I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8057 

To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act with respect 

to the conservation loan and loan guarantee program. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 14, 2020 

Ms. SPANBERGER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Agriculture 

A BILL 

To amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 

Act with respect to the conservation loan and loan guarantee program. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Healthy Soil, Resilient 

5 Farmers Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. CONSERVATION LOAN AND LOAN GUARANTEE PRO7 GRAM. 

8 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 304(b) of the Consoli9 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

10 1924(b)) is amended— 


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1 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘or a soil 

2 health transition plan’’ after ‘‘conservation plan’’; 

3 and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(4) SOIL HEALTH TRANSITION LOAN.—The 

6 term ‘soil health transition loan’ means a qualified 

7 conservation loan with respect to which the applica8 ble qualified conservation project addresses provi9 sions of a soil health transition plan. 

10 ‘‘(5) SOIL HEALTH TRANSITION PLAN.—The 

11 term ‘soil health transition plan’ means a com12 prehensive, whole-farm plan, approved by the Sec13 retary, that, for a farming or ranching operation, 

14 identifies the conservation activities that will be ad15 dressed with loan funds provided or guaranteed 

16 under this section to assist the borrower in making 

17 a transition to a farming or ranching production and 

18 conservation system that includes one or more of the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(A) Cover cropping or other continuous 

21 living cover systems. 

22 ‘‘(B) Resource-conserving crop rotation, as 

23 defined in section 1240L(d)(1) of the Food Se24 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24). 


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1 ‘‘(C) Advanced grazing management, in2 cluding management-intensive rotational graz3 ing, as defined in section 1240L(d)(1) of the 

4 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa– 

5 24). 

6 ‘‘(D) Certified organic production under 

7 the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 

8 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.). 

9 ‘‘(E) Such other soil health management 

10 systems, including systems to increase soil car11 bon levels, as the Secretary may designate.’’. 

12 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—Section 304(c)(2) of the Consoli13 dated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

14 1924(c)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (A) 

15 and (B)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (A), (B), and 

16 (C)’’. 

17 (c) PRIORITY.—Section 304(d) of the Consolidated 

18 Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1924(d)) is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and 

21 inserting a semicolon; 

22 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking the period at 

23 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

24 (3) by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(4) farmers or ranchers whose farm or ranch 

2 land is subject to the jurisdiction of an Indian 

3 tribe.’’. 

4 (d) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—Section 304(f) 

5 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 

6 U.S.C. 1924(f)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary’’ and inserting 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(2) SOIL HEALTH TRANSITION LOANS.— 

12 ‘‘(A) LIMITATIONS PERMITTED.—In mak13 ing or guaranteeing soil health transition loans 

14 under this section, the Secretary may limit eli15 gibility to individuals and entities described in 

16 subsection (d). 

17 ‘‘(B) WAIVER OF PRINCIPAL AND INTER18 EST.—The Secretary shall establish terms and 

19 conditions for making or guaranteeing soil 

20 health transition loans under this section that 

21 waive principal and interest repayment for up 

22 to three years from the date on which the loan 

23 is made or guaranteed in order for the borrower 

24 to make a satisfactory transition to the farming 

25 or ranching production and conservation system 


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1 to be adopted under the soil health transition 

2 plan.’’. 

Æ 


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