assistance to local governments for forest 

4 stewardship, including development and implementa5 tion of management plans required by subsection 

6 (f)(2). 

7 ‘‘(h) PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) ACCESS.—Nothing in this section— 

9 ‘‘(A) requires a private property owner to 

10 permit public access (including Federal, State, 

11 or local government access) to private property; 

12 or 

13 ‘‘(B) modifies any provision of Federal, 

14 State, or local law with regard to public access 

15 to, or use of, private land. 

16 ‘‘(2) LIABILITY.—Nothing in this section cre17 ates any liability, or has any effect on liability under 

18 any other law, of a private property owner with re19 spect to any persons injured on the private property. 

20 ‘‘(3) RECOGNITION OF AUTHORITY TO CONTROL

21 LAND USE.—Nothing in this section modifies any 

22 authority of Federal, State, or local governments to 

23 regulate land use. 

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1 ‘‘(4) PARTICIPATION OF PRIVATE PROPERTY

2 OWNERS.—Nothing in this section requires a private 

3 property owner to participate in the Program. 

4 ‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

5 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 

6 out the Program $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 

7 2008 through 2013.’’. 

8 SEC. 112. FARMLAND PROTECTION AND FARM VIABILITY 

9 PROGRAMS. 

10 Paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of section 1241 of 

11 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841) is 

12 amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(4) The farmland protection program under 

14 subchapter B of chapter 2, using $300,000,000 in 

15 each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012.’’. 

16 SEC. 113. HEALTHY FORESTS RESERVE PROGRAM. 

17 (a) METHODS OF ENROLLMENT.—Section 

18 502(f)(1)of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 

19 (16 U.S.C. 6572(f)(1)) is amended by striking subpara20 graph (C) and inserting the following new subparagraph: 

21 ‘‘(C) a permanent easement.’’. 

22 (b) FUNDING.—Section 508 of such Act (16 U.S.C. 

23 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 use the funds, fa5 cilities, and authorities of the Commodity Credit Corpora6 tion to carry out the healthy forests reserve program, in7 cluding the provision of technical assistance under the pro8 gram. 

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. 114. INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE. 

18 (a) INITIATIVE REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Agri19 culture shall implement an integrated pest management 

20 initiative in priority areas identified by the Secretary pur21 suant to subsection (b) for the purpose of assisting agri22 cultural producers operating in a priority area to comply 

23 with pest management regulations and alleviate the need 

24 for additional regulations regarding pest management ac25 tivities. 

26 (b) IDENTIFICATION OF PRIORITY AREAS.— 

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1 (1) IDENTIFICATION.—The Secretary of Agri2 culture shall identify priority areas where the adop3 tion by agricultural producers of integrated pest 

4 management practices and approaches offers the 

5 greatest potential benefit to producers seeking to 

6 comply with pest management regulations and allevi7 ate the need for additional regulations regarding 

8 pest management activities. At a minimum, priority 

9 areas shall include agricultural lands dominated by 

10 the production of specialty crops and agricultural 

11 lands where agricultural pest management activities 

12 are regulated for the purpose of mitigating specific 

13 impacts to human health or the environment, such 

14 as an area in which pollutants exceed authorized 

15 total maximum daily load or an air quality non-at16 tainment area. 

17 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall iden18 tify priority areas in consultation with the Environ19 mental Protection Agency, the United States Geo20 logical Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife 

21 Service, agricultural producers, appropriated State 

22 agencies, and other interested persons. 

23 (c) ACTIVITIES IN PRIORITY AREAS.— 

24 (1) EXPEDITED APPROVAL OF MANAGEMENT

25 PRACTICES.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall demstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 velop the best-available integrated pest management 

2 practices for the primary agricultural commodities 

3 and significant pests in each priority area identified 

4 under subsection (b) and expedite approval of these 

5 practices for implementation by agricultural pro6 ducers. 

7 (2) IMPROVED EVALUATION OF MANAGEMENT

8 PLANS.—The Secretary shall develop and make 

9 available criteria to enable staff of the Natural Re10 sources Conservation Service and agricultural pro11 ducers operating in priority areas identified under 

12 subsection (b) to effectively compare pest manage13 ment plans, considering relative risks and potential 

14 benefits to multiple resources of concern, including 

15 air, surface water, ground water, bees and other pol16 linators, wildlife, and worker safety. 

17 (3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

18 may enter in cooperative agreements, memorandums 

19 of understanding, and contracts for services with 

20 technical service providers, other agencies, and non21 Federal organizations, as necessary, to assist in pro22 viding technical assistance regarding integrated pest 

23 management planning and implementation to pro24 ducers operating in priority areas identified under 

25 subsection (b). 

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1 (4) MARKETING.—The Secretary may market 

2 the availability of integrated pest management tools 

3 and training to agricultural producers in the priority 

4 areas identified under subsection (b). 

5 (5) PROGRAM INTEGRATION.—The Secretary 

6 shall set goals for integrating the integrated pest 

7 management initiative with the environmental qual8 ity incentives program established under chapter 4 

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

10 of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq.) and other con11 servation programs in each priority area identified 

12 under subsection (b), including indicators of the ex13 tent to which these programs fund integrated pest 

14 management practices and the extent to which sup15 ported integrated pest management practices reduce 

16 pesticide use and risk. 

17 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

18 shall submit to Congress an annual report on the inte19 grated pest management initiative, including progress in 

20 meeting the program integration goals set under sub21 section (c)(5). 

22 (e) FUNDING.—The Secretary of Agriculture may use 

23 funds provided for the conservation security program and 

24 environmental quality incentives program under subtitle D 

25 of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

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1 3830 et seq.) to implement the integrated pest manage2 ment initiative. 

3 SEC. 115. CONSERVATION ACCESS INITIATIVE TO ENCOUR4 AGE GREATER PARTICIPATION BY SOCIALLY 

5 DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND RANCHERS 

6 IN CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED GROUP.—The 

9 term ‘‘socially disadvantaged group’’ means a group 

10 of persons whose members have been subjected to 

11 racial or ethnic prejudice because of their identity as 

12 members of a group without regard to their indi13 vidual qualities. 

14 (2) SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMER OR

15 RANCHER.—The term ‘‘socially disadvantaged farm16 er or rancher’’ means a farmer or rancher who is a 

17 member of a socially disadvantaged group. 

18 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti19 ty’’ means any of the following: 

20 (A) Any community-based organization, 

21 network, or coalition of community-based orga22 nizations that— 

23 (i) has demonstrated experience in 

24 providing agricultural education or other 

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1 agriculturally related services to socially 

2 disadvantaged farmers or ranchers; 

3 (ii) has provided to the Secretary of 

4 Agriculture documentary evidence of work 

5 with socially disadvantaged farmers or 

6 ranchers for not less than a five-year pe7 riod preceding the submission of an appli8 cation for assistance under this section; 

9 and 

10 (iii) does not engage in activities pro11 hibited under section 501(c)(3) of the In12 ternal Revenue Code of 1986. 

13 (B) An Indian tribe (as defined in section 

14 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu15 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)) or a 

16 national tribal organization that has dem17 onstrated experience in providing agriculture 

18 education or other agriculturally related serv19 ices to socially disadvantaged farmers or ranch20 ers in a region. 

21 (C) An 1890 institution or 1994 institu22 tion (as defined in section 2 of the Agricultural 

23 Research, Extension, and Education Reform 

24 Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601)), including West 

25 Virginia State College. 

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1 (D) An Indian tribal community college or 

2 an Alaska Native cooperative college. 

3 (E) An Hispanic-serving institution (as de4 fined in section 1404 of the National Agricul5 tural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy 

6 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)). 

7 (F) Any other institution of higher edu8 cation (as defined in section 101 of the Higher 

9 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) that 

10 has demonstrated experience in providing agri11 culture education or other agriculturally related 

12 services to socially disadvantaged farmers or 

13 ranchers in a region. 

14 (b) INITIATIVE.—With respect to all programs au15 thorized or amended by this title, the Secretary of Agri16 culture shall establish a conservation initiative for socially 

17 disadvantaged farmers or ranchers. With respect to such 

18 programs that serve an Indian tribe, the Secretary shall 

19 be required to pay the costs of office space to carry out 

20 conservation functions authorized under this section. 

21 (c) SPECIAL RULE FOR COST-SHARE PAYMENTS.— 

22 Notwithstanding the actual cost sharing requirements im23 posed by a program authorized or amended by this title, 

24 the Secretary of Agriculture may pay up to 100 percent 

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1 of the costs incurred by a socially disadvantaged farmer 

2 or rancher to participate in the program. 

3 (d) OUTREACH AND ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of 

4 Agriculture shall carry out an outreach and technical as5 sistance program to encourage and assist socially dis6 advantaged farmers or ranchers to participate equitably 

7 in the full range of agricultural programs authorized or 

8 amended by this title. 

9 (e) GRANTS AND CONTRACTS.—The Secretary of Ag10 riculture may make grants to, and enter into contracts 

11 and other agreements with, an eligible entity to provide 

12 information and technical assistance to socially disadvan13 taged farmers or ranchers so that they can participate eq14 uitably in the full range of agricultural programs author15 ized or amended by this title. 

16 (f) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—The authority 

17 to carry out this section shall be in addition to any other 

18 authority provided in this or any other Act. 

19 (g) FUNDING.—The Secretary of Agriculture may re20 serve up to 10 percent of the funds provided for a fiscal 

21 year for financial assistance under the conservation pro22 grams under subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security 

23 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3830 et seq.) to carry out this 

24 section. 

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1 SEC. 116. CONSERVATION LOAN GUARANTEE PROGRAM. 

2 Subtitle A of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De3 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1921–1936a) is amended by in4 serting after section 304 the following: 

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

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

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

8 eligible borrower to obtain a qualified conservation loan. 

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

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

11 borrower’ means a farmer, rancher, farm coopera12 tive, private domestic corporation, partnership, joint 

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

14 engaged primarily and directly in agricultural pro15 duction in the United States. 

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

17 term ‘qualified conservation loan’ means a loan that 

18 meets the following requirements: 

19 ‘‘(A) PURPOSE.—The loan proceeds are re20 quired to be used to cover the costs to the bor21 rower of carrying out a qualified conservation 

22 project. 

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

24 amount of the loan is not more than 

25 $1,000,000. 

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1 ‘‘(C) REPAYMENT PERIOD.—The loan re2 payment period shall not exceed 10 years. 

3 ‘‘(D) NO REPAYMENT REQUIRED IN FIRST

4 YEAR.—The lender is prohibited from requiring 

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

6 period that begins with the date of the closing 

7 of the loan. 

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

9 is prohibited from forgiving any part of the 

10 loan. 

11 ‘‘(F) LIMITED PROCESSING FEE.—The 

12 total of all processing fees charged with respect 

13 to the loan does not exceed such amount as 

14 shall be prescribed by the Secretary. 

15 ‘‘(3) QUALIFIED CONSERVATION PROJECT.— 

16 The term ‘eligible conservation project’ means, with 

17 respect to an eligible borrower, conservation meas18 ures included in a conservation plan for a farming 

19 or ranching operation of the borrower, including— 

20 ‘‘(A) the installation of conservation struc21 tures, including terraces, sod waterways, per22 manently vegetated stream borders and filter 

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

24 and living snow fences, if all plantings consist 

25 of vegetation appropriate to the locale; 

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

2 sustained yield timber management, erosion 

3 control, or shelter belt purposes, if the forest 

4 cover is appropriate to the locale; 

5 ‘‘(C) the installation of water conservation 

6 measures; 

7 ‘‘(D) the installation of waste management 

8 systems; 

9 ‘‘(E) the establishment or improvement of 

10 permanent pasture; 

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

12 with section 1212 of the Food Security Act of 

13 1985; 

14 ‘‘(G) other purposes consistent with the 

15 conservation plan; 

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

17 as described by technical guides and handbooks 

18 issues by the Natural Resources Conservation 

19 Service; or 

20 ‘‘(I) emerging conservation practices, tech21 niques, or technologies, as approved by the Sec22 retary. 

23 ‘‘(c) LIMITATIONS APPLICABLE TO LOAN GUARAN24 TEES.— 

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1 ‘‘(1) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF GUAR2 ANTEE.—The portion of a loan that the Secretary 

3 may guarantee under this section shall be not less 

4 than 80 percent and not more than 90 percent of 

5 the principal amount of the loan. 

6 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION ON TOTAL AMOUNT OUT7 STANDING.—The aggregate principal amount of out8 standing loans guaranteed by the Secretary under 

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

10 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF INTEREST SUB11 SIDY.—The interest subsidy which the Secretary may pro12 vide under this section with respect to a loan shall result 

13 in a reduction of the interest rate agreed upon by the bor14 rower and the lender (but to not less than zero) by— 

15 ‘‘(1) 500 basis points, if the principal amount 

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

17 ‘‘(2) 400 basis points, if the principal amount 

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

19 than $500,000; and 

20 ‘‘(3) 300 basis points, in any other case. 

21 ‘‘(e) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) AUTHORITY TO COLLECT PROCESSING

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

24 cost of processing an application under this section 

25 equal to not more than 1 percent of the principal 

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1 amount of the loan sought by the applicant, as de2 scribed in the application. 

3 ‘‘(2) PROVISION OF FINANCIAL INFORMA4 TION.—An applicant for a loan guarantee or interest 

5 subsidy under this section shall provide the Sec6 retary with such financial information as may be re7 quired by the Secretary, in the manner generally re8 quired by commercial agricultural lenders in the geo9 graphical area where the farming or ranching oper10 ation of the applicant is located. 

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

12 that an appraisal made in connection with an appli13 cation for a loan guarantee or interest subsidy under 

14 this section be conducted by a specialized appraiser 

15 that uses standards similar to the standards used 

16 for similar purposes in the private sector, as deter17 mined by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(4) APPROVAL OF APPLICATION.—The Sec19 retary shall not approve an application submitted 

20 pursuant to this section, unless the Natural Re21 sources Conservation Service has determined that— 

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

23 described in the application, would be a quali24 fied conservation loan; and 

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

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

3 environment. 

4 ‘‘(5) DEADLINE FOR DECISION ON APPLICA5 TION.—Within 45 business days after the receipt of 

6 an application for assistance under this section, the 

7 Secretary shall transmit to the applicant the decision 

8 of the Secretary to approve or disapprove the appli9 cation, to the extent practicable. 

10 ‘‘(6) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF LOAN

11 GUARANTEES AND INTEREST SUBSIDIES.—The Sec12 retary shall ensure that loan guarantees and interest 

13 subsidies under this section are equitably distributed 

14 among agricultural producers according to the scale 

15 of the operations of the producers. 

16 ‘‘(f) RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER CONSERVATION

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

18 of, a loan guarantee or an interest subsidy under this sec19 tion shall affect the eligibility of the recipient for assist20 ance under title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 

21 or the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act. 

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

23 2008 through 2013, the Secretary shall use such funds 

24 of the Commodity Credit Corporation as are necessary to 

25 carry out this section.’’. 

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1 SEC. 117. PILOT PROGRAM FOR COMPREHENSIVE CON2 SERVATION PLANNING. 

3 (a) PILOT PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary of 

4 Agriculture shall establish a pilot program to evaluate the 

5 feasibility of assisting producers, before they apply for as6 sistance under any conservation program under subtitle 

7 D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

8 3830 et seq.), by making a comprehensive assessment of 

9 the resource concerns, needs, and alternative solutions for 

10 the producer’s entire operation, as determined by the Sec11 retary, following the procedures in the conservation plan12 ning manual of the Natural Resources Conservation Serv13 ice. 

14 (b) LOCATIONS.—The pilot program shall be under15 taken in the following locations: 

16 (1) The Chesapeake Bay watershed. 

17 (2) The Great Lakes Basin. 

18 (3) The Connecticut River watershed. 

19 (4) The Highlands Region, as defined in section 

20 3 of the Highlands Conservation Act (Public Law 

21 108–421; 118 Stat. 2375). 

22 (5) The Upper Mississippi River Basin. 

23 (c) PROVISION OF ASSISTANCE.—The assistance to 

24 producers shall be provided by the Secretary directly or 

25 through third-party providers certified by the Secretary, 

26 and shall be provided without charge to the producer. The 

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1 results of the comprehensive conservation planning shall 

2 be provided to the producer to enable informed choices on 

3 the type of financial assistance available through conserva4 tion programs administered by the Secretary that would 

5 most effectively address the resource needs of the farmer’s 

6 operation consistent with the environmental goals for the 

7 area in which the operation is located. 

8 (d) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall use funds of the 

9 Commodity Credit Corporation to carry out the pilot pro10 gram in the amount of $40,000,000 for each of fiscal 

11 years 2008 through 2013. The funds shall be equally di12 vided, to the maximum extent practicable, between each 

13 of the four pilot program locations. 

14 (e) ASSESSMENT AND REPORT.—The Secretary shall 

15 conduct an assessment of the effectiveness of the pilot pro16 gram and publish a report, to be available to the public, 

17 of the results of the assessment. An assessment and report 

18 shall be undertaken in the second year and the fifth year 

19 of the pilot program. 

20 SEC. 118. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE UNDER DEPARTMENT 

21 OF AGRICULTURE CONSERVATION PRO22 GRAMS. 

23 (a) USE OF THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS.—Section 

24 1242 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842) 

25 is amended— 

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1 (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (2) 

2 and inserting the following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(2) at the option of the producer, through an 

4 approved third party, if available.’’; and 

5 (2) in subsection (b)— 

6 (A) by striking paragraph (1) and insert7 ing the following new paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(1) SYSTEM FOR EVALUATION OF PRO9 VIDERS.—The Secretary shall establish, by regula10 tion, a system for approving individuals and entities 

11 to provide technical assistance to carry out programs 

12 under this chapter, including criteria for the evalua13 tion of providers or potential providers of technical 

14 assistance.’’; 

15 (B) by striking paragraph (3) and insert16 ing the following new paragraph: 

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

18 may accept bids from approved third parties to pro19 vide technical assistance to producers eligible for 

20 that assistance.’’; and 

21 (C) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘may re22 quest’’ and inserting ‘‘shall request, to the max23 imum extent practicable,’’. 

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1 (b) COOPERATIVE CONSERVATION EDUCATIONAL AS2 SISTANCE PROGRAM.—Such section is further amended by 

3 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

4 ‘‘(c) COOPERATIVE CONSERVATION EDUCATIONAL

5 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.—The Secretary shall establish a 

6 cooperative conservation educational assistance program 

7 through which a student at an institution of higher edu8 cation, in a field of study such as agronomy, conservation 

9 biology, engineering, and other subject relevant to the pro10 vision of technical assistance under this section, may re11 ceive educational assistance in exchange for a commitment 

12 of service to the Natural Resources Conservation Service 

13 or other agency within the Department of Agriculture in14 volved in providing such assistance. Establishment of the 

15 program shall be carried out by rulemaking, and the final 

16 rule shall be issued not later than 180 days after the date 

17 of the enactment of this subsection.’’. 

18 TITLE II—ENERGY 

19 SEC. 201. DEFINITION OF BIOMASS. 

20 Section 9001(3)(B)(i) of the Farm Security and 

21 Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8101(3)(B)(i)) 

22 is amended by inserting ‘‘and crop waste’’ after ‘‘agricul23 tural crops’’. 

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1 SEC. 202. SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF BIOREFIN2 ERIES. 

3 (a) ASSISTANCE METHODS.—Subsection (c) of sec4 tion 9003 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act 

5 of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8103) to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall award grants 

7 and make loans and loan guarantees to eligible entities 

8 to assist in covering the cost of development and construc9 tion of biorefineries or for the construction or deployment 

10 of methane digesters used to capture the methane gas 

11 from livestock manure for use as a fuel source for biofuel 

12 production to carry out projects to demonstrate the com13 mercial viability of 1 or more processes for converting bio14 mass to fuels or chemicals.’’. 

15 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS.—Subsection (e)(2) of 

16 such section is amended— 

17 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (i); 

18 (2) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); 

19 and 

20 (3) by inserting after clause (i) the following 

21 new clause: 

22 ‘‘(ii) shall select projects based upon 

23 the extent to which the projects meet envi24 ronmental goals for feed stocks and refin25 eries, including goals related to reductions 

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1 ment in water quality and wildlife habitat, 

2 developed by the Secretary in consultation 

3 with the Secretary of the Interior, the Sec4 retary of Energy, and the National Acad5 emy of Sciences; and’’. 

6 (c) COST SHARING.—Subsection (f) of such section 

7 is amended to read as follows: 

8 ‘‘(f) COST SHARING AND INTEREST RATES.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The combined amount of a 

10 grant and loan made or guaranteed under this sec11 tion shall not exceed 50 percent of the cost of the 

12 project. 

13 ‘‘(2) FORM OF RECIPIENT SHARE.—The recipi14 ent share of the cost of a project may be made in 

15 the form of cash or the provision of services, mate16 rial, or other in-kind contributions. The amount of 

17 the recipient share made in the form of the provision 

18 of services, material, or other in-kind contributions 

19 shall not exceed 25 percent of the amount of the 

20 share determined under paragraph (1). 

21 ‘‘(3) INTEREST RATE.—A loan made under sub22 section (c) shall bear interest at the rate equivalent 

23 to the rate of interest charged on Treasury securities 

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1 proved. The interest rate shall remain in effect for 

2 the term of the loan.’’. 

3 (d) ENERGY RESERVE PROGRAM.—Such section is 

4 further amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as 

6 subsections (h) and (i), respectively; and 

7 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol8 lowing new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(g) ENERGY RESERVE PROGRAM.— 

10 ‘‘(1) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—Until December 

11 31, 2013, the Secretary shall carry out an energy re12 serve program under which not more than 100,000 

13 acres of land may be enrolled through the use of 

14 five-year contracts to assist owners and operators 

15 with the production of feed stocks for the projects 

16 carried out pursuant to this section. 

17 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE LANDS.—The Secretary may in18 clude any land, regardless of a cropping history, so 

19 long as the feed stock is produced and harvested 

20 consistent with the needs of the environment, as pro21 vided in paragraph (3). 

22 ‘‘(3) DUTIES OF OWNERS AND OPERATORS.— 

23 Under a contract entered into under this subsection, 

24 an owner or operator of land shall implement a feed 

25 stock conservation plan to ensure that lands enrolled 

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1 are managed consistent with the needs of the envi2 ronment, including the needs of wildlife. Paragraphs 

3 (5) and (6) of section 1232(a) of the Food Security 

4 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3832(a)) shall apply to the 

5 contracts 

6 ‘‘(4) PAYMENTS.—The Secretary shall provide 

7 annual rental payments to owners and operators of 

8 lands of amounts not greater than $25,000 for any 

9 fiscal year, and shall establish the amounts of pay10 ments through— 

11 ‘‘(A) the submission of bids for such con12 tracts by owners and operators in such manner 

13 as the Secretary may prescribe; or 

14 ‘‘(B) such other means as the Secretary 

15 determines are appropriate.’’. 

16 (e) FUNDING.—Subsection (i) of such section, as 

17 amended by subsection (d)(1), is amended to read as fol18 lows: 

19 ‘‘(i) 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.’’. 

23 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Such section is 

24 further amended— 

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1 (1) in the section heading, by striking 

2 ‘‘GRANTS’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘a grant’’ and 

4 inserting ‘‘assistance’’; and 

5 (3) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘grants’’ both 

6 places it appears and inserting ‘‘assistance’’. 

7 SEC. 203. REAUTHORIZATION OF ENERGY AUDIT AND RE8 NEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPMENT PRO9 GRAM. 

10 Section 9005(i) of the Farm Security and Rural In11 vestment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8105(f)) is amended by 

12 striking ‘‘fiscal years 2002 through 2007’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘fiscal years 2008 through 2013’’. 

14 SEC. 204. REAUTHORIZATION OF AND INCREASED FUNDING 

15 FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY SYSTEMS AND EN16 ERGY EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS PRO17 GRAM. 

18 (a) PRIORITIES.—Section 9006 of the Farm Security 

19 and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8106) is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) by redesignating subsection (c) through (f) 

22 as subsection (d) through (g), respectively; and 

23 (2) by inserting after subsection (b) the fol24 lowing new subsection: 

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1 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall establish a sys2 tem to rank applications for loans, loan guarantees, and 

3 grants under this section that considers the extent to 

4 which the proposed project— 

5 ‘‘(1) will produce environmental benefits, in6 cluding reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, 

7 other improvements in air quality, and improve8 ments in water quality; and 

9 ‘‘(2) fosters community or cooperative ap10 proaches to renewable energy development.’’. 

11 (b) FUNDING.—Subsection (f) of section 9006 of the 

12 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 

13 U.S.C. 8106) is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(f) FUNDING.— 

15 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Of the funds 

16 of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 

17 shall make available to carry out this section the fol18 lowing amounts: 

19 ‘‘(A) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2008. 

20 ‘‘(B) $90,000,000 for fiscal year 2009. 

21 ‘‘(C) $130,000,000 for fiscal year 2010. 

22 ‘‘(D) $180,000,000 for fiscal year 2011. 

23 ‘‘(E) $250,000,000 for fiscal year 2012. 

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1 ‘‘(2) DURATION.—Funds made available under 

2 paragraph (1) shall remain available until ex3 pended.’’. 

4 SEC. 205. REAUTHORIZATION OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRI5 CULTURE BIOENERGY PROGRAM. 

6 Subsection (c) of section 9010 of the Farm Security 

7 and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8108) is 

8 amended: 

9 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity 

10 Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out 

11 this section not more than $150,000,000 for each of fiscal 

12 years 2008 through 2013.’’. 

13 SEC. 206. REAUTHORIZATION OF AND INCREASED FUNDING 

14 FOR BIOMASS RESEARCH AND DEVELOP15 MENT. 

16 Section 310 of the Biomass Research and Develop17 ment Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 7624 note; Public Law 106– 

18 224) is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 310. FUNDING. 

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

21 Corporation, the Secretary shall make available to carry 

22 out this title— 

23 ‘‘(1) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2008; and 

24 ‘‘(2) $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 

25 through 2013. 

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1 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In ad2 dition to amounts transferred under subsection (a), there 

3 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this title 

4 $200,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2015. 

5 ‘‘(c) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts made 

6 available under subsection (a) or appropriated pursuant 

7 to the authorization of appropriations in subsection (b) 

8 shall remain available until expended.’’. 

9 SEC. 207. REAUTHORIZATION OF CARBON CYCLE RE10 SEARCH. 

11 (a) RESEARCH CONDUCTED THROUGH CONSORTIUM

12 FOR AGRICULTURAL SOILS MITIGATION OF GREENHOUSE

13 GASES.— 

14 (1) PARTICIPANTS IN CONSORTIUM.—Sub15 section (b) of section 221 of the Agricultural Risk 

16 Protection Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 6711) is amended 

17 by striking ‘‘are’’ in the matter preceding paragraph 

18 (1) and inserting ‘‘include’’. 

19 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 Subsection (g) of such section is amended by strik21 ing ‘‘fiscal years 2002 through 2007’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘fiscal years 2007 through 2012’’. 

23 (b) COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS.—Sub24 section (d)(4) of such section is amended by striking ‘‘fismstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 cal years 2002 through 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 

2 2008 through 2013’’. 

3 (c) EXTENSION PROJECTS.—Subsection (e)(3) of 

4 such section is amended by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2002 

5 through 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2008 through 

6 2013’’. 

7 TITLE III—HEALTHY FOOD 

8 CHOICES 

9 SEC. 301. REAUTHORIZATION OF AND INCREASED FUNDING 

10 FOR COMMUNITY FOOD PROJECT COMPETI11 TIVE GRANTS. 

12 (a) AUTHORITY TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE.—Section 

13 25(b) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2034(b)) 

14 is amended— 

15 (1) in paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘From 

16 amounts made available to carry out this Act, the 

17 Secretary may’’ and inserting ‘‘The Secretary shall’’; 

18 and 

19 (2) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

20 following: 

21 ‘‘(2) FUNDING AMOUNTS.—From amounts 

22 made available to carry out this Act, the Secretary 

23 shall use $60,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 

24 through 2013 to make grants under this section.’’. 

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1 (b) PREFERENCE FOR CERTAIN PROJECTS.—Section 

2 25(d) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2034(d)) 

3 is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (3) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

5 end; 

6 (2) in paragraph (4) by striking the period at 

7 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’ ; and 

8 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(5) serve special project needs in areas of— 

10 ‘‘(A) transportation and processing for ex11 panding institutional and emergency food serv12 ice demand for local food; 

13 ‘‘(B) retail access to healthy foods in un14 derserved markets; 

15 ‘‘(C) integration of urban and metro-area 

16 food production in food projects; and 

17 ‘‘(D) technical assistance for youth, so18 cially disadvantaged individuals, and limited re19 source groups.’’. 

20 (c) MATCHING FUNDS REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

21 25(e)(1) of the Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

22 2034(e)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘50’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘75’’. 

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1 (d) TERM OF GRANT.—Section 25(f)(2) of the Food 

2 Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2034(f)(2)) is amended by 

3 striking ‘‘3’’ and inserting ‘‘5’’. 

4 (e) FUNDING.—Section 25(h)(4) of the Food Stamp 

5 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2034(h)(4)) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2003 through 

7 2007’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2008 through 

8 2013’’; and 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘$200,000’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘$500,000’’. 

11 SEC. 302. EXPANSION OF FRESH FRUIT AND VEGETABLE 

12 PROGRAM. 

13 Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School 

14 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769) is amended in subsection 

15 (g)— 

16 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

17 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

18 (A), by striking ‘‘July 2004’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘July 2007’’; and 

20 (B) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

21 and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(A) 100 elementary or secondary schools 

23 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)(i)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘October 1, 2004,’’ and in11 serting ‘‘October 1, 2007,’’; and 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘$9,000,000’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘$300,000,000’’. 

14 SEC. 303. AUTHORIZATION LEVEL FOR FARM-TO-CAFE15 TERIA ACTIVITIES. 

16 Section 18 of the Richard B. Russell National School 

17 Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769) is amended in subsection 

18 (i)(2) by striking ‘‘such sums as are necessary’’ and all 

19 that follows through the period at the end and inserting 

20 ‘‘to carry out this subsection $20,000,000 for each of fis21 cal years 2008 through 2013.’’. 

22 SEC. 304. EXTENSION OF WIC FARMERS’ MARKET NUTRI23 TION PROGRAM. 

24 Section 17(m)(9)(A) of the Child Nutrition Act of 

25 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786(m)(9)(A)) is amended— 

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1 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘2009’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘2013’’; and 

3 (2) by striking clause (ii) and inserting the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(ii) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the 

6 funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora7 tion, the Secretary shall make available to 

8 carry out this subsection $20,000,000 for 

9 fiscal year 2008, $30,000,000 for fiscal 

10 year 2009, $45,000,000 for fiscal year 

11 2010, $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, 

12 and not less than $75,000,000 for fiscal 

13 year 2012 and each fiscal year thereafter. 

14 Such funds shall remain available until ex15 pended.’’. 

16 SEC. 305. SENIOR FARMERS’ MARKET NUTRITION PRO17 GRAM. 

18 Section 4402 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest19 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3007) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a) by striking ‘‘$5,000,000’’ 

21 and all that follows through ‘‘2007’’, and inserting 

22 ‘‘$20,000,000 for fiscal year 2008, $30,000,000 for 

23 fiscal year 2009, $45,000,000 for fiscal year 2010, 

24 $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2011, and not less than 

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1 $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2012 and each fiscal 

2 year thereafter’’; 

3 (2) in subsection (b)— 

4 (A) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

5 the end, 

6 (B) in paragraph (3) by striking the period 

7 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’, and 

8 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(4) to promote the transition to organic and 

10 other environmentally beneficial food production sys11 tems.’’; and 

12 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub13 section: 

14 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS; BENEFIT LEVELS.— 

15 The regulations required by subsection (c)— 

16 ‘‘(1) shall allow for participation by farmers’ 

17 markets, and roadside stands, community supported 

18 agriculture programs; and 

19 ‘‘(2) shall not limit the ability of State or re20 gional programs to set benefit levels per individual 

21 senior.’’. 

22 SEC. 306. FARMERS’ MARKET PROMOTION PROGRAM. 

23 Section 6 of the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Mar24 keting Act of 1976 (7 U.S.C. 3005) is amended by strik25 ing subsections (d) and (e) and inserting the following: 

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1 ‘‘(d) CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall estab3 lish criteria and guidelines for the submission, eval4 uation, and funding of proposed projects under the 

5 Program. 

6 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall prioritize 

7 for funding projects that will support, encourage, or 

8 promote the transition to organic and other environ9 mentally beneficial forms of agricultural production. 

10 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall use 

11 $25,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora12 tion to carry out this section in each of the fiscal years 

13 2008 through 2013, of which $5,000,000 shall be used 

14 to support the use of electronic benefit transfers at farm15 ers’ markets.’’. 

16 SEC. 307. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE AND DEPARTMENT OF 

17 AGRICULTURE PROCUREMENT OF LOCALLY 

18 PRODUCED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 

19 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

20 (1) Locally procured agricultural products, as 

21 compared to products transported from distant 

22 sources— 

23 (A) are often harvested closer to full ripe24 ness and can have higher nutritional quality; 

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1 (B) can have improved ripeness, taste, or 

2 selection, which can increase rates of consump3 tion of agricultural products; and 

4 (C) are more efficient to store, distribute, 

5 and package. 

6 (2) Use of local produce— 

7 (A) reduces dependence upon foreign oil by 

8 reducing fuel consumption rates associated with 

9 the production or transportation of agricultural 

10 products; 

11 (B) can help to improve the ability of those 

12 using the procurement system to provide edu13 cation on nutrition, farming, sustainability, en14 ergy efficiency, and the importance of local pur15 chases to the local economy; 

16 (C) helps to maintain a robust logistics 

17 network for agricultural product procurement; 

18 and 

19 (D) promotes farm, business, and economic 

20 development by accessing local markets. 

21 (3) Section 9(j) of the Richard B. Russell Na22 tional School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(j)) directs 

23 the Secretary of Agriculture to encourage institu24 tions participating in the school lunch program es25 tablished under that Act and the school breakfast 

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1 program established by section 4 of the Child Nutri2 tion Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) to purchase, in 

3 addition to other food purchases, locally produced 

4 foods, to the maximum extent practicable and appro5 priate. 

6 (b) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE GEOGRAPHIC PRO7 CUREMENT PREFERENCE.—Notwithstanding any other 

8 provision of law, the Department of Defense may use a 

9 geographic preference to purchase locally produced agri10 cultural products for— 

11 (1) the Defense Supply Center Philadelphia; 

12 (2) the Department of Defense Farm to School 

13 Program; 

14 (3) the Department of Defense Fresh Fruit and 

15 Vegetable Program; 

16 (4) the service academies; 

17 (5) Department of Defense domestic dependant 

18 schools; 

19 (6) other Department of Defense schools under 

20 chapter 108 of title 10, United States Code; 

21 (7) commissary and exchange stores; and 

22 (8) morale, welfare, and recreation facilities op23 erated by the Department of Defense 

24 (c) DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND RELATED

25 ENTITIES GEOGRAPHIC PROCUREMENT PREFERENCE.— 

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1 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Depart2 ment of Agriculture, schools, local educational agencies, 

3 and other entities may use a geographic preference to pur4 chase locally produced agricultural products for— 

5 (1) the school breakfast program established by 

6 section 4 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 

7 U.S.C. 1773); 

8 (2) the school lunch program established under 

9 the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.); 

11 (3) the summer food service program for chil12 dren established under section 13 of the Richard B. 

13 Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 1761); and 

15 (4) the child and adult care food program es16 tablished under section 17 of the Richard B. Russell 

17 National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1766). 

18 (d) ADDITION OF GEOGRAPHIC PREFERENCE.—In 

19 the case of the purchase of agricultural products for a pro20 gram or entity described in subsection (b) or (c), the local 

21 food service director or other entity making the purchase 

22 may include the geographic preference provided by such 

23 subsections in bid specifications and may select a bid in24 volving locally produced agricultural products, even if that 

25 bid is not the lowest bid. 

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1 (e) REPORTING.—A school, local educational agency, 

2 or other entity participating in one or more of the pro3 grams described in subsection (c) shall report to the Sec4 retary of Agriculture if the school, local educational agen5 cy, or other entity pays more than 10 percent more than 

6 the lowest bid to purchase locally produced agricultural 

7 products in accordance with this section. 

8 (f) REVIEW.—The Secretary of Defense and the Sec9 retary of Agriculture shall periodically review the use of 

10 the geographic preference provided by this section to pre11 vent fraud or abuse. 

12 SEC. 308. FRUIT AND VEGETABLE NUTRITION PROMOTION 

13 PROGRAM. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture, act15 ing through the Administrator of the Agricultural Mar16 keting Service, shall establish and carry out a program 

17 to provide assistance to eligible trade organizations de18 scribed in subsection (c) to increase the consumption of 

19 fruits and vegetables in the United States to meet Federal 

20 health guidelines. 

21 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR PARTICIPATION.—To be eli22 gible for assistance under this section, an organization 

23 shall— 

24 (1) be an eligible trade organization; 

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1 (2) prepare and submit a plan to increase the 

2 consumption of fruits and vegetables in the United 

3 States to the Administrator of the Agricultural Mar4 keting Service that meets any guidelines governing 

5 such plans established by the Administrator; and 

6 (3) meet any other requirements established by 

7 the Administrator. 

8 (c) ELIGIBLE TRADE ORGANIZATIONS.—An eligible 

9 trade organization under this section shall be— 

10 (1) a nonprofit fruit and vegetable trade organi11 zations in the United States; 

12 (2) a nonprofit State or regional fruit and vege13 table organization; 

14 (3) a fruit and vegetable agricultural coopera15 tive in the United States; 

16 (4) a commodity board or commission in the 

17 United States; or 

18 (5) a small business engaged in the fruit and 

19 vegetable industry in the United States. 

20 (d) MATCHING FUNDS.—Assistance provided under 

21 this section shall not exceed— 

22 (1) in the case of an organization described in 

23 paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection (c), 90 

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1 sumption of fruits and vegetables in the United 

2 States submitted under subsection (b)(2); and 

3 (2) in the case of an organization described in 

4 subsection (c)(5), 50 percent of the cost of the plan 

5 to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables 

6 in the United States submitted under subsection 

7 (b)(2). 

8 (e) FUNDING.—Of the funds available to the Com9 modity Credit Corporation, the Administrator of the Agri10 cultural Marketing Service shall use $100,000,000 in each 

11 of fiscal years 2008 through 2011 to carry out this sec12 tion. 

13 SEC. 309. USE OF ‘‘DIETARY GUIDELINES FOR AMERICANS’’

14 IN SPECIAL NUTRITION PROGRAMS AND 

15 SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAMS. 

16 Section 9(a) of the Richard B. Russell National 

17 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1758(a)) is amended by add18 ing at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(5) ALLOCATIONS TO BE BASED ON DIETARY

20 GUIDELINES.—For the school year beginning in July 

21 2007 and each school year thereafter, the Secretary 

22 shall ensure that allocations of food and food ingre23 dients offered in school nutrition programs under 

24 this Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 

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1 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) are based on the most recent 

2 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.’’. 

3 SEC. 310. SECTION 32 SPECIALTY CROP PURCHASES. 

4 (a) MINIMUM LEVEL OF PURCHASES.—Section 32 of 

5 the Act of August 24, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c) is amended 

6 in the sixth sentence by inserting after ‘‘and their prod7 ucts’’ the following: ‘‘, and, for each of fiscal years 2008 

8 through 2012, the Secretary of Agriculture shall devote 

9 not less than $400,000,000 of sums appropriated under 

10 this section to purchases of non-basic agricultural com11 modities, such as fruits, vegetables, and other specialty 

12 food crops’’. 

13 (b) EXPANSION OF DOD FRESH PROGRAM.—Such 

14 section is further amended by inserting after the sixth sen15 tence, as amended by subsection (a), the following new 

16 sentence: ‘‘Of the funds specified in the preceding sen17 tence, the Secretary of Agriculture shall expend not less 

18 than $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 

19 2012 for the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables for 

20 distribution to schools and service institutions in accord21 ance with section 6(a) of the Richard B. Russell National 

22 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1755(a)).’’. 

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1 SEC. 311. AMENDMENTS TO THE FOOD STAMP PROGRAM. 

2 (a) DEFINITION.—Section 3 of the Food Stamp Act 

3 of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2012) is amended by adding at the end 

4 the following 

5 ‘‘(v) ‘Food stamp nutrition education’ means direct 

6 education, group activities, community health promotion, 

7 and comprehensive public health approaches (including 

8 but not limited to, social marketing, mass media, public9 private partnerships, policy, systems and environmental 

10 changes, and evaluation) that promote healthy eating and 

11 make healthy food and physical activity choices more de12 sired, affordable, and accessible. To serve all those poten13 tially eligible for food stamps, nutrition education pro14 grams should be designed to reach large numbers of low15 income individuals. Programs shall support behavior 

16 change consistent with the Dietary Guidelines for Ameri17 cans, including a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and 

18 whole grains.’’. 

19 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—Section 11(e)(1)(A) of the 

20 Food Stamp Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 2020(e)(1)(A) is 

21 amended by inserting ‘‘, and provide food stamp nutrition 

22 education’’ after ‘‘program’’. 

23 SEC. 312. FOOD STAMP FRUIT AND VEGETABLE ELEC24 TRONIC BENEFIT TRANSFER PILOT PROJECT. 

25 (a) FINDING.—The Congress finds that increased 

26 consumption of fruits and vegetables by participants in the 

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1 food stamp program will significantly improve the overall 

2 dietary habits of such participants. 

3 (b) PILOT PROJECT.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

4 shall establish and carry out a pilot project that will pro5 vide to each participant in the food stamp program who 

6 receives benefits in the form of an electronic benefit trans7 fer, financial incentives for each dollar of such benefits 

8 expended by such recipient to facilitate the purchase of 

9 fresh fruits and vegetables. 

10 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

11 authorized to be appropriated $10,000,000 for each of 5 

12 fiscal years to carry out this section. 

13 TITLE IV—PROMOTION OF NEW 

14 MARKETS AND FARM VIABILITY 

15 SEC. 401. FARM VIABILITY PROGRAM. 

16 (a) PROGRAM REQUIRED.—Subsection (a) of section 

17 1238J of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

18 3838j) is amended by striking ‘‘The Secretary may’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘Using amounts made available under sub20 section (b), the Secretary shall’’. 

21 (b) FUNDING.—Subsection (b) of such section is 

22 amended to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(b) FUNDING.—In addition to other funds made 

24 available to carry out this subchapter for each of fiscal 

25 years 2008 through 2013, the Secretary shall use 

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1 $50,000,000 of funds of the Commodity Credit Corpora2 tion each fiscal year to make grants to eligible entities 

3 under subsection (a).’’. 

4 SEC. 402. NATIONAL ORGANIC CERTIFICATION AND TRAN5 SITION COST SHARE PROGRAM. 

6 Section 10606 of the Farm Security and Rural In7 vestment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 6523) is amended to read 

8 as follows: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 10606. NATIONAL ORGANIC CERTIFICATION AND 

10 TRANSITION COST SHARE PROGRAM. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds of the Commodity 

12 Credit Corporation, the Secretary of Agriculture (acting 

13 through the Natural Resources Conservation Service) shall 

14 use $80,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 

15 2013 to establish a national organic certification and tran16 sition cost-share program to assist producers and handlers 

17 of agricultural products in obtaining certification under 

18 the national organic production program established under 

19 the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 

20 et seq.) and to assist producers and handlers in making 

21 the transition to organic production under the such pro22 gram. 

23 ‘‘(b) CERTIFICATION COSTS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall pay 

25 under this section a portion of the costs incurred by 

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1 a producer or handler in obtaining certification 

2 under the national organic production program, as 

3 certified to and approved by the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a 

5 payment made to a producer or handler for certifi6 cation under this section shall be $750 per year. 

7 ‘‘(3) FUNDING.—Of the funds made available 

8 under subsection (a), the Secretary (acting through 

9 the Agricultural Marketing Service) shall use 

10 $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 

11 through 2013 to share up to 75 percent of the cost 

12 of certification. 

13 ‘‘(c) ACCREDITATION AND ENFORCEMENT COSTS.— 

14 Of the funds made available under subsection (a), the Sec15 retary (acting through the Agricultural Marketing Serv16 ice) shall use $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2008 

17 through 2013 to fund the accreditation and enforcement 

18 programs operated by the National Organic Program to 

19 implement the accreditation and enforcement provisions of 

20 the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990. 

21 ‘‘(d) REIMBURSEMENTS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE NEC22 ESSARY TO IMPLEMENT ORGANIC PRACTICE STAND23 ARDS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 

25 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

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1 Secretary shall establish a program to reimburse 

2 producers and handlers for the costs of transition to 

3 organic production. 

4 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM.—Under the program estab5 lished under paragraph (1), the Secretary (acting 

6 through the Natural Resources Conservation Serv7 ice) shall use $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal 

8 years 2008 through 2013 to assist producers and 

9 handlers developing and implementing infrastructure 

10 and practices necessary to transition land and ani11 mals to meet the requirements of the Organic Food 

12 Production Act of 1990. 

13 ‘‘(3) PLAN SUBMISSION.—The Secretary may 

14 only reimburse a producer or handler under this sec15 tion if the producer or handler submits to the Sec16 retary an organic transition plan that contains the 

17 expected costs for infrastructure and practices, the 

18 environmental and economic benefits derived from 

19 the infrastructure or implementing organic practice 

20 standards, and a demonstration of the existence of 

21 a market or the reasonable expectation of a future 

22 market for the products to be produced or handled. 

23 ‘‘(4) APPROPRIATE INFRASTRUCTURE AND

24 PRACTICE STANDARDS.—The Secretary shall only remstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 imburse producers and handlers under this sub2 section for the costs of the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) Organic practices and activities dur4 ing transition to certified organic production 

5 consistent with an approved plan to transition 

6 to certified organic production. 

7 ‘‘(B) Farm infrastructure necessary to im8 plement organic practice standards, including 

9 livestock watering facilities and fencing, so long 

10 as such infrastructure is consistent with an ap11 proved plan to transition to certified organic 

12 production. 

13 ‘‘(C) Organic livestock welfare measures, 

14 so long as such infrastructure or practices and 

15 activities are necessary to implement an organic 

16 practice standard and are consistent with an 

17 approved plan to transition to certified organic 

18 production. 

19 ‘‘(D) Advanced organic practices consistent 

20 with approved certified organic production. 

21 ‘‘(E) Technical assistance, including the 

22 costs of developing an approved transition plan 

23 under this section. 

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1 ‘‘(F) Other measures the Secretary, after 

2 consultation with the National Organic Stand3 ards Board, determines are appropriate. 

4 ‘‘(5) ORGANIC TRANSITION TECHNICAL AD5 VICE.—The Secretary shall consult with the Na6 tional Organic Standards Board regarding the ele7 ments of an approved organic transition plan and to 

8 identify and recommend ways that the Secretary 

9 may generally use the resources provided for pro10 grams under subtitle D of title XII of the Food Se11 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3830 et seq.) to facili12 tate transition to organic production, including the 

13 resources provided by the Environmental Quality In14 centives Program and the Conservation Security 

15 Program. 

16 ‘‘(6) MAXIMUM AMOUNT FOR TRANSITION RE17 IMBURSEMENT.—Except as provided in (A) and (B), 

18 the maximum amount of reimbursement paid to a 

19 producer or handler for transition to organic produc20 tion under this section shall be $10,000 per fiscal 

21 year. 

22 ‘‘(A) SPECIALTY CROPS.—In the case of an 

23 individual or entity who annually produces 

24 three or more types of specialty crops, the indi25 vidual or entity may not receive, directly or inmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 directly, cost-share or incentive payments under 

2 this section that, in the aggregate, exceed 

3 $20,000 per year, for a period not to exceed 

4 four years. 

5 ‘‘(B) DAIRY.—In the case of an individual 

6 or entity whose principal farming enterprise is 

7 dairy, the individual or entity may not receive, 

8 directly or indirectly, cost-share or incentive 

9 payments under this section that, in the aggre10 gate, exceed $20,000 per year, for a period not 

11 to exceed four years. 

12 ‘‘(7) ELIGIBLE FISCAL YEARS.—A producer or 

13 handler may only receive payments— 

14 ‘‘(A) in four fiscal years; and 

15 ‘‘(B) after the first payment, in the fiscal 

16 year in which such payment was made and the 

17 three subsequent fiscal years. 

18 ‘‘(8) TRANSITION REIMBURSEMENTS.—A cer19 tified organic producer or handler under the national 

20 organic production program shall be eligible for re21 imbursements to make the transition to organic pro22 duction for new lands and livestock. 

23 ‘‘(9) SUSPENSION AUTHORITY.—To ensure or24 derly and continued growth in organic farming— 

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1 ‘‘(A) prior to each fiscal year and no later 

2 than October 1st of each year, the Secretary 

3 shall publish organic commodity specific assess4 ments analyzing the domestic production and 

5 consumption, import and export organic market 

6 demand and growth potential for each organic 

7 commodity and the anticipated number and 

8 total amount of new reimbursements for the fol9 lowing year affecting each commodity; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the Secretary shall not enroll new 

11 producers under this subsection if, for any par12 ticular agricultural commodity, any new pro13 ducers would produce an increased amount of 

14 that agricultural commodity that the Secretary 

15 finds is reasonably anticipated to affect the con16 tinuing economic viability of farmers currently 

17 certified under the national organic production 

18 program or would create unreasonable geo19 graphic disparities in the distribution of reim20 bursements provided under this section. 

21 ‘‘(10) APPEALS.—An applicant seeking transi22 tion assistance under this section has the right to 

23 appeal an adverse decision by Secretary with regard 

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1 tion 275 of the Department of Agriculture Reorga2 nization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6995). 

3 ‘‘(e) TECHNICAL AND EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE.— 

4 Of the funds made available under subsection (a) for a 

5 fiscal year, the Secretary shall use not less than 

6 $15,000,000 to provide technical and educational assist7 ance to producers and handlers to carry out this section, 

8 including entering into cooperative agreements with quali9 fied entities to implement the transition to organic produc10 tion. 

11 ‘‘(f) REPORTING.—Not later than March 1 of each 

12 year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress and the Na13 tional Organic Standards Board a report detailing State14 by-State expenditures on certification, including the num15 ber of producers and handlers served by the program, and 

16 State-by-State expenditures on transition assistance, in17 cluding the number of producers and handlers served by 

18 the program, the practices implemented, an assessment of 

19 the impacts of the program on organic production, and 

20 recommended reforms, if any.’’. 

21 SEC. 402A. NATIONAL ORGANIC TECHNICAL COMMITTEE. 

22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

23 a National Organic Technical Committee to oversee devel24 opment and implementation of the Organic Certification 

25 and Transition Program and to improve the organic agrimstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 culture interface with all other conservation programs and 

2 activities administered by the NRCS, including develop3 ment of criteria for the approval of qualified organic tech4 nical advisors. 

5 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the National 

6 Organic Technical Committee shall be comprised of— 

7 (1) three organic farmers; 

8 (2) two organic certifying agents; 

9 (3) two organic inspectors; 

10 (4) one representative of an environmental or11 ganization knowledgeable about organic agriculture; 

12 and 

13 (5) one scientist with expertise in conservation 

14 planning. 

15 SEC. 403. ORGANIC AGRICULTURE RESEARCH AND EXTEN16 SION INITIATIVE. 

17 Section 1672B(e) of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva18 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5925b(e)) is 

19 amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.—Of the funds available to the Com21 modity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use 

22 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2013 

23 to carry out this section.’’. 

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1 SEC. 404. FUNDING FOR EDUCATION GRANTS PROGRAMS 

2 FOR HISPANIC-SERVING INSTITUTIONS. 

3 Subsection (c) of section 1455 of the National Agri4 cultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 

5 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3241) is amended to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.—Of the funds available to the Com7 modity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use 

8 $25,000,000 for each fiscal year to carry out this sec9 tion.’’. 

10 SEC. 405. EXTENSION AND FUNDING INCREASE FOR THE 

11 VALUE-ADDED AGRICULTURAL PRODUCT 

12 MARKET DEVELOPMENT GRANT PROGRAM. 

13 Section 231(b)(4) of the Agricultural Risk Protection 

14 Act of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 1621 note; Public Law 106–224) 

15 is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘through October 1, 2006’’; and 

17 (2) by striking ‘‘$40,000,000’’ and inserting 

18 ‘‘$60,000,000’’. 

Æ 

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