I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4425 

To reform the safety net for farmers and ranchers, enhance soil, water, 

and habitat conservation, encourage beginning farmers and ranchers, 

strengthen nutrition for Americans, support agriculture research and 

innovation, reduce food waste, improve animal welfare, and invest in 

regional food systems, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2017 

Mr. BLUMENAUER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Ways 

and Means, Education and the Workforce, and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To reform the safety net for farmers and ranchers, enhance 

soil, water, and habitat conservation, encourage beginning farmers and ranchers, strengthen nutrition for 

Americans, support agriculture research and innovation, 

reduce food waste, improve animal welfare, and invest 

in regional food systems, and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

3 ‘‘Food and Farm Act’’. 

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

5 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—COMMODITIES AND CROP INSURANCE 

Subtitle A—Cutting, Capping, and Clarifying Agriculture Subsidies 

Sec. 101. Repealing excessive subsidy programs for commodity crops. 

Sec. 102. Comprehensive cap on total agricultural subsidies an eligible entity 

may receive. 

Sec. 103. Adjusted gross income limitation. 

Sec. 104. Elimination of separate payment limitation on peanut subsidies. 

Sec. 105. Strengthening prevented planting coverage. 

Sec. 106. Eliminating the yield transfer loophole. 

Sec. 107. Ensuring planting on suitable land. 

Sec. 108. Report on diversity in crop insurance. 

Subtitle B—Expansion of Whole Farm Crop Insurance 

Sec. 121. Expansion of whole farm crop insurance option for farms that grow 

multiple crops. 

TITLE II—CONSERVATION 

Subtitle A—Strengthening Conservation Compliance 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Covered cropland program ineligibility. 

Sec. 203. Exemptions. 

Sec. 204. Development and implementation of conservation plans and conservation systems. 

Sec. 205. Wetland program ineligibility. 

Sec. 206. Delineation of wetlands; exemptions. 

Subtitle B—Enhancing Environmental Quality Incentives 

Sec. 211. Purposes. 

Sec. 212. Definitions. 

Sec. 213. Establishment and administration. 

Sec. 214. Evaluation of applications. 

Sec. 215. Environmental quality incentives program plan. 

Sec. 216. Duties of the Secretary. 

Sec. 217. Limitation on payments. 

Subtitle C—Reforming the Conservation Stewardship Program 

Sec. 221. Definitions. 

Sec. 222. Conservation stewardship program. 


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Sec. 223. Stewardship contracts. 

Sec. 224. Duties of the Secretary. 

Subtitle D—Building on the Regional Conservation Partnership 

Sec. 231. Improvements to the regional conservation partnership program. 

Subtitle E—Establishing Innovative Grants for Conservation and Loans for 

Structural Improvements 

Sec. 241. Repeal and reestablishment of EQIP conservation innovation grant 

program. 

Sec. 242. Conservation loan and loan guarantee program. 

Subtitle F—Ensuring Greenhouse Gas Reporting for Agriculture 

Sec. 251. Greenhouse gas reporting. 

Sec. 252. Authorization of appropriations. 

Subtitle G—Administration and Funding 

Sec. 261. Commodity credit corporation. 

TITLE III—FOOD ASSISTANCE 

Sec. 301. Elimination of domestic procurement restriction for emergency and 

private assistance programs under the Food for Peace Act. 

Sec. 302. Elimination of cap on support for eligible organizations for certain 

purposes. 

Sec. 303. Elimination of minimum level of local sales requirement under the 

Food for Peace Act. 

Sec. 304. Food for Peace Act extensions. 

TITLE IV—NUTRITION 

Subtitle A—Increasing Access to Healthy Foods 

Sec. 401. Expanding Healthy Food Financing Initiative. 

Sec. 402. Helping schools serve healthier meals. 

Sec. 403. Strengthening the food and agriculture service learning program. 

Sec. 404. Harvesting health program. 

Subtitle B—Improving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 

Sec. 411. Continuing the Farmers’ Markets Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 

Program Support Grant Program. 

Sec. 412. Expanding and increasing support for the food insecurity nutrition 

incentives program. 

Sec. 413. Closing the Meal Gap. 

TITLE V—FUTURE OF AMERICAN FARMERS 

Subtitle A—Defining Beginning Farmer or Rancher 

Sec. 501. Beginning farmer or rancher defined. 

Subtitle B—Providing Resources for Beginning, Retiring, and Socially 

Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers 


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Sec. 511. Reauthorization and increased funding for outreach and assistance 

for socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers and veteran 

farmers and ranchers. 

Sec. 512. Ensuring permanent funding for beginning farmer and rancher development program. 

Sec. 513. Supporting beginning farmer participation in certain conservation 

programs. 

Sec. 514. Creating a priority for participation of beginning farmers and ranchers in Farmers’ Market and Local Food Promotion Program. 

Sec. 515. Supporting beginning farmers and ranchers through Farm Service 

Agency liaisons. 

Sec. 516. Facilitating succession planning through the creation of Farm Service 

Agency regional planners. 

Sec. 517. Ensuring a vibrant agricultural sector through the creation of a land 

tenure commission. 

Subtitle C—Creating Financial Incentives To Benefit Beginning Farmers and 

Ranchers 

Sec. 521. Removing barriers to farming through an eligible farmer tax credit. 

Sec. 522. Ensuring Farm Service Facility loans can serve agricultural cooperatives. 

Sec. 523. Loans to cooperatives. 

TITLE VI—FOOD WASTE 

Sec. 601. Sense of Congress regarding reducing food waste. 

Sec. 602. Establishment of Office of Food Waste. 

Sec. 603. Establishment of food loss and waste reduction task force. 

Sec. 604. Standardizing, aggregating, and publishing food waste data. 

TITLE VII—RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND RELATED MATTERS 

Subtitle A—Investing in Sustainable Agriculture 

Sec. 701. Sustainable agriculture research, extension, and education programs. 

Sec. 702. National training program. 

Subtitle B—Supporting Research To Help Farmers Adapt to a Disrupted 

Climate 

Sec. 711. Competitive, special, and facilities grants. 

Sec. 712. Specialty crop research initiative. 

TITLE VIII—ANIMAL WELFARE 

Subtitle A—Ensuring Animal Welfare in Farming 

Sec. 801. Definitions for humanely raised livestock and poultry certification 

programs. 

Sec. 802. Requiring the issuance of the final rule for setting production standards for organic livestock and poultry without amendment. 

Sec. 803. Increasing market access for humanely raised livestock and poultry 

certification programs. 

Subtitle B—Reforming Animal Welfare in Agricultural Research Endeavors 

Sec. 811. Animal welfare. 


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Sec. 812. Establishing a research and extension program for humanely raised 

livestock and poultry certifications. 

Subtitle C—Protecting Companion Animals 

Sec. 821. Maintenance and public availability of regulatory records. 

Sec. 822. Prohibiting the trade of dog and cat meat. 

TITLE IX—REGIONAL FOOD SYSTEMS 

Subtitle A—Expanding Support for Local and Regional Food Systems 

Sec. 901. Sense of the Congress. 

Sec. 902. Expanding the Food Leveraging Investment for Network Coordination (LINC) Program. 

Sec. 903. Ensuring success of regional food projects under the business and industry guaranteed loan program. 

Sec. 904. Increasing support for the specialty crop block grant program. 

Subtitle B—Enhancing Regional Food Infrastructure 

Sec. 911. Supporting regional food infrastructure assessment and collaborative 

planning. 

Sec. 912. Livestock, dairy, and poultry supply chain infrastructure grants and 

loans. 

Subtitle C—Expanding Accessibility of Federal Grant Programs 

Sec. 921. Publishing information about funded Farmers’ Market and Local 

Food Promotion Program projects. 

Sec. 922. Streamlining of local and regional food program application procedures. 

Subtitle D—Leveling the Playing Field for Small Farmers 

Sec. 931. Ensuring fair practices in agriculture. 

1 TITLE I—COMMODITIES AND 

2 CROP INSURANCE 

3 Subtitle A—Cutting, Capping, and 

4 Clarifying Agriculture Subsidies 

5 SEC. 101. REPEALING EXCESSIVE SUBSIDY PROGRAMS FOR 

6 COMMODITY CROPS. 

7 (a) REPEAL.—Part II of subtitle A of title I of the 

8 Agriculture Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9011 et seq.) is re9 pealed. 


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1 (b) CONTINUED APPLICATION FOR 2017 CROP

2 YEAR.—Part II of subtitle A of title I of the Agriculture 

3 Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C. 9011 et seq.), as in effect on the 

4 day before the date of the enactment of this Act, shall 

5 continue to apply through the 2017 crop year with respect 

6 to each covered commodity (as defined in section 1111(6) 

7 of such Act (7 U.S.C. 9011(6))) on a farm. 

8 SEC. 102. COMPREHENSIVE CAP ON TOTAL AGRICULTURAL 

9 SUBSIDIES AN ELIGIBLE ENTITY MAY RE10 CEIVE. 

11 Section 1001 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 

12 U.S.C. 1308–3a) is amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating subsections (e) through (h) 

14 as subsections (f) through (i), respectively; 

15 (2) in such subsections, by striking ‘‘(b) and 

16 (c)’’ and ‘‘(b) or (c)’’ each place it appears and in17 serting ‘‘(b), (c), and (e)’’ and ‘‘(b), (c), or (e)’’, re18 spectively; and 

19 (3) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol20 lowing new subsection (e): 

21 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION ON TOTAL PAYMENTS.—Notwith22 standing any other provision of law, the total amount of 

23 payments and benefits described in section 1001D(b)(2) 

24 received, directly or indirectly, by a person or legal entity 

25 (except a joint venture or general partnership) during a 


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1 crop, fiscal, or program year, as appropriate, may not ex2 ceed $125,000.’’. 

3 SEC. 103. ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME LIMITATION. 

4 Section 1001D(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

5 (7 U.S.C. 1308–3a(b)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘$900,000’’ 

7 and inserting ‘‘$500,000’’; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the 

9 following new subparagraph: 

10 ‘‘(F) A crop insurance premium subsidy 

11 under section 508(e) of the Federal Crop Insur12 ance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508(e)).’’. 

13 SEC. 104. ELIMINATION OF SEPARATE PAYMENT LIMITA14 TION ON PEANUT SUBSIDIES. 

15 Section 1001 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 

16 U.S.C. 1308–3a) is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (b)— 

18 (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 

19 ‘‘(OTHER THAN PEANUTS)’’; and 

20 (B) in the text, by striking ‘‘(other than 

21 for peanuts)’’; and 

22 (2) in subsection (c), by adding at the end the 

23 following new sentence: ‘‘Effective beginning with 

24 the 2019 crop year, subsection (b), rather than this 

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1 keting loan gains or loan deficiency payments under 

2 subtitle B of title I of the Agricultural Act of 2014 

3 for peanuts.’’. 

4 SEC. 105. STRENGTHENING PREVENTED PLANTING COV5 ERAGE. 

6 (a) PLANTING OF COVER CROP.—Section 

7 508A(c)(1)(A)(i) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

8 U.S.C. 1508a(c)(1)(A)(i)) is amended by inserting before 

9 the semicolon the following: ‘‘, but, in that case, the pro10 ducer shall plant a cover crop on the same acreage for 

11 the same crop year unless doing so would not constitute 

12 a good farming practice, as determined by the Secretary’’. 

13 (b) AREA CONDITIONS REQUIRED FOR PAYMENT.— 

14 Section 508A(c)(4) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

15 U.S.C. 1508a(c)(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘, in the area 

16 where’’ and inserting ‘‘in the same county, in an adjoining 

17 county, or operating within 100 miles of the affected pro18 ducers, whichever area is greater,’’. 

19 (c) ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS.—Section 508A(c) of 

20 the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1508a) is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following new para22 graphs: 

23 ‘‘(6) SUCCESSFUL PLANTING.—In order to 

24 qualify for prevented planting coverage, the land to 


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1 be covered must have been planted in at least one 

2 of the preceding 3 crop years. 

3 ‘‘(7) IRRIGATION GUIDANCE.—The Corporation 

4 shall develop guidance on the efficient conservative 

5 use of irrigation water when a crop is clearly lost to 

6 ensure the program does not contribute to the ineffi7 cient use of water resources. 

8 ‘‘(8) COVERAGE LEVELS.—Prevented planting 

9 coverage levels shall not exceed the coverage factors 

10 as determined by the Corporation.’’. 

11 SEC. 106. ELIMINATING THE YIELD TRANSFER LOOPHOLE. 

12 Section 508(g) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

13 U.S.C. 1508(g)) is amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(6) YIELD TRANSFER PROHIBITED.—The Cor16 poration shall not allow a producer’s actual produc17 tion records from one parcel of land to be used to 

18 establish actual production history on a separate 

19 parcel of land.’’. 

20 SEC. 107. ENSURING PLANTING ON SUITABLE LAND. 

21 Section 508(e) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

22 U.S.C. 1508(e)) is amended by adding at the end the fol23 lowing paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(9) PROHIBITION OF SUBSIDIES ON UNSUIT25 ABLE LAND.—The Corporation shall ensure that no 


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1 premium benefits are provided on lands, other than 

2 for pasture, forage, or rangeland policy benefits, 

3 that are classified as generally unsuitable for cultiva4 tion by the land capability classification system, as 

5 determined by the Secretary.’’. 

6 SEC. 108. REPORT ON DIVERSITY IN CROP INSURANCE. 

7 Section 508(k)(8) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

8 (7 U.S.C. 1508(k)(8)) is amended by adding at the end 

9 the following new subparagraph: 

10 ‘‘(G) ANNUAL DIVERSITY REPORT.—Each 

11 Standard Reinsurance Agreement shall include 

12 a requirement for all approved insurance pro13 viders to submit to the Corporation on an an14 nual basis a report— 

15 ‘‘(i) describing activities undertaken 

16 to promote access to crop insurance for so17 cially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(ii) containing demographic informa20 tion regarding the producers being served, 

21 including information by race and gen22 der.’’. 


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1 Subtitle B—Expansion of Whole 

2 Farm Crop Insurance 

3 SEC. 121. EXPANSION OF WHOLE FARM CROP INSURANCE 

4 OPTION FOR FARMS THAT GROW MULTIPLE 

5 CROPS. 

6 (a) ELIMINATION OF LIABILITY LIMITATION.—Sec7 tion 522(c)(19)(A) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

8 U.S.C. 1522(c)(19)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘, with a 

9 liability limitation of $1,500,000,’’. 

10 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—Section 522(c)(19) of the 

11 Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 1522(c)(19)) is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following new subpara13 graphs: 

14 ‘‘(E) ADMINISTRATIVE AND OPERATING

15 EXPENSES.—Not withstanding any other provi16 sion of this subtitle, the Corporation shall allow 

17 approved insurance providers to utilize alternate 

18 compensation structures for the administration 

19 of the plan developed under subparagraph (A) 

20 that— 

21 ‘‘(i) compensate agents based on the 

22 actual time it takes to write and admin23 ister a policy under the plan; or 

24 ‘‘(ii) another method approved by the 

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1 pensates agents for any increased time 

2 commitments required by the plan. 

3 ‘‘(F) PAPERWORK REDUCTION.—The Cor4 poration shall seek to ensure that the paper5 work requirements of agents and producers as6 sociated with the plan developed under subpara7 graph (A) are minimized to the maximum ex8 tent possible, while still meeting actuarial 

9 soundness standards. 

10 ‘‘(G) EXPANDING OPERATIONS.—To the 

11 maximum extent possible, the Corporation shall 

12 ensure that all producers, including rapidly ex13 panding operations, are able to obtain coverage 

14 under the plan developed under subparagraph 

15 (A).’’. 

16 TITLE II—CONSERVATION 

17 Subtitle A—Strengthening 

18 Conservation Compliance 

19 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

20 Section 1201(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

21 (16 U.S.C. 3801(a)) is amended— 

22 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

23 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

24 ‘‘highly erodible’’ and inserting ‘‘covered’’; and 


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1 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘the 

2 highly erodible’’ and inserting ‘‘covered’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

4 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; 

5 and’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

6 (B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 

7 as follows: 

8 ‘‘(B) are designed to, in a cost effective 

9 and technically practicable manner— 

10 ‘‘(i) achieve a substantial improve11 ment in water quality; 

12 ‘‘(ii) achieve a rate of soil erosion no 

13 greater than the soil loss tolerance level, as 

14 determined by the Natural Resources Con15 servation Service; 

16 ‘‘(iii) prevent ephemeral gully erosion; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(iv) establish and maintain a min19 imum of 50 feet of perennial vegetation be20 tween covered cropland and intermittent or 

21 perennial waterways; and’’; and 

22 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(C) are based on the most recent and 

24 technically accurate soil erosion prediction mod25 els to determine if soil erosion by wind and 


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1 water exceed the Soil Loss Tolerance Level on 

2 covered cropland subject to subtitle B.’’; 

3 (3) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘highly erod4 ible’’ and inserting ‘‘covered’’; 

5 (4) by amending paragraph (7)(A)(ii) to read 

6 as follows: 

7 ‘‘(ii) before such action, such land was wet8 land.’’; 

9 (5) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘Any highly 

10 erodible land on which an agricultural commodity is 

11 produced after December 23, 1985, and that is not 

12 exempt under section 1212, shall be considered as 

13 part of the field in which the land was included on 

14 December 23, 1985, unless the owner and Secretary 

15 agree to modification of the boundaries of the field 

16 to carry out this title.’’; and 

17 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(28) COVERED CROPLAND.—The term ‘cov19 ered cropland’ means cropland, as defined in section 

20 718.2 of title 7, Code of Federal Regulations, that 

21 is planted to a row crop.’’. 

22 SEC. 202. COVERED CROPLAND PROGRAM INELIGIBILITY. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1211 of the Food Security 

24 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3811) is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (a)— 


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

2 by striking ‘‘a field on which highly erodible 

3 land’’ and all that follows through ‘‘shall be in4 eligible for’’ and inserting ‘‘covered cropland 

5 shall be ineligible for’’; 

6 (B) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

7 (i) by inserting ‘‘or income’’ after 

8 ‘‘any type of price’’; and 

9 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, including a pay10 ment made under section 1116 or 1117 of 

11 the Agricultural Act of 2014’’ before the 

12 semicolon at the end; and 

13 (C) in paragraph (1)(D), by striking ‘‘ex14 cessive erosion of highly erodible land’’ and in15 serting ‘‘substantial erosion or degradation of 

16 water quality’’; and 

17 (2) in the heading of subsection (b), by striking 

18 ‘‘HIGHLY ERODIBLE LAND’’ and inserting ‘‘COMPLI19 ANCE DETERMINATION’’. 

20 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subtitle B of title 

21 XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3811 

22 et seq.) is amended in the heading by striking ‘‘Highly 

23 Erodible Land’’ and inserting ‘‘Covered Crop24 land’’. 


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1 SEC. 203. EXEMPTIONS. 

2 Section 1212 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

3 U.S.C. 3812) is amended— 

4 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol5 lows: 

6 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBILITY BASED ON COMPLIANCE WITH

7 CONSERVATION PLAN.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If, as of January 1, 2023, 

9 or 2 years after the Natural Resources Conservation 

10 Service has completed a conservation plan for the 

11 farm, whichever is later, a person is actively apply12 ing the approved conservation plan, such person 

13 shall have until January 1, 2028, to comply with the 

14 plan without being subject to program ineligibility. 

15 ‘‘(2) MINIMIZATION OF DOCUMENTATION.—In 

16 carrying out this subsection, the Secretary, Natural 

17 Resources Conservation Service, and local soil con18 servation districts shall minimize the quantity of 

19 documentation a person must submit to comply with 

20 this paragraph. 

21 ‘‘(3) EXPIRATION.—On the expiration of a con22 tract entered into under subchapter B of chapter 1 

23 of subtitle D, the provisions of this subtitle shall 

24 apply to the acreage that was the subject of such 

25 contract.’’; 

26 (2) by striking subsections (b), (c), and (d); 


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1 (3) by redesignating subsections (e), (f), (g), 

2 and (h) as subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e), respec3 tively; and 

4 (4) in subsection (c), as so redesignated, by 

5 amending paragraph (4)(A)(i) to read as follows: 

6 ‘‘(i) a person has failed to comply 

7 with section 1211, and has acted in good 

8 faith and without an intent to violate sec9 tion 1211; or’’. 

10 SEC. 204. DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CON11 SERVATION PLANS AND CONSERVATION SYS12 TEMS. 

13 Section 1213 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

14 U.S.C. 3812a) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and eco17 nomically’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘undue’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘serious’’; 

20 (2) by striking subsection (b) and redesignating 

21 subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f) as subsections (b), 

22 (c), (d), and (e), respectively; 

23 (3) in subsection (c) (as redesignated by para24 graph (2))— 

25 (A) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘If a person makes a 

2 certification under paragraph (1), the Sec3 retary shall not be required to’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘The Secretary shall annually’’; and 

5 (ii) by inserting ‘‘on not less than 5 

6 percent of the covered cropland subject to 

7 this subtitle’’ after ‘‘being applied’’; and 

8 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the last 

9 sentence and inserting ‘‘The Secretary may re10 vise the person’s conservation plan if the Sec11 retary determines the conservation plan is not 

12 meeting the standards in section 1201(a)(4).’’; 

13 and 

14 (4) by amending subsection (d) (as redesignated 

15 by paragraph (2)) to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(1) provide technical assistance to a person 

19 throughout the development, revision, and applica20 tion of the conservation plan and any conservation 

21 system of the person; and 

22 ‘‘(2) make available annually an amount equal 

23 to 0.02 percent of the funding otherwise provided for 

24 programs specified in section 1211(a), not to exceed 

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1 duct status reviews and other tasks required to fully 

2 implement the provisions of this subtitle.’’. 

3 SEC. 205. WETLAND PROGRAM INELIGIBILITY. 

4 Section 1221 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

5 U.S.C. 3821) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (b)(1), by inserting ‘‘, includ7 ing payments made under section 1116 or 1117 of 

8 the Agricultural Act of 2014’’ before the period at 

9 the end; and 

10 (2) in subsection (c)— 

11 (A) by amending paragraph (2)(B) to read 

12 as follows: 

13 ‘‘(B) NEW CONVERSIONS.—In the case of 

14 a wetland that the Secretary determines was 

15 converted after the date of enactment of the 

16 Agricultural Act of 2014, the person shall be 

17 ineligible to receive crop insurance premium 

18 subsidies in subsequent reinsurance years un19 less the Secretary determines that an exemption 

20 pursuant to section 1222 applies.’’; 

21 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking subpara22 graph (E); and 

23 (C) in paragraph (4), by inserting at the 

24 end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(D) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall 

2 make available annually an amount equal to 

3 0.01 percent of the funding otherwise made 

4 available for programs specified in 1221(b), not 

5 to exceed $200 million, to provide technical as6 sistance, conduct status reviews and carry out 

7 other tasks needed to fully implement the provi8 sions of this subtitle. 

9 ‘‘(E) STATUS REVIEWS.—The Secretary 

10 shall annually carry out a review of the status 

11 of compliance of the person with the conserva12 tion plan under which the conservation system 

13 is being applied on no less than 5 percent of the 

14 covered cropland subject to this subtitle.’’. 

15 SEC. 206. DELINEATION OF WETLANDS; EXEMPTIONS. 

16 Section 1222 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

17 U.S.C. 3822) is amended in subsection (f)(2)— 

18 (1) by striking subparagraphs (D) and (E); and 

19 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (F) and 

20 (G) as subparagraphs (D) and (E), respectively. 

21 Subtitle B—Enhancing 

22 Environmental Quality Incentives 

23 SEC. 211. PURPOSES. 

24 Section 1240 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

25 U.S.C. 3839aa) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1240. PURPOSES. 

2 ‘‘The purpose of the environmental quality incentives 

3 program established by this chapter is to assist producers 

4 in implementing conservation systems, practices, and ac5 tivities on their operations in order to— 

6 ‘‘(1) improve water quality, with special empha7 sis on reducing nutrient pollution and protecting 

8 sources of drinking water; 

9 ‘‘(2) avoid, to the maximum extent practicable, 

10 the need for resource and regulatory programs by 

11 assisting producers in protecting soil, water, air, and 

12 related natural resources and meeting environmental 

13 quality criteria established by Federal, State, tribal, 

14 and local agencies; 

15 ‘‘(3) conserve ground and surface water to sus16 tain or improve in-stream flows; 

17 ‘‘(4) enhance the quality of soil fertility and 

18 health; 

19 ‘‘(5) control invasive species; 

20 ‘‘(6) enhance critical aquatic and terrestrial 

21 wildlife habitat for at-risk species; 

22 ‘‘(7) reduce the amount and toxicity of pes23 ticides and other agricultural chemicals found on 

24 food and in water or the air; 

25 ‘‘(8) reduce the nontherapeutic use of medically 

26 important antibiotics in food-producing animals in 


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1 order to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics used 

2 in the treatment of human and animal disease; 

3 ‘‘(9) help producers adapt to a changing and 

4 unpredictable climate and increase resiliency to cli5 mate change impacts, including rising temperatures 

6 and extreme weather events, while reducing green7 house gas emissions; and 

8 ‘‘(10) address additional priority resource con9 cerns, as determined by the Secretary.’’. 

10 SEC. 212. DEFINITIONS. 

11 (a) ORGANIC SYSTEM PLAN.—Section 1240A of the 

12 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–1) is 

13 amended by striking paragraph (2) and redesignating 

14 paragraphs (3) through (5) as paragraphs (2) through 

15 (4), respectively. 

16 (b) PRACTICE.—Section 1240A of the Food Security 

17 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–1) is further amended in 

18 paragraph (3)(B) (as redesignated by subsection (a))— 

19 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘; and’’ and insert20 ing a semicolon; 

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

22 and 

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

24 new clause: 


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1 ‘‘(ii) comprehensive conservation plan2 ning; and’’. 

3 SEC. 213. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 1240B(a) of the 

5 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(a)) is 

6 amended by striking ‘‘2002 through 2015’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘2019 through 2023’’. 

8 (b) TERM.—Section 1240B(b)(2) of the Food Secu9 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(b)(2)(B)) is 

10 amended by striking ‘‘10 years’’ and inserting ‘‘5 years’’. 

11 (c) PRIORITY.—Section 1240B(c) of the Food Secu12 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(c)) is amended to 

13 read as follows: 

14 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY.—If the Secretary determines that the 

15 environmental values of two or more applications for pay16 ments are comparable, the Secretary shall assign a higher 

17 priority to a program application which will achieve the 

18 environment and conservation values using practices and 

19 systems the assessed cost of which is lower.’’. 

20 (d) PAYMENTS.— 

21 (1) LIMITATION ON SUBSTANTIAL AND PRI22 MARY BENEFITS.—Section 1240B(d) of the Food 

23 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(d)) is 

24 amended— 

25 (A) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (i) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

2 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

3 (ii) in subparagraph (C)(ii), by strik4 ing the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

5 or’’; and 

6 (iii) by adding at the end the fol7 lowing: 

8 ‘‘(D) 50 percent of the cost of a practice 

9 that substantially benefits the producer, as de10 termined by the Secretary.’’; and 

11 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(7) PRIMARY BENEFIT TO PRODUCER.—A pro13 ducer shall not be eligible for payments for a prac14 tice on eligible land under the program that pri15 marily benefits the producer, as determined by the 

16 Secretary.’’. 

17 (2) INCREASED PAYMENTS FOR CERTAIN PRAC18 TICES.—Section 1240B(d)(3) of the Food Security 

19 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(d)(3)) is amended 

20 to read as follows: 

21 ‘‘(3) INCREASED PAYMENTS FOR CERTAIN

22 PRACTICES.—The Secretary shall provide supple23 mental payments and enhanced technical assistance 

24 to producers implementing land management and 

25 vegetative practices at a level that, as determined by 


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1 the Secretary, results in highly cost-effective treat2 ment of priority resource concerns, including— 

3 ‘‘(A) residue and tillage management; 

4 ‘‘(B) contour farming; 

5 ‘‘(C) cover cropping; 

6 ‘‘(D) integrated pest management; 

7 ‘‘(E) nutrient management; 

8 ‘‘(F) stream corridor improvement; 

9 ‘‘(G) invasive plant species control; 

10 ‘‘(H) contour buffer strips; 

11 ‘‘(I) riparian herbaceous and forest buff12 ers; 

13 ‘‘(J) filterstrips; 

14 ‘‘(K) stream habitat improvement and 

15 management; 

16 ‘‘(L) grassed waterways; 

17 ‘‘(M) wetland restoration and enhance18 ment; 

19 ‘‘(N) pollinator habitat; or 

20 ‘‘(O) conservation crop rotation.’’. 

21 (3) LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS FOR CERTAIN

22 PRACTICES.—Section 1240B(d) of the Food Security 

23 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(d)) is further 

24 amended by adding at the end the following new 

25 paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(8) LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS FOR CERTAIN

2 PRACTICES.—A producer who owns or operates a 

3 large confined animal feeding operation (as defined 

4 by the Secretary) shall not be eligible for payments 

5 under this chapter to construct an animal waste 

6 management facility or any associated waste trans7 port or transfer device.’’. 

8 (e) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.—Section 1240B(f) of 

9 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(f)) 

10 is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(f) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.—Of the funds made 

12 available for payments for each of fiscal years 2019 

13 through 2023— 

14 ‘‘(1) not less than 10 percent shall be targeted 

15 at practices relating to improvement of fish and 

16 wildlife habitat; and 

17 ‘‘(2) not less than 5 percent shall be provided 

18 to producers who participate in an independent ani19 mal welfare certification program, as defined in sec20 tion 801 of the Food and Farm Act.’’. 

21 (f) WATER CONSERVATION OR IRRIGATION EFFI22 CIENCY PRACTICE.— 

23 (1) AVAILABILITY OF PAYMENTS.—Section 

24 1240B(h)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 


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1 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(h)(1)) is amended to read as fol2 lows: 

3 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF PAYMENTS.—The Sec4 retary may provide payments under this subsection 

5 to a producer for a water conservation or irrigation 

6 practice that promotes ground and surface water 

7 conservation on the agricultural operation of the 

8 producer by— 

9 ‘‘(A) improvements to irrigation systems; 

10 ‘‘(B) enhancement of irrigation efficiencies; 

11 ‘‘(C) conversion of the agricultural oper12 ation to— 

13 ‘‘(i) the production of less water-in14 tensive agricultural commodities; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) dryland farming; 

16 ‘‘(D) improvement of the storage of water 

17 through measures such as water banking and 

18 groundwater recharge; 

19 ‘‘(E) enhancement of fish and wildlife 

20 habitat associated with irrigation systems, in21 cluding pivot corners and areas with irregular 

22 boundaries; or 

23 ‘‘(F) establishment of other measures, as 

24 determined by the Secretary, that improve 


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1 groundwater and surface water conservation in 

2 agricultural operations.’’. 

3 (2) PRIORITY.—Section 1240B(h)(2) of the 

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

5 2(h)(2)) is amended— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; 

7 or’’ and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

8 (B) by amending subparagraph (B) to read 

9 as follows: 

10 ‘‘(B) any associated water savings remain 

11 in the original source of such water for the use12 ful life of the practice.’’. 

13 (3) DUTY OF PRODUCERS.—Section 1240B(h) 

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

15 3839aa–2(h)) is amended by adding at the end the 

16 following new paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(3) DUTY OF PRODUCERS.—The Secretary 

18 may not provide payments to a producer for a water 

19 conservation or irrigation practice under this chapter 

20 unless the producer agrees not to use any associated 

21 water savings to bring new land, other than inci22 dental land needed for efficient operations, under ir23 rigated production, except where the producer is 

24 participating in a watershed-wide project that will 


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1 effectively conserve water, as determined by the Sec2 retary.’’. 

3 (g) PAYMENTS FOR CONSERVATION PRACTICES RE4 LATED TO ORGANIC PRODUCTION.— 

5 (1) PAYMENTS AUTHORIZED.—Section 

6 1240B(i)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

7 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(i)(1)) is amended by striking 

8 ‘‘subsection’’ and inserting ‘‘chapter’’. 

9 (2) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—Section 

10 1240B(i)(2) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

11 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(i)(2)) is amended to read as fol12 lows: 

13 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—As a condi14 tion for receiving payments under this subsection, a 

15 producer shall agree to develop and implement con16 servation practices for certified organic production 

17 that are consistent with the regulations promulgated 

18 under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 

19 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) and the purposes of this chap20 ter.’’. 

21 (3) PAYMENT LIMITATIONS; COORDINATION

22 WITH ORGANIC CERTIFICATION; PLANNING.—Section 

23 1240B(i) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

24 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(i)) is amended— 


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1 (A) by striking paragraph (3) and redesig2 nating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs 

3 (5) and (6), respectively; and 

4 (B) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 

5 following new paragraphs: 

6 ‘‘(3) COORDINATION WITH ORGANIC CERTIFI7 CATION.—The Secretary shall establish a trans8 parent means by which producers may initiate or9 ganic certification under the Organic Foods Produc10 tion Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) while par11 ticipating in a contract under this chapter. 

12 ‘‘(4) PLANNING.— 

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

14 provide planning assistance to producers 

15 transitioning to certified organic production 

16 consistent with the requirements of the Organic 

17 Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 

18 et seq.) and the purposes of this chapter. 

19 ‘‘(B) AVOIDANCE OF DUPLICATION.—The 

20 Secretary shall, to the maximum extent prac21 ticable, eliminate duplication of planning activi22 ties for a producer participating in a contract 

23 under this chapter and initiating or maintaining 

24 organic certification consistent with the Organic 


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1 Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 

2 et seq.).’’. 

3 (h) PAYMENTS FOR CONSERVATION PRACTICES RE4 LATED TO ANTIBIOTIC USE.—Section 1240B of the Food 

5 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2) is amended 

6 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 

7 ‘‘(j) PAYMENTS FOR CONSERVATION PRACTICES RE8 LATED TO ANTIBIOTIC USE.— 

9 ‘‘(1) PAYMENTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary 

10 shall provide payments under this chapter to live11 stock producers for three years, to assist in a transi12 tion to modified animal management and production 

13 systems, for practices leading to the reduction in the 

14 need for antibiotics, including modification of sys15 tems and spaces to— 

16 ‘‘(A) improve sanitation; 

17 ‘‘(B) improve ventilation; or 

18 ‘‘(C) support the implementation of im19 proved animal management techniques at the 

20 operation. 

21 ‘‘(2) DUTY OF PRODUCER.—The Secretary shall 

22 not make payments under this chapter for practices 

23 related to antibiotic use unless the producer agrees 

24 to provide information to the Secretary documenting 


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1 the resulting reduction in antibiotic use in the oper2 ation of the producer.’’. 

3 (i) PAYMENTS FOR CONSERVATION PRACTICES RE4 LATED TO PASTURE-BASED PRODUCTION SYSTEMS.— 

5 Section 1240B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

6 U.S.C. 3839aa–2), as amended by subsection (h), is fur7 ther amended by adding at the end the following new sub8 section: 

9 ‘‘(k) PAYMENTS FOR CONSERVATION PRACTICES RE10 LATED TO PASTURE-BASED PRODUCTION SYSTEMS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) PAYMENTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary 

12 shall provide payments under this subsection for 

13 conservation practices, on some or all of the oper14 ations of a producer, related— 

15 ‘‘(A) to pasture-based, production systems; 

16 or 

17 ‘‘(B) to the transition to pasture-based 

18 production systems managed under an approved 

19 prescribed grazing plan in which animals are 

20 regularly and systematically moved to fresh 

21 pasture in such a way as to— 

22 ‘‘(i) maximize the quantity and qual23 ity of forage growth; 

24 ‘‘(ii) maximize the quality of soil fer25 tility and tilth; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) improve manure distribution and 

2 nutrient cycling; 

3 ‘‘(iv) increase the sequestration of car4 bon dioxide; 

5 ‘‘(v) improve the quality and quantity 

6 of cover for wildlife and pollinators; 

7 ‘‘(vi) provide permanent cover to pro8 tect the soil from erosion; and 

9 ‘‘(vii) improve water quality and infil10 tration. 

11 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—As a condi12 tion for receiving payments under this subsection, a 

13 producer shall agree to implement at least 3 prac14 tices and either— 

15 ‘‘(A) develops and carries out a grazing 

16 management plan that includes intensive man17 agement rotational grazing; or 

18 ‘‘(B) develops and implements conservation 

19 practices that are consistent with intensive rota20 tional grazing practices for pasture-based sys21 tems. 

22 ‘‘(3) PAYMENT PRIORITIES.—In determining 

23 the amount and rate of payments under paragraph 

24 (2)(B), the Secretary may accord great significance 

25 to practices that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) improve the quality of soil fertility 

2 and tilth; 

3 ‘‘(B) protect water quality; 

4 ‘‘(C) increase the sequestration of carbon 

5 dioxide; 

6 ‘‘(D) accelerate water infiltration; and 

7 ‘‘(E) and expand pollinator habitat and 

8 protection.’’. 

9 (j) COMPREHENSIVE CONSERVATION PLANNING.— 

10 Section 1240B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

11 U.S.C. 3839aa–2), as amended by subsection (i), is fur12 ther amended by adding at the end the following new sub13 section: 

14 ‘‘(l) COMPREHENSIVE CONSERVATION PLANNING.— 

15 The Secretary shall provide technical and financial assist16 ance to producers under the program to develop a com17 prehensive conservation plan for the agricultural operation 

18 of the producer.’’. 

19 SEC. 214. EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS. 

20 (a) EVALUATION CRITERIA.—Section 1240C(a) of 

21 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–3(a)) 

22 is amended by striking ‘‘national, State, and local con23 servation priorities’’ and inserting ‘‘priority resource con24 cerns identified under subsection (d)’’. 


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1 (b) PRIORITIZATION OF APPLICATIONS.—Section 

2 1240C(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

3 3839aa–3(b)) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘achieving the 

5 anticipated conservation benefits of the project’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘addressing priority resource concerns 

7 identified under subsection (d)’’; and 

8 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘designated 

9 resource concern or resource concerns’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘priority resource concerns identified under sub11 section (d), including, in the case of applications 

12 from nutrient-impacted watersheds, the degree to 

13 which nutrient loadings would be reduced as a result 

14 of the proposed project’’. 

15 (c) GROUPING OF APPLICATIONS.—Section 1240C(c) 

16 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–3(c)) 

17 is amended by striking ‘‘for evaluation purposes or other18 wise evaluate applications relative to other applications for 

19 similar farming operations’’ and inserting ‘‘proposing to 

20 address the same priority resource concerns for evaluation 

21 purposes’’. 

22 (d) PRIORITY RESOURCE CONCERNS.—Section 

23 1240C of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

24 3839aa–3) is amended by adding at the end the following 

25 new subsection: 


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1 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY RESOURCE CONCERNS.—For the pur2 poses of this section, the Secretary shall identify priority 

3 resource concerns in a particular watershed or other ap4 propriate region or area within a State.’’. 

5 SEC. 215. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PRO6 GRAM PLAN. 

7 Section 1240E(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

8 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–5(a)) is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(a) PLAN OF OPERATIONS.—To be eligible to re10 ceive payments under the program, a producer shall sub11 mit to the Secretary for approval a plan of operations 

12 that— 

13 ‘‘(1) specifies the priority resource concerns to 

14 be addressed; 

15 ‘‘(2) specifies the type, number, and sequencing 

16 of conservation systems, practices, or activities to be 

17 implemented to address the priority resource con18 cerns; 

19 ‘‘(3) includes such terms and conditions as the 

20 Secretary considers necessary to carry out the pro21 gram, including a description of the purposes to be 

22 met by the implementation of the plan and a state23 ment of how the plan will achieve or take significant 

24 steps toward achieving the relevant resource manVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:05 Nov 21, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4425.IH H4425

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1 agement system quality criteria, as determined by 

2 the Secretary; 

3 ‘‘(4) in the case of a confined livestock feeding 

4 operation, provides for development and implementa5 tion of a comprehensive nutrient management plan, 

6 if applicable; 

7 ‘‘(5) in the case of a producer located within a 

8 nutrient-impacted watershed, identifies methods by 

9 which the producer will limit nutrient loss; and 

10 ‘‘(6) in the case of forest land, is consistent 

11 with the provisions of a forest management plan 

12 that is approved by the Secretary, which may in13 clude— 

14 ‘‘(A) a forest stewardship plan described in 

15 section 5 of the Cooperative Forestry Assist16 ance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2103a); 

17 ‘‘(B) another practice plan approved by the 

18 State forester; or 

19 ‘‘(C) another plan determined appropriate 

20 by the Secretary.’’. 

21 SEC. 216. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

22 Section 1240F(2) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

23 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–6(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘infor24 mation’’ and inserting ‘‘technical assistance, informa25 tion,’’. 


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1 SEC. 217. LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS. 

2 Section 1240G of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

3 U.S.C. 3839aa–7) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 1240G. LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS. 

5 ‘‘(a) LIMITATION ON TOTAL PAYMENTS.—Subject to 

6 subsection (b), a person or legal entity may not receive, 

7 directly or indirectly, cost-share or incentive payments 

8 under this chapter, in the aggregate, for all contracts en9 tered into under this chapter by the person or entity (ex10 cluding funding arrangements with Indian tribes under 

11 this chapter), regardless of the number of contracts en12 tered into under this chapter by the person or entity, 

13 that— 

14 ‘‘(1) during any fiscal year exceed $30,000; and 

15 ‘‘(2) during any five-year period exceed 

16 $150,000. 

17 ‘‘(b) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—In the case of contracts 

18 under this chapter for projects of special environmental 

19 significance, as determined by the Secretary, the Secretary 

20 may waive the limitation otherwise applicable under sub21 section (a)(1). 

22 ‘‘(c) PREVENTION OF DUPLICATION.—The Secretary 

23 shall not approve a contract or provide payments to any 

24 individual for a practice that has already been paid for 

25 as part of a previously approved and completed contract 

26 for any particular parcel of land.’’. 


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1 Subtitle C—Reforming the Con2 servation Stewardship Program 

3 SEC. 221. DEFINITIONS. 

4 Section 1238D of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

5 U.S.C. 3838d) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (2)(B)— 

7 (A) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause 

8 (iii); 

9 (B) by striking clause (i) and inserting the 

10 following: 

11 ‘‘(i) vegetative measures, and land 

12 management measures, including inte13 grated pest, nutrient, crop residue, crop 

14 rotation, and managed rotational grazing 

15 management measures, as determined by 

16 the Secretary; 

17 ‘‘(ii) structural measures that are in18 tegrated with and essential to the success19 ful implementation of such vegetative and 

20 land management measures; and’’; and 

21 (C) in clause (iii), as so redesignated by 

22 subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘designated’’ 

23 before ‘‘priority’’; 

24 (2) in paragraph (3)— 


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1 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

2 ‘‘designated’’ before ‘‘priority’’; and 

3 (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘new 

4 and existing conservation activities’’ and insert5 ing ‘‘conservation activities needed to com6 prehensively address the designated priority re7 source concerns’’; 

8 (3) by amending paragraph (5) to read as fol9 lows: 

10 ‘‘(5) PRIORITY RESOURCE CONCERN.—The 

11 term ‘priority resource concern’ means the cause of 

12 a specific impairment that— 

13 ‘‘(A) threatens— 

14 ‘‘(i) public health or quality of life 

15 through degradation of air or water qual16 ity; or 

17 ‘‘(ii) natural resources, including soil, 

18 fish, and wildlife; and 

19 ‘‘(B) is identified at the national, State, or 

20 local level as a priority for a particular area of 

21 a State.’’; 

22 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as 

23 paragraphs (7) and (8), respectively; 

24 (5) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(6) DESIGNATED PRIORITY RESOURCE CON2 CERN.—The term ‘designated priority resource con3 cern’ means 1 to 5 priority resource concerns identi4 fied by the Secretary that must be addressed by the 

5 program within a local watershed or specific natural 

6 resource boundary.’’; and 

7 (6) by amending paragraph (8), as redesignated 

8 by paragraph (4), to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(8) STEWARDSHIP THRESHOLD.—The term 

10 ‘stewardship threshold’ means the conservation ac11 tivities, as determined by the Secretary, to com12 prehensively address a priority resource concern 

13 using— 

14 ‘‘(A) conservation measurement tools; 

15 ‘‘(B) the resource management system 

16 quality criteria for the particular priority re17 source concerns; 

18 ‘‘(C) data from past and current program 

19 enrollments; and 

20 ‘‘(D) other similar means to measure im21 provement and conservation of the priority re22 source concern.’’. 

23 SEC. 222. CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM. 

24 Section 1238E of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

25 U.S.C. 3838e) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)— 

2 (A) by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2014 through 

3 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2019 through 

4 2023’’; 

5 (B) by striking ‘‘to address priority’’ and 

6 inserting ‘‘to comprehensively address des7 ignated priority’’; and 

8 (C) by striking ‘‘comprehensive manner— 

9 ’’ and all that follows through ‘‘managing exist10 ing conservation activities’’ and inserting ‘‘com11 prehensive manner’’; and 

12 (2) in subsection (b)(2), in the matter pre13 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘the date of 

14 enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014’’ and in15 serting ‘‘October 1, 2018’’. 

16 SEC. 223. STEWARDSHIP CONTRACTS. 

17 Section 1238F of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

18 U.S.C. 3838f) is amended— 

19 (1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF CONTRACT OFFERS.—To be eli22 gible to participate in the conservation stewardship pro23 gram, a producer shall submit to the Secretary a contract 

24 offer for the agricultural operation that demonstrates to 

25 the satisfaction of the Secretary that the producer will 


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1 meet or exceed the stewardship threshold for one or more 

2 designated priority resource concerns by the end of the 

3 contract period.’’; 

4 (2) by amending subsection (b) to read as fol5 lows: 

6 ‘‘(b) EVALUATION OF CONTRACT OFFERS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) RANKING OF APPLICATIONS.—In evalu8 ating contract offers submitted under subsection (a), 

9 the Secretary shall rank applications based on— 

10 ‘‘(A) the level of conservation treatment on 

11 all applicable designated priority resource con12 cerns at the time of application; 

13 ‘‘(B) the number of designated priority re14 source concerns that meet or exceed the stew15 ardship threshold at the end of the contract pe16 riod; 

17 ‘‘(C) the degree to which the proposed con18 servation activities effectively, efficiently, and 

19 comprehensively address the designated priority 

20 resource concerns; 

21 ‘‘(D) the extent to which the contract offer 

22 will meet or exceed the stewardship threshold 

23 for one or more designated priority resource 

24 concerns at a lower cost relative to other simi25 larly beneficial contract offers; and 


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1 ‘‘(E) the extent to which priority resource 

2 concerns will be addressed when transitioning 

3 from the conservation reserve program to agri4 cultural production. 

5 ‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary may not as6 sign a higher priority to any application because the 

7 applicant is willing to accept a lower payment than 

8 the applicant would otherwise be eligible to receive. 

9 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL CRITERIA.—The Secretary 

10 may develop and use such additional criteria that 

11 the Secretary determines are necessary to ensure 

12 that designated priority resource concerns are effec13 tively and efficiently treated to meet or exceed the 

14 stewardship threshold.’’; 

15 (3) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol16 lows: 

17 ‘‘(c) ENTERING INTO CONTRACTS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After a determination that 

19 a producer is eligible for the program under sub20 section (a), and a determination that the contract 

21 offer ranks sufficiently high under the evaluation 

22 criteria under subsection (b), the Secretary shall 

23 enter into a conservation stewardship contract with 

24 the producer to enroll the eligible land to be covered 

25 by the contract. 


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1 ‘‘(2) FINANCIAL OBLIGATION.—Consistent with 

2 section 1238G(c)(4), a contract entered into under 

3 paragraph (1) shall not create an obligation for fi4 nancial assistance until the first October 1 after the 

5 contract is entered into.’’; 

6 (4) in subsection (d)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘5 

8 years’’ and inserting ‘‘10 years’’; and 

9 (B) in paragraph (2)(B)(i), by inserting 

10 ‘‘that comprehensively address a designated pri11 ority resource concern’’ after ‘‘conservation ac12 tivities’’; and 

13 (5) in subsection (e)— 

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

15 by striking ‘‘5-year’’ and inserting ‘‘10-year’’; 

16 and 

17 (B) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

18 follows: 

19 ‘‘(3) has met or exceeded, or agrees to meet or 

20 exceed, the stewardship threshold of all designated 

21 priority resource concerns identified for the region 

22 or area in which the land that is subject to the con23 tract is located.’’. 


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1 SEC. 224. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

2 Section 1238G of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

3 U.S.C. 3838g) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 1238G. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To achieve the conservation 

6 goals of a contract under the conservation stewardship 

7 program, the Secretary shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) make the program available to eligible pro9 ducers on a continuous enrollment basis with one or 

10 more ranking periods, of which shall occur in the 

11 first quarter of each fiscal year; 

12 ‘‘(2) identify not more than 5 designated pri13 ority resource concerns in a particular watershed or 

14 other appropriate region or area within a State; 

15 ‘‘(3) for any region or area that includes any 

16 part of a nutrient-impacted watershed (as deter17 mined by the Secretary), ensure that one of the pri18 ority resource concerns identified under paragraph 

19 (2) is water pollution caused by excess nutrient 

20 loads; 

21 ‘‘(4) develop reliable conservation measurement 

22 tools for purposes of carrying out the program; and 

23 ‘‘(5) ensure that conservation measurement 

24 tools are transparent and available to producers 

25 by— 


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1 ‘‘(A) making interactive, user-friendly con2 servation measurement tools publically available 

3 online; 

4 ‘‘(B) making conservation activity natural 

5 resource and environmental benefit scores avail6 able in an easy to understand format for study 

7 both before and during application; and 

8 ‘‘(C) taking other steps, as determined by 

9 the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION TO STATES.—The Secretary shall 

11 allocate acres to States for enrollment, based on each 

12 State’s proportion of eligible land to the total acreage of 

13 eligible land in all States as follows: 

14 ‘‘(1) SOURCE WATER PROTECTION.—At least 

15 20 percent of the funds made available for financial 

16 and technical assistance under the program shall be 

17 for contracts addressing designated priority resource 

18 concerns related to enhancing the quality and quan19 tity of source water (as that term is used in the Safe 

20 Drinking Water Act). 

21 ‘‘(2) PEST MANAGEMENT.—At least 20 percent 

22 of the funds made available for financial and tech23 nical assistance under the program shall be for con24 tracts addressing designated priority resource con25 cerns related to reducing the need for pesticides in 


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1 agricultural production including organic farming 

2 systems and intensive integrated pest management. 

3 ‘‘(3) SOIL CONSERVATION.—At least 20 percent 

4 of the funds made available for financial and tech5 nical assistance under the program shall be for con6 tracts addressing designated priority resource con7 cerns related to reducing soil erosion and improving 

8 soil fertility and tilth. 

9 ‘‘(c) CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PAYMENTS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF PAYMENTS.—The Sec11 retary shall provide annual payments under the pro12 gram to compensate the producer for— 

13 ‘‘(A) installing and adopting additional 

14 conservation activities that will meet or exceed 

15 the stewardship threshold for a designated pri16 ority resource concern; and 

17 ‘‘(B) improving, maintaining, and man18 aging conservation activities in place on the ag19 ricultural operation of the producer at the time 

20 the contract offer is accepted by the Secretary. 

21 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT AMOUNT.—The amount of the 

22 annual payment shall be determined by the Sec23 retary and based, to the maximum extent prac24 ticable, on the following factors: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Costs incurred by the producer asso2 ciated with planning, design, materials, installa3 tion, labor, management, maintenance, or train4 ing. 

5 ‘‘(B) Income forgone by the producer. 

6 ‘‘(C) Expected conservation benefits, based 

7 to the maximum extent possible on conservation 

8 measurement tools. 

9 ‘‘(D) The extent to which designated pri10 ority resource concerns will be addressed 

11 through the installation and adoption of con12 servation activities on the agricultural oper13 ation. 

14 ‘‘(E) The level of stewardship in place at 

15 the time of application and maintained over the 

16 term of the contract. 

17 ‘‘(F) The degree to which the conservation 

18 activities will be integrated across the entire ag19 ricultural operation for all designated priority 

20 resource concerns over the term of the contract. 

21 ‘‘(G) Such other factors as are determined 

22 appropriate by the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(3) EXCLUSIONS.—A payment to a producer 

24 under this subsection shall not be provided for— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the design, construction, or mainte2 nance of animal waste storage or treatment fa3 cilities or associated waste transport or transfer 

4 devices for animal feeding operations; or 

5 ‘‘(B) conservation activities for which there 

6 is no cost incurred or income forgone to the 

7 producer. 

8 ‘‘(4) DELIVERY OF PAYMENTS.—In making 

9 payments under this subsection, the Secretary shall, 

10 to the extent practicable— 

11 ‘‘(A) prorate conservation performance 

12 over the term of the contract so as to accommo13 date, to the extent practicable, producers earn14 ing equal annual payments in each fiscal year; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(B) make such payments as soon as prac17 ticable after October 1 of each fiscal year for 

18 activities carried out in the previous fiscal year. 

19 ‘‘(5) MINIMUM PAYMENT.—If a contract re20 quires a comprehensive conservation plan the imple21 mentation of which will, by the end of the contract 

22 term, meet or exceed the stewardship threshold for 

23 all designated priority resource concerns, the min24 imum payment shall be not less than $3,000. 


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1 ‘‘(d) SUPPLEMENTAL PAYMENTS FOR RESOURCE2 CONSERVING CROP ROTATIONS, MANAGED INTENSIVE

3 ROTATIONAL GRAZING, AND TRANSITION TO ORGANIC

4 CROP OR LIVESTOCK SYSTEMS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF PAYMENTS.—The Sec6 retary shall provide additional payments to pro7 ducers that, in participating in the program, agree 

8 to— 

9 ‘‘(A) improve, maintain, and manage or 

10 adopt and maintain— 

11 ‘‘(i) resource-conserving crop rotations 

12 to achieve beneficial crop rotations as ap13 propriate for the eligible land of the pro14 ducers; or 

15 ‘‘(ii) managed intensive rotational 

16 grazing; or 

17 ‘‘(B) transition to organic crop or livestock 

18 systems. 

19 ‘‘(2) BENEFICIAL CROP ROTATIONS.—The Sec20 retary shall determine whether a resource-conserving 

21 crop rotation is a beneficial crop rotation eligible for 

22 additional payments under paragraph (1) based on 

23 whether the resource-conserving crop rotation is de24 signed to address designated priority resource con25 cerns while providing production benefits. 


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1 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

2 payment described in paragraph (1), a producer 

3 shall agree to adopt and maintain beneficial re4 source-conserving crop rotations for the term of the 

5 contract. 

6 ‘‘(4) RESOURCE-CONSERVING CROP ROTA7 TION.—In this subsection, the term ‘resource-con8 serving crop rotation’ means a crop rotation that— 

9 ‘‘(A) includes at least 1 resource con10 serving crop (as defined by the Secretary); 

11 ‘‘(B) reduces erosion; 

12 ‘‘(C) prevents pollution of surface water or 

13 groundwater; 

14 ‘‘(D) improves soil fertility and tilth; 

15 ‘‘(E) interrupts pest cycles; and 

16 ‘‘(F) in applicable areas, reduces depletion 

17 of soil moisture or otherwise reduces the need 

18 for irrigation. 

19 ‘‘(5) MANAGED INTENSIVE ROTATIONAL GRAZ20 ING.—In this subsection, the term ‘managed inten21 sive rotational grazing’ means a system in which 

22 animals are regularly and systematically moved to 

23 fresh pasture in such a way as to— 

24 ‘‘(A) maximize the quantity and quality of 

25 forage growth; 


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1 ‘‘(B) improve manure distribution and nu2 trient cycling; 

3 ‘‘(C) increase carbon sequestration from 

4 greater forage harvest; 

5 ‘‘(D) improve the quantity and quality of 

6 cover for wildlife; 

7 ‘‘(E) provide permanent cover to protect 

8 the soil from erosion; and 

9 ‘‘(F) improve water quality. 

10 ‘‘(6) TRANSITION TO ORGANIC CROP OR LIVE11 STOCK SYSTEMS.—In this subsection, the term ‘tran12 sition to organic crop or livestock systems’ means 

13 adoption of conservation activities for certified or14 ganic production on land or for herds not previously 

15 certified organic that meet all the requirements of 

16 the program and that are consistent with the regula17 tions promulgated under the Organic Foods Produc18 tion Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.). 

19 ‘‘(e) PAYMENT LIMITATION.—A person or legal enti20 ty may not receive, directly or indirectly, payments under 

21 the program that, in the aggregate, exceed $200,000 

22 under all contracts entered into during any 5-year period, 

23 excluding funding arrangements with Indian tribes, re24 gardless of the number of contracts entered into under the 

25 program by the person or legal entity. 


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1 ‘‘(f) SPECIALTY CROP AND ORGANIC PRODUCERS.— 

2 The Secretary shall ensure that outreach and technical as3 sistance are available, and program specifications are ap4 propriate to enable specialty crop and organic producers 

5 to participate in the program. 

6 ‘‘(g) COORDINATION WITH ORGANIC CERTIFI7 CATION.—The Secretary shall establish a transparent 

8 means by which producers may initiate organic certifi9 cation under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 

10 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) while participating in a contract 

11 under the program. 

12 ‘‘(h) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall promul13 gate regulations that— 

14 ‘‘(1) prescribe such other rules as the Secretary 

15 determines to be necessary to ensure a fair and rea16 sonable application of the limitations established 

17 under subsection (f); and 

18 ‘‘(2) otherwise enable the Secretary to carry out 

19 the program. 

20 ‘‘(i) DATA.—The Secretary shall maintain detailed 

21 and segmented data on contracts and payments under the 

22 program to allow, at a minimum, with respect to each con23 tract— 


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1 ‘‘(1) quantification of the type and extent of 

2 conservation activities for which payments were 

3 made; 

4 ‘‘(2) quantification of the amount of payments 

5 made for— 

6 ‘‘(A) the installation and adoption of addi7 tional conservation activities and improvements 

8 to conservation activities in place on the oper9 ation of a producer at the time the conservation 

10 stewardship offer is accepted by the Secretary; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(B) the maintenance of existing conserva13 tion activities; and 

14 ‘‘(3) identification of the watershed and county 

15 in which the agricultural operation receiving pay16 ments is located. 

17 ‘‘(j) PAYMENTS FOR CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES RE18 LATED TO ORGANIC PRODUCTION.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

20 payments for conservation activities related to or21 ganic production. 

22 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—As a condi23 tion for receiving payments under the program, a 

24 producer shall agree to develop and implement con25 servation activities for certified organic production 


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1 that are consistent with the regulations promulgated 

2 under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 

3 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) and the purposes of the pro4 gram. 

5 ‘‘(3) PLANNING.— 

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

7 provide planning assistance to producers 

8 transitioning to certified organic production 

9 consistent with the requirements of the Organic 

10 Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 

11 et seq.) and the purposes of this subchapter. 

12 ‘‘(B) AVOIDANCE OF DUPLICATION.—The 

13 Secretary shall, to the maximum extent prac14 ticable, eliminate duplication of planning activi15 ties for a producer participating in a contract 

16 under this subchapter and initiating or main17 taining organic certification consistent with the 

18 Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 

19 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.).’’. 


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1 Subtitle D—Building on the 

2 Regional Conservation Partnership 

3 SEC. 231. IMPROVEMENTS TO THE REGIONAL CONSERVA4 TION PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM. 

5 (a) PROGRAM PURPOSES.—Section 1271(b) of the 

6 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871(b)) is amend7 ed— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘use covered 

9 programs to’’; and 

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

11 following new paragraphs: 

12 ‘‘(3) To encourage eligible partners to cooperate 

13 with producers in implementing projects that en14 hance and protect the health and quality of life of 

15 individuals in the United States by— 

16 ‘‘(A) enhancing and protecting the quality 

17 and quantity of source water (as that term is 

18 used in the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 

19 U.S.C. 300f et seq.)); 

20 ‘‘(B) reducing the use of antibiotics and 

21 pesticides in crop and livestock production; 

22 ‘‘(C) enhancing opportunities for natural23 resource-based recreation by improving water 

24 quality and fish and wildlife habitat; and 


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1 ‘‘(D) addressing other opportunities to im2 prove public health and quality of life, as deter3 mined by the Secretary. 

4 ‘‘(4) To avoid, to the maximum extent prac5 ticable, the need for statutory and regulatory pro6 grams related to the conservation of natural re7 sources by assisting producers in protecting soil, 

8 water, air, and related natural resources and in 

9 meeting environmental quality criteria established by 

10 Federal, State, tribal, and local governmental agen11 cies.’’. 

12 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1271A of the Food Secu13 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871a) is amended— 

14 (1) by striking paragraph (1); 

15 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking subparagraph 

16 (A) and inserting the following new subparagraph: 

17 ‘‘(A) Water quality restoration or enhance18 ment projects relating to the quality of surface 

19 water and groundwater used to supply drinking 

20 water by community water systems and domes21 tic wells, including projects that— 

22 ‘‘(i) improve the management of crops 

23 and livestock production systems to avoid 

24 or control runoff and leaching of farm 

25 chemicals and manure; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) change (including through diver2 sifying) the agricultural practices, includ3 ing crop rotations; and 

4 ‘‘(iii) trap or capture pollutants before 

5 the pollutants enter surface water or 

6 ground water.’’; and 

7 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through 

8 (6) as paragraphs (1) through (5), respectively. 

9 (c) PROGRAM AGREEMENTS.—Section 1271B of the 

10 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871b) is amend11 ed— 

12 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘a period not 

13 to exceed’’ and all that follows through the period at 

14 the end and inserting ‘‘a period of at least 10 years, 

15 but shall not exceed 15 years.’’; 

16 (2) in subsection (c)(1)— 

17 (A) by redesignating subparagraphs (A) 

18 through (F) as subparagraphs (B) through (G); 

19 (B) by inserting before subparagraph (B) 

20 (as so redesignated) the following new subpara21 graph: 

22 ‘‘(A) complete natural resource and water23 shed assessments to effectively support plan24 ning and implementation of the proposed 


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1 project that is the subject of the agreement;’’; 

2 and 

3 (C) in subparagraph (F) (as redesignated 

4 by subparagraph (A)), by inserting ‘‘monitor re5 sults and’’ before ‘‘conduct’’; and 

6 (3) in subsection (d)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (3), in subparagraph (C), 

8 by striking ‘‘, including the covered programs to 

9 be used and estimated funding needed from the 

10 Secretary’’; and 

11 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

12 (i) in subparagraph (E), by striking 

13 ‘‘or’’; 

14 (ii) in subparagraph (F), by striking 

15 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; 

16 and 

17 (iii) by adding at the end the fol18 lowing: 

19 ‘‘(G) enhance the quality of surface water 

20 and groundwater used to supply drinking water 

21 by community water systems (as defined in the 

22 Safe Drinking Water Act) and domestic wells.’’. 

23 (d) ASSISTANCE TO PRODUCERS.—Section 1271C of 

24 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871c) is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘assistance 

2 to’’ and all that follows through ‘‘of an eligible part3 ner.’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘assistance, under 

4 the programs under this subtitle, to producers pro5 posing to implement conservation activities that 

6 meet the objectives of the partnership agreement en7 tered into under section 1271B.’’; 

8 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

9 following new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(b) ALTERNATIVE FUNDING ARRANGEMENTS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of pro12 viding assistance for land described in subsection (a) 

13 and section 1271F, the Secretary may enter into al14 ternative funding arrangements with a multistate 

15 water resource agency or authority if— 

16 ‘‘(A) the Secretary determines that the 

17 goals and objectives of the program will be met 

18 by the alternative funding arrangements; 

19 ‘‘(B) the agency or authority certifies that 

20 the limitations established under this section on 

21 agreements with individual producers will not 

22 be exceeded; and 

23 ‘‘(C) all participating producers meet ap24 plicable payment eligibility provisions. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CONDITIONS.—As a condition of receiving 

2 funding under paragraph (1), the multistate water 

3 resource agency or authority shall agree— 

4 ‘‘(A) to submit an annual independent 

5 audit to the Secretary that describes the use of 

6 funds under this paragraph; 

7 ‘‘(B) to provide any data necessary for the 

8 Secretary to issue a report on the use of funds 

9 under this paragraph; and 

10 ‘‘(C) not to use any of the funds provided 

11 pursuant to paragraph (1) for administration or 

12 to provide for administrative costs through con13 tracts with another entity. 

14 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may enter 

15 into not more than 20 alternative funding arrange16 ments under this subsection.’’; and 

17 (3) in subsection (c)— 

18 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘In ac19 cordance with statutory requirements of the 

20 covered programs involved, the Secretary’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘The Secretary’’; and 

22 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (i) in the matter preceding subpara24 graph (A), by striking ‘‘a period of 5 

25 years’’ and inserting ‘‘a period of at least 


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1 10 years, but that does not exceed 15 

2 years’’; 

3 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

4 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

5 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

6 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

7 and’’; and 

8 (iv) by adding at the end the following 

9 new subparagraph: 

10 ‘‘(C) to producers participating in a 

11 project involving an activity described in section 

12 1271A(2)(A).’’. 

13 (e) FUNDING.—Section 1271D of the Food Security 

14 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3871d) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘each of fiscal 

16 years 2014 through 2018’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal year 

17 2018 and $500,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

18 2019 through 2023’’; 

19 (2) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol20 lows: 

21 ‘‘(c) RESOURCE ASSESSMENT, OUTREACH, AND

22 MONITORING.—Of the funds made available for the pro23 gram under subsection (a), the Secretary shall allocate 10 

24 percent to eligible partners to share the cost of imple25 menting the duties under section 1271B(c).’’; and 


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1 (3) in subsection (d), in the matter preceding 

2 paragraph (1)— 

3 (A) by striking ‘‘and acres’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘and reserved for the pro5 gram under subsection (c)’’. 

6 (f) CRITICAL CONSERVATION AREAS.—Section 

7 1271F(b)(1)(C) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

8 U.S.C. 3871f(b)(1)(C)) is amended by inserting ‘‘enhanc9 ing the quality of surface water and groundwater used to 

10 supply drinking water by community water systems (as 

11 defined in the Safe Drinking Water Act) and domestic 

12 wells,’’ after ‘‘sediment control,’’. 

13 (g) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

14 this section shall apply with respect to partnership agree15 ments entered into on or after October 1, 2018. 

16 Subtitle E—Establishing Innova17 tive Grants for Conservation 

18 and Loans for Structural Im19 provements 

20 SEC. 241. REPEAL AND REESTABLISHMENT OF EQIP CON21 SERVATION INNOVATION GRANT PROGRAM. 

22 (a) CONSERVATION INNOVATION GRANTS AND PAY23 MENTS.— 


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1 (1) REPEAL.—Section 1240H of the Food Se2 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–8) is re3 pealed. 

4 (2) TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS.— 

5 (A) EFFECT ON EXISTING CONTRACTS.— 

6 The amendment made by this subsection shall 

7 not affect the validity or terms of any contract 

8 entered into by the Secretary of Agriculture 

9 under section 1240H of the Food Security Act 

10 of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–8) before October 

11 1, 2018, or any payments required to be made 

12 in connection with the contract. 

13 (B) FUNDING.—The Secretary may use 

14 funds made available to carry out conservation 

15 innovation grants and payments under section 

16 1240S of title XII of the Food Security Act of 

17 1985, as added by subsection (b) of this sec18 tion, to continue to carry out contracts referred 

19 to in subparagraph (A) using the provisions of 

20 law and regulation applicable to such contracts 

21 as they existed on September 30, 2018. 

22 (b) CONSERVATION INNOVATION GRANT PRO23 GRAM.—Chapter 5 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food 

24 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb et seq.) is amend25 ed by adding at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1240S. CONSERVATION INNOVATION GRANT PRO2 GRAM. 

3 ‘‘(a) COMPETITIVE GRANTS FOR INNOVATIVE CON4 SERVATION APPROACHES.—The Secretary shall, for each 

5 of fiscal years 2019 through 2023, carry out a conserva6 tion innovation grant program to encourage innovation in 

7 conservation on private farmland, rangeland, wetlands, 

8 grasslands, and forest lands. 

9 ‘‘(b) USE.—The Secretary shall provide grants under 

10 this section to governmental and nongovernmental organi11 zations and persons, on a competitive basis, to carry out 

12 projects that— 

13 ‘‘(1) develop and test innovative and cost-effec14 tive technologies and practices and methods of con15 servation delivery to address priority resource con16 cerns; 

17 ‘‘(2) involve producers who are eligible for pay18 ments or technical assistance under this title; 

19 ‘‘(3) leverage Federal funds made available to 

20 carry out this section with matching funds provided 

21 by State and local governments and private organi22 zations to promote environmental enhancement and 

23 protection in conjunction with agricultural produc24 tion; 

25 ‘‘(4) ensure efficient and effective transfer of 

26 innovative technologies and approaches demVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:05 Nov 21, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00066 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4425.IH H4425

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1 onstrated through projects that receive funding 

2 under this subsection, such as market systems for 

3 pollution reduction and practices for the storage of 

4 carbon in soil; 

5 ‘‘(5) provide environmental and resource con6 servation benefits through increased participation by 

7 producers of specialty crops; 

8 ‘‘(6) provide payments to producers to imple9 ment cost-effective and innovative technologies to 

10 address priority resource concerns related to air 

11 quality from agricultural operations; or 

12 ‘‘(7) provide environmental and resource con13 servation benefits through increased participation by 

14 beginning farmers and ranchers and socially dis15 advantaged farmers and ranchers. 

16 ‘‘(c) EVALUATION CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall 

17 develop criteria for evaluating applications for competitive 

18 grants under this section that will ensure that priority re19 source concerns are effectively addressed.’’. 

20 SEC. 242. CONSERVATION LOAN AND LOAN GUARANTEE 

21 PROGRAM. 

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

23 1985 (16 U.S.C. et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

24 the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1246. CONSERVATION LOAN AND LOAN GUARANTEE 

2 PROGRAM. 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make or 

4 guarantee qualified conservation loans to eligible bor5 rowers under this section. 

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

7 ‘‘(1) QUALIFIED CONSERVATION LOAN.—The 

8 term ‘qualified conservation loan’ means a loan, the 

9 proceeds of which are used to cover the costs to the 

10 borrower of carrying out a qualified conservation 

11 project. 

12 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED CONSERVATION PROJECT.— 

13 The term ‘qualified conservation project’ means con14 servation measures that address provisions of a com15 prehensive conservation plan of the eligible borrower. 

16 ‘‘(3) CONSERVATION LOAN PLAN.—The term 

17 ‘conservation loan plan’ means a plan, approved by 

18 the Secretary, that, for a farming or ranching oper19 ation, identifies— 

20 ‘‘(A) the conservation activities that will be 

21 addressed with loan funds provided under this 

22 section, including— 

23 ‘‘(i) the installation of conservation 

24 structures to address soil, water, and re25 lated resources; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the establishment of forest cover 

2 for sustained yield timber management, 

3 erosion control, or shelterbelt purposes; 

4 ‘‘(iii) the installation of water con5 servation measures; 

6 ‘‘(iv) the installation of waste manage7 ment systems; 

8 ‘‘(v) the establishment or improve9 ment of permanent pasture; or 

10 ‘‘(vi) other purposes consistent with 

11 the plan, including the adoption of any 

12 other emerging or existing conservation 

13 practices, techniques, or technologies ap14 proved by the Secretary; and 

15 ‘‘(B) how and to what extent the conserva16 tion project will support the implementation of 

17 a comprehensive conservation plan and improve 

18 the conditions of identified priority resource 

19 concerns. 

20 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE BORROWERS.— 

21 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 

22 or guarantee qualified conservation loans under this 

23 section to— 


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1 ‘‘(A) farmers or ranchers engaged pri2 marily and directly in agricultural production in 

3 the United States; or 

4 ‘‘(B) farm cooperatives, private domestic 

5 corporations, partnerships, joint operations, 

6 trusts, or limited liability companies that are— 

7 ‘‘(i) controlled by farmers or ranchers; 

8 and 

9 ‘‘(ii) engaged primarily and directly in 

10 agricultural production in the United 

11 States. 

12 ‘‘(2) CONSERVATION LOAN PLAN.—In order to 

13 be eligible to receive a loan or loan guarantee under 

14 this section, an entity described in paragraph (1) 

15 shall have a conservation loan plan. 

16 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY.—In making or guaranteeing qualified 

17 conservation loans under this section, the Secretary shall 

18 give priority to— 

19 ‘‘(1) qualified beginning farmers or ranchers 

20 and socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers; 

21 ‘‘(2) owners or tenants who use the loans to 

22 convert to sustainable or organic agricultural pro23 duction systems; 

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1 tices to implement a comprehensive conservation 

2 plan; 

3 ‘‘(4) projects that will do the most to address 

4 priority resource concerns, as specified in a con5 servation loan plan; and 

6 ‘‘(5) projects that are designed to help pro7 ducers comply with, or avoid the need for, local, 

8 State, or Federal regulation. 

9 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS APPLICABLE TO LOAN GUARAN10 TEES.—The portion of a qualified conservation loan that 

11 the Secretary may guarantee under this section shall be 

12 not more than 90 percent of the principal amount of the 

13 loan. 

14 ‘‘(f) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—The Sec16 retary shall ensure, to the maximum extent prac17 ticable, that qualified conservation loans made or 

18 guaranteed under this section are distributed across 

19 diverse geographic regions, while still prioritizing 

20 qualified conservation projects with the greatest con21 servation or environmental benefit. 

22 ‘‘(2) AGENCY COOPERATION.—The Secretary 

23 shall ensure proper cooperation between the Natural 

24 Resources Conservation Service, which shall review 

25 and approve comprehensive loan plans and provide 


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1 technical assistance for qualified conservation 

2 projects, and the Farm Service Agency, which will 

3 approve and issue loans and loan guarantees under 

4 this section. 

5 ‘‘(3) INTEREST RATES.—The Secretary shall 

6 ensure that a loan made under this section is made 

7 at or below market rate.’’. 

8 Subtitle F—Ensuring Greenhouse 

9 Gas Reporting for Agriculture 

10 SEC. 251. GREENHOUSE GAS REPORTING. 

11 (a) REPORTING PROGRAM.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1, 

13 2020, the Secretary, in consultation with the Admin14 istrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and 

15 the Secretary of the Interior, shall establish and im16 plement a program to identify all major source cat17 egories of associated emissions and collect data on 

18 associated emissions from the production of agricul19 tural commodities and their food products in the 

20 United States, including— 

21 (A) emissions of greenhouse gases from the 

22 livestock industry, including from concentrated 

23 animal feeding operations, as defined by the 

24 Secretary; and 


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1 (B) emissions of greenhouse gases from 

2 the production of commodity and specialty 

3 crops, including the tilling of soil, and the use 

4 of synthetic fertilizer. 

5 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 12 

6 months after the date that the Secretary implements 

7 the program described in paragraph (1), and annu8 ally thereafter, the Secretary shall issue a report, to 

9 be made available to the public and the appropriate 

10 committees of Congress, on associated emissions, in11 cluding— 

12 (A) identification of all major source cat13 egories of associated emissions; 

14 (B) the total amount, expressed in tons of 

15 carbon dioxide equivalent, of— 

16 (i) carbon dioxide, methane, and other 

17 greenhouse gases emitted through trans18 portation of agriculture products to market 

19 within the United States during the pre20 ceding calendar year; 

21 (ii) carbon dioxide, methane, and 

22 other greenhouse gases emitted through 

23 the rearing, raising, slaughter, and proc24 essing of poultry and livestock products in 

25 the United States, including those carbon 


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1 dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse 

2 gases emitted by manure management sys3 tems; 

4 (iii) carbon dioxide, methane, and 

5 other greenhouse gases emitted by the use 

6 of fertilizer in the production of commodity 

7 and specialty crops; and 

8 (iv) carbon dioxide, methane, and 

9 other greenhouse gases emitted by the till10 age of soil in the production of commodity 

11 and specialty crops; and 

12 (C) identification of all major agricultural 

13 practices that can reduce the emission of car14 bon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse 

15 gases, including— 

16 (i) the use of cover crops; 

17 (ii) the reduction and elimination of 

18 soil tillage, the successive planting of dif19 ferent crops on the same land, and other 

20 soil management practices; 

21 (iii) the use of rotational grazing on 

22 pasture for livestock; 

23 (iv) the use of anaerobic digesters to 

24 process organic material; 


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1 (v) the use of buffer crops to reduce 

2 soil erosion; and 

3 (vi) other practices that can yield sig4 nificant reductions in the emission of car5 bon dioxide, methane, and other green6 house gases by producers of agricultural 

7 commodities and their food products. 

8 (b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

9 (1) GREENHOUSE GAS.—The term ‘‘greenhouse 

10 gas’’ has the meaning given such term under section 

11 211(o)(1)(G) of the Clean Air Act, as in effect on 

12 the date of the enactment of the Food and Farm 

13 Act. 

14 (2) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 

15 States’’ has the meaning given such term under sec16 tion 5911(a)(4) of title 5, United States Code, as in 

17 effect on the date of the enactment of the Food and 

18 Farm Act. 

19 SEC. 252. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

20 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

21 this subtitle such sums as may be necessary for each of 

22 fiscal years 2019 through 2023. 


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1 Subtitle G—Administration and 

2 Funding 

3 SEC. 261. COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 1241(a) of the Food Se5 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(a)) is amended to 

6 read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(a) ANNUAL FUNDING.—For each of fiscal years 

8 2019 through 2023, the Secretary shall use the funds, fa9 cilities, and authorities of the Commodity Credit Corpora10 tion to carry out the following programs under this title 

11 (including the provision of technical assistance): 

12 ‘‘(1) The conservation reserve program under 

13 subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D, including, 

14 to the maximum extent practicable— 

15 ‘‘(A) $20,000,000 for the period of fiscal 

16 years 2019 through 2023 to provide payments 

17 under section 1234(c); and 

18 ‘‘(B) $66,000,000 for the period of fiscal 

19 years 2019 through 2023 to carry out section 

20 1235(f) to facilitate the transfer of land subject 

21 to contracts from retired or retiring owners and 

22 operators to beginning farmers or ranchers and 

23 socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers. 

24 ‘‘(2) The agricultural conservation easement 

25 program under subtitle H, using, to the maximum 


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1 extent practicable, $810,000,000 for each of fiscal 

2 years 2019 through 2023. 

3 ‘‘(3) The conservation security program under 

4 subchapter A of chapter 2 of subtitle D, using such 

5 sums as are necessary to administer contracts en6 tered into before September 30, 2008. 

7 ‘‘(4) The conservation stewardship program 

8 under subchapter B of chapter 2 of subtitle D. 

9 ‘‘(5) The environmental quality incentives pro10 gram under chapter 4 of subtitle D, using, to the 

11 maximum extent practicable, $3,200,000,000 for 

12 each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023. 

13 ‘‘(6) The conservation innovation grant pro14 gram under section 1240S, using, to the maximum 

15 extent practicable, $100,000,000 for each fiscal 

16 year. 

17 ‘‘(7) The conservation loan and loan guarantee 

18 program under section 1246, using, to the maximum 

19 extent practicable, for each fiscal year— 

20 ‘‘(A) $200,000,000 for direct loans; and 

21 ‘‘(B) $150,000,000 for loan guarantees.’’. 

22 (b) GUARANTEED AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Sec23 tion 1241 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

24 3841) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subsections (b) through (i) 

2 as subsections (c) through (j), respectively; and 

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(b) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para7 graph (2), amounts made available by subsection (a) 

8 shall be used by the Secretary to carry out the pro9 grams specified in such subsection for fiscal years 

10 2019 through 2023 and shall remain available until 

11 expended. Amounts made available for the programs 

12 specified in such subsection during a fiscal year 

13 through modifications, cancellations, terminations, 

14 and other related administrative actions and not ob15 ligated in that fiscal year shall remain available for 

16 obligation during subsequent fiscal years, but shall 

17 reduce the amount of additional funds made avail18 able in the subsequent fiscal year by an amount 

19 equal to the amount remaining unobligated. 

20 ‘‘(2) CONSERVATION INNOVATION GRANT PRO21 GRAM.—Amounts made available by subsection 

22 (a)(6) for a fiscal year and not obligated in that fis23 cal year shall be made available for the environ24 mental quality incentives program under chapter 4 


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1 of subtitle D, and shall remain available until ex2 pended.’’. 

3 (c) ASSISTANCE TO CERTAIN FARMERS OR RANCH4 ERS FOR CONSERVATION ACCESS.—Section 1241(i) of the 

5 Food Security Act of 1985 (as redesignated by subsection 

6 (b)) is amended, in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 

7 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘2018’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘2023’’. 

9 TITLE III—FOOD ASSISTANCE 

10 SEC. 301. ELIMINATION OF DOMESTIC PROCUREMENT RE11 STRICTION FOR EMERGENCY AND PRIVATE 

12 ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS UNDER THE FOOD 

13 FOR PEACE ACT. 

14 Title II of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1721) 

15 is amended— 

16 (1) in section 201 (7 U.S.C. 1721), in the mat17 ter preceding paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘agricul18 tural commodities’’ and inserting ‘‘assistance, in19 cluding agricultural commodities,’’; and 

20 (2) in section 202 (7 U.S.C. 1722)— 

21 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

22 ‘‘AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘ASSISTANCE’’; 


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1 (B) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘agricul2 tural commodities’’ and inserting ‘‘assistance, 

3 including agricultural commodities,’’; 

4 (C) in subsection (b)(1)— 

5 (i) by striking ‘‘agricultural commod6 ities’’ and inserting ‘‘assistance, including 

7 agricultural commodities,’’; and 

8 (ii) by striking ‘‘the commodities’’ and 

9 inserting ‘‘the assistance’’; 

10 (D) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘Agricul11 tural commodities’’ and inserting ‘‘Assistance, 

12 including agricultural commodities,’’; and 

13 (E) in subsection (f)— 

14 (i) in the subsection heading, by strik15 ing ‘‘COMMODITIES’’ and inserting ‘‘AS16 SISTANCE’’; 

17 (ii) in the matter preceding paragraph 

18 (1), by striking ‘‘agricultural commodities’’ 

19 and inserting ‘‘assistance, including agri20 cultural commodities,’’; 

21 (iii) in the matter preceding para22 graph (1), by striking ‘‘such commodities’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘such assistance’’; and 

24 (iv) in paragraph (5), by striking 

25 ‘‘commodities’’ and inserting ‘‘assistance’’. 


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1 SEC. 302. ELIMINATION OF CAP ON SUPPORT FOR ELIGI2 BLE ORGANIZATIONS FOR CERTAIN PUR3 POSES. 

4 Section 202(e)(1) of the Food for Peace Act (7 

5 U.S.C. 1722) is amended by striking ‘‘not more than 20 

6 percent’’. 

7 SEC. 303. ELIMINATION OF MINIMUM LEVEL OF LOCAL 

8 SALES REQUIREMENT UNDER THE FOOD FOR 

9 PEACE ACT. 

10 Section 203 of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 

11 1723) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting before the pe13 riod at the end the following: ‘‘to generate proceeds 

14 to be used as provided in this section’’; 

15 (2) by striking subsection (b); and 

16 (3) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

17 subsections (b) and (c), respectively. 

18 SEC. 304. FOOD FOR PEACE ACT EXTENSIONS. 

19 (a) FOOD AID QUALITY ASSURANCE.—Section 

20 202(h)(3) of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 

21 1722(h)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘2018’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘2023’’. 

23 (b) MINIMUM LEVELS OF ASSISTANCE.—Section 

24 204(a) of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1724(a)) is 

25 amended in paragraphs (1) and (2) by striking ‘‘2018’’ 

26 both places it appears and inserting ‘‘2023’’. 


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1 (c) FOOD AID CONSULTATIVE GROUP TERMI2 NATION.—Section 205(f) of the Food for Peace Act (7 

3 U.S.C. 1725(f)) is amended by striking ‘‘2018’’ and in4 serting ‘‘2023’’. 

5 (d) DEADLINE FOR ISSUANCE OF REGULATIONS.— 

6 Section 207(c)(1) of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 

7 1726a(c)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘the Agricultural Act 

8 of 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘the Food and Farm Act’’. 

9 (e) PROGRAM OVERSIGHT, MONITORING, AND EVAL10 UATION.—Section 207(f)(4) of the Food for Peace Act (7 

11 U.S.C. 1726a(f)(4)) is amended— 

12 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘2018’’ 

13 both places it appears and inserting ‘‘2023’’; and 

14 (2) in subparagraph (B)(i), by striking ‘‘2018’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘2023’’. 

16 (f) ASSISTANCE FOR STOCKPILING AND RAPID

17 TRANSPORTATION, DELIVERY, AND DISTRIBUTION OF

18 SHELF-STABLE PREPACKAGED FOODS.—Section 208(f) 

19 of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1726b(f)) is amended 

20 by striking ‘‘2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2023’’. 

21 (g) PREPOSITIONING OF AGRICULTURAL COMMOD22 ITIES.—Section 407(c)(4)(A) of the Food for Peace Act 

23 (7 U.S.C. 1736a(c)(4)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘2018’’ 

24 the both places it appears and inserting ‘‘2023’’. 


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1 (h) AGREEMENTS TO FINANCE SALES OR TO PRO2 VIDE OTHER ASSISTANCE.—Section 408 of the Food for 

3 Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1736b) is amended by striking 

4 ‘‘2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2023’’. 

5 (i) MINIMUM LEVEL OF NONEMERGENCY FOOD AS6 SISTANCE.—Section 412(e)(1) of the Food for Peace Act 

7 (7 U.S.C. 1736f(e)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘2018’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘2023’’. 

9 (j) MICRONUTRIENT FORTIFICATION PROGRAMS.— 

10 Section 415(c) of the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 

11 1736g–2(c)) is amended by striking ‘‘2018’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘2023’’. 

13 (k) FARMER-TO-FARMER PROGRAM.—Section 501 of 

14 the Food for Peace Act (7 U.S.C. 1737) is amended in 

15 subsections (d) and (e)(1) by striking ‘‘2018’’ both places 

16 it appears and inserting ‘‘2023’’. 

17 TITLE IV—NUTRITION 

18 Subtitle A—Increasing Access to 

19 Healthy Foods 

20 SEC. 401. EXPANDING HEALTHY FOOD FINANCING INITIA21 TIVE. 

22 (a) INCLUSION OF INVESTMENTS IN MID-TIER

23 VALUE CHAIN COORDINATION.—Section 243 of the De24 partment of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 

25 U.S.C. 6953) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a)— 

2 (A) by inserting ‘‘, to build and sustain 

3 mid-tier value chain coordination’’ after ‘‘qual4 ity jobs’’; and 

5 (B) by inserting ‘‘and local and regional 

6 food supply networks’’ after ‘‘healthy food re7 tailers’’; and 

8 (2) in subsection (c)(2)— 

9 (A) in subparagraph (B)— 

10 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

11 clause (i); 

12 (ii) by redesignating clause (ii) as 

13 clause (iii); and 

14 (iii) by inserting after clause (ii) the 

15 following new clause: 

16 ‘‘(ii) to link farmers, ranchers, and 

17 fisheries with local and regional food sup18 ply networks moving agricultural products 

19 of mid-tier value chains to consumers in 

20 underserved areas with moderate- and low21 income populations; and’’; and 

22 (B) in subparagraph (C)(ii)— 

23 (i) by redesignating subclause (VI) as 

24 subclause (VII); and 


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1 (ii) by inserting after subclause (V) 

2 the following new subclause: 

3 ‘‘(VI) The project creates or 

4 strengthens a mid-tier value chain.’’. 

5 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 243(b) of the Depart6 ment of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 

7 6953(b)) is amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through 

9 (7) as paragraphs (4) through (8), respectively; and 

10 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol11 lowing new paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(3) MID-TIER VALUE CHAIN.—The term ‘mid13 tier value chain’ has the meaning given the term in 

14 section 231 of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act 

15 of 2000 (7 U.S.C. 1632a).’’. 

16 (c) AVAILABILITY OF MANDATORY FUNDING.—Sub17 section (d) of section 243 of the Department of Agri18 culture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6953) is 

19 amended to read as follows: 

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

21 Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out 

22 the Initiative $25,000,000, to remain available until ex23 pended, for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.’’. 


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1 SEC. 402. HELPING SCHOOLS SERVE HEALTHIER MEALS. 

2 Section 6(f) of the Richard B. Russell National 

3 School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1755(f)) is amended— 

4 (1) in the subsection heading, by striking 

5 ‘‘PILOT PROJECT FOR PROCUREMENT OF UNPROC6 ESSED FRUITS AND VEGETABLES’’ and inserting 

7 ‘‘PROGRAM FOR PROCUREMENT OF UNPROCESSED

8 FRUITS AND VEGETABLES’’; 

9 (2) by striking ‘‘pilot project’’ each place it ap10 pears and inserting ‘‘program’’; 

11 (3) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol12 lows: 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall facili14 tate the procurement of unprocessed fruits and vege15 tables in not fewer than 15 States receiving funds 

16 under this Act.’’; and 

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

18 paragraph: 

19 ‘‘(6) FUNDING.— 

20 ‘‘(A) MANDATORY FUNDING.—There is ap21 propriated to carry out this section, including 

22 through the provision of technical assistance, 

23 outreach, and other implementation assistance, 

24 $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 

25 through 2023. 


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1 ‘‘(B) RESERVATION.—Of the funds appro2 priated under subparagraph (A) for a fiscal 

3 year, $6,000,000 shall be used to carry out 

4 technical assistance to eligible vendors to be5 come certified to participate in the program 

6 under this section.’’. 

7 SEC. 403. STRENGTHENING THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURE 

8 SERVICE LEARNING PROGRAM. 

9 Section 413 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, 

10 and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7633) is 

11 amended— 

12 (1) subsection (b)(4), by inserting ‘‘, to promote 

13 agricultural education, and raise awareness about 

14 the consequences of wasted food and encourage the 

15 implementation of food recovery initiatives to reduce 

16 the quantity of wasted food’’ before the semicolon; 

17 (2) in subsection (c)— 

18 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

19 (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

20 ‘‘and where food comes from; and’’ and in21 serting ‘‘where food comes from, the con22 sequences of food waste, and food recovery 

23 initiatives;’’; 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

2 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

3 and’’; and 

4 (iii) by adding at the end the fol5 lowing new subparagraph: 

6 ‘‘(E) have the capacity to execute regional 

7 or national projects that include 2 or more 

8 States.’’; and 

9 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(3) RESERVATION.—The majority of the funds 

12 made available to carry out this subsection shall be 

13 reserved for projects that— 

14 ‘‘(A) are larger in scale as compared to 

15 other proposed projects; 

16 ‘‘(B) are national or regional in scope; and 

17 ‘‘(C) include 2 or more States.’’; and 

18 (3) in subsection (e)(1), by striking the para19 graph and inserting in its place the following new 

20 paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds 

22 available to the Commodity Credit Corporation, the 

23 Secretary shall use $5,000,000 for each of fiscal 

24 years 2019 through 2023 to carry out the Initiative. 


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1 Amounts made available under this subsection shall 

2 remain available until expended.’’. 

3 SEC. 404. HARVESTING HEALTH PROGRAM. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary Agriculture shall, 

5 in coordination with other Federal agencies, award grants 

6 to eligible entities to conduct pilot projects to demonstrate 

7 and evaluate the impact of produce prescription programs 

8 for low-income individuals and households. 

9 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the pilot projects re10 quired under this section is to demonstrate and evaluate 

11 the impact of produce prescription programs in areas with 

12 poverty and households with diet-related health issues with 

13 respect to the following: 

14 (1) The reduction of individual and household 

15 food insecurity. 

16 (2) The support for local and regional agri17 culture and economic development. 

18 (3) The increased domestic consumption of 

19 produce. 

20 (4) The reduction in health care use and associ21 ated costs. 

22 (c) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this section, the term ‘‘el23 igible entity’’ means— 

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1 ance Act of 1983 (7 U.S.C. 7501)), in partnership 

2 with— 

3 (A) a hospital; 

4 (B) a Federally-qualified health center (as 

5 such term is defined in section 1905(l)(2)(B) of 

6 the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

7 1396d(l)(2)(B))); 

8 (C) a hospital or clinic operated by the De9 partment of Veterans Affairs; or 

10 (D) a provider group; 

11 (2) a farmer’s market, community supported 

12 agriculture entity, cooperative, local public benefit 

13 corporation, nonprofit organization, retail food store 

14 authorized under the supplemental nutrition assist15 ance program; 

16 (3) a local or State government agency, in part17 nership with any of the entities described in sub18 paragraphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1); and 

19 (4) any of the entities described in subpara20 graphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (1), in part21 nership with an— 

22 (A) emergency feeding organization; 

23 (B) entity described in paragraph (2); or 

24 (C) a local or State government agency. 


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1 (d) DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.—To be eligible to re2 ceive a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall 

3 submit an application, at such time, in such manner, and 

4 containing such information as the Secretary may require, 

5 including— 

6 (1) a description of methods for how the 

7 produce prescription program would be targeted to 

8 low-income individuals and households with existing 

9 diet-related health issues; 

10 (2) a description and plan for the screening and 

11 recruitment of low-income individuals and house12 holds with existing diet-related health issues; 

13 (3) a description of plans for the evaluation of 

14 program participants and partners focused on pur15 poses described under subsection (b); 

16 (4) a description of plans for the inclusion of 

17 nutrition education opportunities for program par18 ticipants; 

19 (5) a description of the program partnerships 

20 and the role of each partner in implementing and 

21 evaluating an effective program; 

22 (6) documentation of the necessary partnership 

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1 ating the programs effectiveness in reducing health 

2 care use and associated costs; and 

3 (7) data as requested by the Secretary for pur4 poses of analyzing the impact of the project. 

5 (e) EVALUATION.—In carrying out this section, the 

6 Secretary may enter into memorandums of understanding 

7 with Federal and States agencies and private partners to 

8 ensure the effective implementation and evaluation of the 

9 program. 

10 (f) PRODUCE PRESCRIPTION PROGRAM DEFINED.— 

11 In this section, the term ‘‘produce prescription program’’ 

12 means a program— 

13 (1) under which fresh fruits and vegetables are 

14 prescribed to individuals or households who are at15 risk due to health status or income; and 

16 (2) that may provide— 

17 (A) financial incentives for individuals de18 scribed in paragraph (1) to purchase fruits and 

19 vegetables; 

20 (B) education resources on nutrition to 

21 such individuals; and 

22 (C) accessible locations for participants to 

23 procure fresh fruits and vegetables. 

24 (g) FUNDING.— 


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1 (1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of 

2 the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 

3 shall use to carry out this section $10,000,000, to 

4 remain available until expended, for each of fiscal 

5 years 2019 through 2023. 

6 (2) DISCRETIONARY FUNDING.—There is au7 thorized to be appropriated to carry out this sub8 section $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 

9 through 2023. 

10 Subtitle B—Improving the Supple11 mental Nutrition Assistance 

12 Program 

13 SEC. 411. CONTINUING THE FARMERS’ MARKETS SUPPLE14 MENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 

15 SUPPORT GRANT PROGRAM. 

16 (a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 

17 (1) to support the participation of farmers’ 

18 markets in the supplemental nutrition assistance 

19 program by providing equipment and support grants 

20 to new markets and those currently participating in 

21 the program; 

22 (2) to increase access to the supplemental nu23 trition assistance program and participation at farm24 ers’ markets by households that receive program 

25 benefits; and 


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1 (3) to support the establishment, expansion, 

2 and promotion of electronic benefits transfer services 

3 at farmers’ markets for the acceptance of program 

4 benefits. 

5 (b) ESTABLISHMENT OF GRANT PROGRAM.—To 

6 carry out the purposes of this section, the Secretary of 

7 Agriculture shall establish a program to make grants each 

8 fiscal year to eligible entities to conduct tasks that are 

9 necessary for the supplemental nutrition assistance pro10 gram to operate at farmers’ markets, and to increase the 

11 frequency and effectiveness of farmers’ market participa12 tion in the supplemental nutrition assistance program. 

13 (1) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sec14 tion: 

15 (A) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—the term ‘‘eligible 

16 entity’’ means— 

17 (i) a Native American tribal organiza18 tion nonprofit organization; 

19 (ii) a Native American tribal govern20 ment; 

21 (iii) a State or unit of general purpose 

22 local government of a State; 

23 (iv) a farmers’ market association; 

24 (v) a public benefit corporation; 


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1 (vi) an economic development corpora2 tion; 

3 (vii) a regional farmers’ market au4 thority; or 

5 (viii) a nonprofit organization engaged 

6 in farmers’ market management. 

7 (B) DEFINITIONS.— 

8 (i) SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION AS9 SISTANCE PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘supple10 mental nutrition assistance program’’ 

11 means the supplemental nutrition assist12 ance program as defined in section 3 of the 

13 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 

14 2012). 

15 (ii) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means 

16 any of the several States or the District of 

17 Columbia. 

18 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

19 authorized to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of the 

20 fiscal years 2019 through 2023. 

21 SEC. 412. EXPANDING AND INCREASING SUPPORT FOR THE 

22 FOOD INSECURITY NUTRITION INCENTIVES 

23 PROGRAM. 

24 Section 4405 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy 

25 Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 7517) is amended— 


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1 (1) subsection (b)(2)(B)— 

2 (A) in clause (v) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

3 end; 

4 (B) by redesignating clause (vi) as clause 

5 (vii); and 

6 (C) by inserting the following after clause 

7 (v): 

8 ‘‘(vi) facilitate the provision of supple9 mental nutrition assistance program 

10 matching incentive programs, particularly 

11 for locally sourced produce, at approved re12 tail stores, particularly those located in un13 derserved areas; and’’; and 

14 (2) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol15 lows: 

16 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.— 

17 ‘‘(1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

18 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

19 subsection (b) $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

20 2019 through 2023. 

21 ‘‘(2) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds 

22 available to the Commodity Credit Corporation, the 

23 Secretary shall use to carry out subsection (b) 

24 $70,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 

25 2023.’’. 


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1 SEC. 413. CLOSING THE MEAL GAP. 

2 (a) CALCULATION OF PROGRAM BENEFITS.—The 

3 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) in section 3 (7 U.S.C. 2012)— 

6 (A) by striking subsection (u); 

7 (B) by redesignating subsections (n) 

8 through (t) as subsections (o) through (u), re9 spectively; and 

10 (C) by inserting after subsection (m) the 

11 following: 

12 ‘‘(n) ‘Low-cost food plan’ means the diet required to 

13 feed a family of four persons, consisting of a man and 

14 a woman nineteen through fifty, a child six through eight, 

15 and a child nine through eleven years of age, determined 

16 in accordance with the Secretary’s calculations. The cost 

17 of such diet shall be the basis for uniform allotments for 

18 all households regardless of their actual composition, ex19 cept that the Secretary shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) make household-size adjustments (based 

21 on the unrounded cost of such diet) taking into ac22 count economies of scale; 

23 ‘‘(2) make cost adjustments in the low-cost food 

24 plan for Hawaii and the urban and rural parts of 

25 Alaska to reflect the cost of food in Hawaii and 

26 urban and rural Alaska; 


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1 ‘‘(3) make cost adjustments in the separate 

2 low-cost food plans for Guam, and the Virgin Is3 lands of the United States, to reflect the cost of food 

4 in those States, but not to exceed the cost of food 

5 in the 50 States and the District of Columbia; and 

6 ‘‘(4) on October 1, 2018, and each October 1 

7 thereafter, adjust the cost of the diet to reflect the 

8 cost of the diet in the preceding June, and round the 

9 result to the nearest lower dollar increment for each 

10 household size.’’; 

11 (2) in section 8(a) (7 U.S.C. 2017(a))— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘thrifty food plan’’ each 

13 place it appears, and inserting ‘‘low-cost food 

14 plan’’; and 

15 (B) by striking ‘‘8 percent’’ and inserting 

16 ‘‘10 percent’’; 

17 (3) in section 16(c)(1)(A)(ii) (7 U.S.C. 

18 2025(c)(1)(A)(ii))— 

19 (A) in subclause (I) by striking ‘‘for fiscal 

20 year 2014, at an amount not greater than $37’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘for fiscal year 2018, at an 

22 amount not greater than $50’’; and 

23 (B) in subclause (II)— 

24 (i) by striking ‘‘June 30, 2013’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘June 30, 2018’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘thrifty food plan’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘low-cost food plan’’; and 

3 (4) in section 19(a)(2)(A) (7 U.S.C. 

4 2028(a)(2)(A))— 

5 (A) in clause (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

6 end; 

7 (B) in clause (ii)— 

8 (i) by striking ‘‘each fiscal year there9 after’’ and inserting ‘‘each of the fiscal 

10 years 2004 through 2018’’; and 

11 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

12 and inserting a semicolon; and 

13 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(iii) for fiscal year 2019, 

15 $2,650,000,000; and 

16 ‘‘(iv) subject to the availability of ap17 propriations under section 18(a), for fiscal 

18 year 2019 and each fiscal year thereafter, 

19 the amount determined under clause (iii), 

20 as adjusted by the percentage by which the 

21 low-cost food plan has been adjusted under 

22 section 3(n)(4) between June 30, 2019, 

23 and June 30 of the immediately preceding 

24 fiscal year.’’. 


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1 (b) STANDARD MEDICAL EXPENSE DEDUCTION.— 

2 Section 5(e)(5) of the Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 

3 (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)(5)) is amended— 

4 (1) in subparagraph (A) by striking ‘‘an excess 

5 medical’’ and all that follows through the period at 

6 the end, and inserting ‘‘a standard medical deduc7 tion or to a medical expense deduction of actual 

8 costs for the allowable medical expenses incurred by 

9 the elderly or disabled member, exclusive of special 

10 diets.’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(D) The standard medical expense deduc13 tion shall be equal to $140 for fiscal year 2019, 

14 and for each subsequent fiscal year shall be 

15 equal to the applicable amount for the pre16 ceding fiscal year as adjusted to reflect changes 

17 for the 12-month period ending the preceding 

18 June 30 in the Consumer Price Index for All 

19 Urban Consumers: Medical Care published by 

20 the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the Depart21 ment of Labor, except that for any such fiscal 

22 year the State agency may establish a greater 

23 standard medical expense deduction that satis24 fies cost neutrality standards established by the 

25 Secretary for such fiscal year.’’. 


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1 (c) ELIMINATION OF CAP OF EXCESS SHELTER EX2 PENSES.—Section 5(e)(6) of the Food and Nutrition Act 

3 of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2014(e)(6)) is amended— 

4 (1) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

5 (2) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) and 

6 (D) as subparagraphs (B) and (C), respectively. 

7 (d) WORK REQUIREMENT.—Section 6(o)(3) of the 

8 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2015(o)(3)) 

9 is amended— 

10 (1) in subparagraph (D) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

11 end; 

12 (2) in subparagraph (E) by striking the period 

13 at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

14 (3) by adding at end the following: 

15 ‘‘(F) not offered a position in a program 

16 described in subparagraph (B) or (C) of para17 graph (2).’’. 

18 (e) FUNDING OF EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING PRO19 GRAMS.—Section 16(h)(1)(E)(ii)(II) of the Food and Nu20 trition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2025(h)(1)(E)(ii)(II)) is 

21 amended by inserting ‘‘subparagraphs (A) through (E) of’’ 

22 after ‘‘under’’. 

23 (f) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) FOOD AND NUTRITION ACT OF 2008.—The 

2 Food and Nutrition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et 

3 seq.) is amended— 

4 (A) in section 10 (7 U.S.C. 2019) by strik5 ing ‘‘3(p)’’ and inserting ‘‘3(q)’’; 

6 (B) in section 11 (7 U.S.C. 2012)— 

7 (i) in subsection (a)(2) by striking 

8 ‘‘3(t)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘3(u)(1)’’; and 

9 (ii) in subsection (d)— 

10 (I) by striking ‘‘3(t)(1)’’ each 

11 place it appears and inserting 

12 ‘‘3(u)(1)’’; and 

13 (II) by striking ‘‘3(t)(2)’’ each 

14 place it appears and inserting 

15 ‘‘3(u)(2)’’; 

16 (C) in section 19(a)(2)(A)(ii) (7 U.S.C. 

17 (a)(2)(A)(ii)) by striking ‘‘3(u)(4)’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘3(n)(4)’’; and 

19 (D) in section 27(a)(2) (7 U.S.C. 

20 2036(a)(2))— 

21 (i) in subparagraph (C) by striking 

22 ‘‘3(u)(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘3(n)(4)’’; and 

23 (ii) in subparagraph (E) by striking 

24 ‘‘3(u)(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘3(n)(4)’’. 


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1 (2) LOW-INCOME HOME ENERGY ASSISTANCE

2 ACT OF 1981.—Section 2605(f)(2)(A) of the Low-In3 come Home Energy Assistance Act of 1981 (42 

4 U.S.C. 8624(f)(2)(A)) is amended— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘5(e)(6)(C)(iv)(I)’’ and in6 serting ‘‘5(e)(6)(B)(iv)(1)’’; and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘(7 U.S.C. 

8 2014(e)(6)(C)(iv)(I))’’ and inserting ‘‘(7 U.S.C. 

9 2014(e)(6)(B)(iv)(I))’’. 

10 (g) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.—The Food and Nu11 trition Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2011 et seq.) is amended— 

12 (1) in section 5(a) (7 U.S.C. 2014(a)) by strik13 ing ‘‘3(n)(4)’’ each place it appears and inserting 

14 ‘‘3(m)(4)’’; 

15 (2) in section 8(f)(1)(A)(i) (7 U.S.C. 

16 2017(f)(1)(A)(i)) by striking ‘‘3(n)(5)’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘3(m)(5)’’; and 

18 (3) in section 17(b)(1)(B)(iv)(III)(aa) (7 U.S.C. 

19 2016(b)(1)(B)(iv)(III)(aa)) by striking ‘‘3(n)’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘3(m)’’. 


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1 TITLE V—FUTURE OF AMERICAN 

2 FARMERS 

3 Subtitle A—Defining Beginning 

4 Farmer or Rancher 

5 SEC. 501. BEGINNING FARMER OR RANCHER DEFINED. 

6 In this title, the term ‘‘beginning farmer or rancher’’ 

7 means an individual or entity who— 

8 (1) has not operated a farm or ranch, or who 

9 has operated a farm or ranch for not more than 10 

10 consecutive years; and 

11 (2) will materially and substantially participate 

12 in the operation of the farm or ranch. 

13 Subtitle B—Providing Resources 

14 for Beginning, Retiring, and So15 cially Disadvantaged Farmers 

16 and Ranchers 

17 SEC. 511. REAUTHORIZATION AND INCREASED FUNDING 

18 FOR OUTREACH AND ASSISTANCE FOR SO19 CIALLY DISADVANTAGED FARMERS AND 

20 RANCHERS AND VETERAN FARMERS AND 

21 RANCHERS. 

22 (a) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Subparagraph (A) of 

23 section 2501(a)(4) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 

24 and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a)(4)) is amended 

25 to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(A) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the 

2 funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, the 

3 Secretary shall make available to carry out this 

4 section— 

5 ‘‘(i) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(ii) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal 

8 years 2019 through 2023.’’. 

9 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

10 2501(a)(4)(E) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 

11 and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a)(4)(E)) is 

12 amended by striking ‘‘2018’’ and inserting ‘‘2023’’. 

13 SEC. 512. ENSURING PERMANENT FUNDING FOR BEGIN14 NING FARMER AND RANCHER DEVELOPMENT 

15 PROGRAM. 

16 Section 7405(h)(1)(C) of the Farm Security and 

17 Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3319f(h)(1)(C)) 

18 is amended— 

19 (1) by striking ‘‘$20,000,000’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘$50,000,000’’; and 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘through 2018’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘and each fiscal year thereafter’’. 


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1 SEC. 513. SUPPORTING BEGINNING FARMER PARTICIPA2 TION IN CERTAIN CONSERVATION PRO3 GRAMS. 

4 Section 1241(h)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

5 (16 U.S.C. 3841(h)(1)) is amended— 

6 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘5 per7 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘20 percent’’; and 

8 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘5 per9 cent’’ and inserting ‘‘15 percent’’. 

10 SEC. 514. CREATING A PRIORITY FOR PARTICIPATION OF 

11 BEGINNING FARMERS AND RANCHERS IN 

12 FARMERS’ MARKET AND LOCAL FOOD PRO13 MOTION PROGRAM. 

14 Subsection (e) of section 6 of the Farmer-to-Con15 sumer Direct Marketing Act of 1976 (7 U.S.C. 3005) is 

16 amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(e) PRIORITIES.—In providing grants under the 

18 Program, priority shall be given to applications that in19 clude— 

20 ‘‘(1) projects that will benefit underserved com21 munities, including communities that are located in 

22 areas of concentrated poverty with limited access to 

23 fresh locally or regionally grown food; and 

24 ‘‘(2) with respect to beginning farmers and 

25 ranchers, socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:05 Nov 21, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00106 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4425.IH H4425

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1 ers, and veteran farmers, projects in which such 

2 farmers and ranchers are participants.’’. 

3 SEC. 515. SUPPORTING BEGINNING FARMERS AND RANCH4 ERS THROUGH FARM SERVICE AGENCY LIAI5 SONS. 

6 Section 226 of the Department of Agriculture Reor7 ganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6932) is amended by 

8 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(i) BEGINNING FARMERS AND RANCHERS LIAI10 SON.— 

11 ‘‘(1) POSITION ESTABLISHED.—The Secretary 

12 shall establish within each State office of the Con13 solidated Farm Service Agency the position of Be14 ginning Farmers and Ranchers Liaison to carry out 

15 the duties described in paragraph (2). 

16 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Beginning Farmers and 

17 Ranchers Liaison shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) provide technical assistance to begin19 ning farmers and ranchers to direct such farm20 ers and ranchers toward appropriate Federal 

21 resources and opportunities, including available 

22 Federal grant programs; and 

23 ‘‘(B) promote coordination among Federal 

24 programs available to beginning farmers and 

25 ranchers.’’. 


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1 SEC. 516. FACILITATING SUCCESSION PLANNING THROUGH 

2 THE CREATION OF FARM SERVICE AGENCY 

3 REGIONAL PLANNERS. 

4 Section 7405 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest5 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 3319f) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub7 section (i); and 

8 (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol9 lowing new subsection: 

10 ‘‘(h) REGIONAL PLANNERS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall es12 tablish a regional planner for each of the 12 regions 

13 identified by the National Agricultural Statistics 

14 Service. 

15 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The regional planners estab16 lished under paragraph (1) shall— 

17 ‘‘(A) establish and maintain one accurate, 

18 current, and unbiased database of resources to 

19 help farmers undertaking succession planning; 

20 and 

21 ‘‘(B) coordinate with Federal, State, and 

22 private stakeholders, including land-grant col23 leges and universities and extension service, to 

24 understand farmer and rancher needs in each 

25 state within the respective regions, and to work 

26 with these stakeholders to provide farmers and 


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1 ranchers information regarding relevant succes2 sion planning resources and opportunities based 

3 on those needs.’’. 

4 SEC. 517. ENSURING A VIBRANT AGRICULTURAL SECTOR 

5 THROUGH THE CREATION OF A LAND TEN6 URE COMMISSION. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 1 year after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

9 Agriculture shall establish a commission to be known as 

10 the Land Tenure Commission (in this section referred to 

11 as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

12 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

13 (1) TOTAL MEMBERSHIP.—The Commission 

14 shall be comprised of 10 members who shall be ap15 pointed by the Secretary for a term of 3 years in ac16 cordance with paragraph (2). 

17 (2) MEMBERS.—The Commission members 

18 shall include one representative from each the fol19 lowing categories: 

20 (A) The Farm Service Agency. 

21 (B) The Natural Resources Conservation 

22 Service. 

23 (C) State programs focused on land ten24 ure. 


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1 (D) Private nonprofit organizations with 

2 active land tenure programs. 

3 (E) The Cooperative State Research, Edu4 cation, and Extension Service. 

5 (F) Community colleges or other institu6 tions of higher education with demonstrated ex7 perience in land tenure issues. 

8 (G) Other entities or persons providing 

9 lending for, or technical assistance regarding, 

10 land tenure. 

11 (H) Beginning farmers and ranchers. 

12 (I) Socially disadvantaged farmers and 

13 ranchers. 

14 (J) Veteran farmers and ranchers. 

15 (K) Retiring or retired farmers and ranch16 ers. 

17 (3) REAPPOINTMENT.—The Secretary of Agri18 culture may reappoint members of the Commission 

19 to a subsequent 3-year term. 

20 (4) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Commis21 sion may not receive any compensation. 

22 (5) VACANCIES.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

23 shall make appointments to fill vacancies on the 

24 Commission as soon as practicable after the vacancy 

25 has occurred. 


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1 (c) DUTIES.—The Commission shall— 

2 (1) advise the Secretary of Agriculture on 

3 issues involving access to land, farm business transi4 tion, and land tenure, including trends in ownership 

5 and the status of farmland ownership; 

6 (2) with respect to the Commission’s activities, 

7 coordinate and consult with entities involved with 

8 farmland ownership and operation; 

9 (3) appoint technical advisors, comprised of 

10 representatives from the National Agricultural Sta11 tistics Service of the Department of Agriculture, 

12 not-for-profit organizations that assist farmers and 

13 ranchers transitioning in and out of agricultural 

14 business, and farm succession planners with exper15 tise in the field; and 

16 (4) focus efforts of Federal agency staff and 

17 programs toward ensuring the long-term sustain18 ability of the agriculture sector. 

19 (d) REPORTS.—The Commission shall submit an an20 nual report to Congress that includes— 

21 (1) a summary of the activities of the Commis22 sion; and 

23 (2) recommendations with respect to access to 

24 land, farm business transition, and land tenure, in25 cluding recommendations for Federal policy changes. 


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1 Subtitle C—Creating Financial In2 centives To Benefit Beginning 

3 Farmers and Ranchers 

4 SEC. 521. REMOVING BARRIERS TO FARMING THROUGH AN 

5 ELIGIBLE FARMER TAX CREDIT. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart B of part IV of sub7 chapter A of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 

8 1986 is amended by adding at the end the following new 

9 section: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 30E. ELIGIBLE FARMER CREDITS. 

11 ‘‘(a) ELIGIBLE FARMER PROPERTY SALE CREDIT.— 

12 In the case of a taxpayer who sells qualified farming prop13 erty to an eligible farmer during the taxable year, there 

14 shall be allowed as a credit against the tax imposed by 

15 this chapter for such taxable year an amount equal to 10 

16 percent of the sales price of such property. 

17 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE FARMER PROPERTY PURCHASE

18 CREDIT.—In the case of a taxpayer who is an eligible 

19 farmer and purchases qualified farming property during 

20 the taxable year, there shall be allowed as a credit against 

21 the tax imposed by this chapter for the taxable year an 

22 amount equal 10 percent of the purchase price of such 

23 property. 

24 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE FARMER.—For purposes of this 

2 section— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible 

4 farmer’ means— 

5 ‘‘(i) any socially disadvantaged farmer 

6 or rancher, as defined in section 

7 2501(e)(2) of the Food, Agriculture, Con8 servation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 

9 U.S.C. 2279(e)(2)), 

10 ‘‘(ii) any veteran farmer or rancher 

11 (as defined in section 2501(e)(7) of such 

12 Act (7 U.S.C. 2279(e)(7))), or 

13 ‘‘(iii) any beginning farmer or ranch14 er. 

15 ‘‘(B) BEGINNING FARMER OR RANCHER.— 

16 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘begin17 ning farmer or rancher’ means an indi18 vidual or entity who— 

19 ‘‘(I) has not operated a farm or 

20 ranch, or who has operated a farm or 

21 ranch for not more than 10 consecu22 tive years, and 

23 ‘‘(II) will materially and substan24 tially participate in the operation of 

25 the farm or ranch. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) MATERIAL AND SUBSTANTIAL

2 PARTICIPATION.—For purposes of clause 

3 (i), the term ‘material and substantial par4 ticipation’ means— 

5 ‘‘(I) in the case of an individual, 

6 that the individual provides substan7 tial day-to-day labor and management 

8 of the farm or ranch, consistent with 

9 the practices in the county or State 

10 where the farm is located, and 

11 ‘‘(II) in the case of an entity, 

12 that all shareholders, holders of a cap13 ital or profits interest in the case of a 

14 partnership, or holders of a beneficial 

15 interest in the case of a trust or coop16 erative provide some amount of the 

17 management or labor necessary for 

18 day-to-day activities such that if each 

19 of the members did not provide these 

20 inputs, operation of the farm or ranch 

21 would be seriously impaired. 

22 ‘‘(iii) PREDECESSOR.—Any prede23 cessor of any entity shall be treated as 

24 such entity for purposes of clause (i)(I). 


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1 ‘‘(iv) AGGREGATION RULES.—All per2 sons which are treated as a single em3 ployer under subsections (a) and (b) of 

4 section 52 shall be treated as a single em5 ployer for purposes of this subparagraph. 

6 ‘‘(2) QUALIFIED FARMING PROPERTY.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘qualified 

8 farming property’ means any property— 

9 ‘‘(i) which is used in the trade or 

10 business of farming or ranching in the 

11 United States, and 

12 ‘‘(ii) which is— 

13 ‘‘(I) property of a character sub14 ject to an allowance for depreciation, 

15 or 

16 ‘‘(II) land used for the produc17 tion of crops, fruits, or other agricul18 tural products or for the sustenance 

19 of livestock. 

20 In the case of any tree, vine, or livestock which 

21 is not subject to an allowance for depreciation 

22 solely by reason of not having reached the in23 come-producing stage or age of maturity, as the 

24 case may be, such tree, vine, or livestock shall 

25 be treated as property of a character subject to 


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1 an allowance for depreciation for purposes of 

2 this section. 

3 ‘‘(B) LAND USE MUST BE RESTRICTED AG4 RICULTURAL USE.—Such term shall not include 

5 any land which is not subject to a State agricul6 tural land preservation program, permanent ag7 ricultural conservation easement, is not valued 

8 as agricultural land using special use valuation 

9 requirements, or is not under another long-term 

10 or permanent protection. 

11 ‘‘(d) SPECIAL RULES.— 

12 ‘‘(1) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—No credit 

13 shall be allowed to a taxpayer under this section un14 less, at such time and in such form and manner as 

15 the Secretary shall prescribe— 

16 ‘‘(A) there is submitted to the Secretary a 

17 description of the qualified farming property 

18 with respect to which the credit under this sec19 tion is determined, 

20 ‘‘(B) the eligible farmer submits to the 

21 Secretary an attestation of intent to treat such 

22 property as qualified farming property during 

23 the 8-year period beginning on the date of the 

24 sale or purchase to which this section applies, 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(C) the taxpayer who sells such property 

2 in the case of any credit determined under sub3 section (a), and the eligible farmer who pur4 chases such property in the case of any credit 

5 determined under subsection (b), submits to the 

6 Secretary an agreement consenting to the appli7 cation of paragraph (2). 

8 ‘‘(2) RECAPTURE.— 

9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If any property with 

10 respect to which a credit is allowed under this 

11 section ceases to be qualified farming property 

12 during the 8-year period beginning on the date 

13 of the sale or purchase to which this section ap14 plies, the tax imposed by this chapter for the 

15 taxable year during which such property so 

16 ceases shall be increased by the applicable per17 centage of the amount of credit allowed under 

18 this section with respect to such property. 

19 ‘‘(B) APPLICABLE PERCENTAGE.—For 

20 purposes of this paragraph, in the case of prop21 erty which ceases to be qualified farming prop22 erty during the 8-year period, the applicable 

23 percentage shall be determined under the fol24 lowing table: 


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‘‘For property which so 

ceases during: 

The applicable 

percentage is: 

The first or second year .................................................... 100 percent

The third or fourth year ................................................... 75 percent

The fifth or sixth year ...................................................... 50 percent

The seventh or eighth year ............................................... 25 percent. 

1 ‘‘(C) PROPERTY BEYOND ACTUAL USEFUL

2 LIFE.—For purposes of this paragraph, prop3 erty which, during such 8-year period, is no 

4 longer capable of being used in the trade or 

5 business of farming shall be treated as ceasing 

6 to be qualified farming property. 

7 ‘‘(3) RELATED PARTY RULES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A sale or purchase 

9 shall only be taken into account under this sec10 tion if the property is not acquired from a per11 son related to the person acquiring such prop12 erty (or, if married, such individual’s spouse). 

13 ‘‘(B) RELATED PERSONS.—A person shall 

14 be treated as related to another person if the 

15 relationship between such persons would result 

16 in the disallowance of losses under section 267 

17 or 707(b). 

18 ‘‘(4) APPLICATION WITH OTHER CREDITS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) BUSINESS CREDIT TREATED AS PART

20 OF GENERAL BUSINESS CREDIT.—So much of 

21 the credit which would be allowed under this 

22 section for any taxable year (determined withVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:05 Nov 21, 2017 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00118 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4425.IH H4425

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1 out regard to this paragraph) that is attrib2 utable to property that is land used in a trade 

3 or business of the taxpayer, or that in the 

4 hands of the taxpayer is of a character subject 

5 to an allowance for depreciation, shall be treat6 ed as a credit listed in section 38(b) for such 

7 taxable year (and not allowed under this sec8 tion). 

9 ‘‘(B) PERSONAL CREDIT.—The credit al10 lowed under subsection (a) (after the applica11 tion of paragraph (1)) for any taxable year 

12 shall be treated as a credit allowable under sub13 part A for such taxable year. 

14 ‘‘(5) REDUCTION IN BASIS.—For purposes of 

15 this subtitle, the basis of any property for which a 

16 credit is allowable under this section shall be re17 duced by the amount of such credit so allowed.’’. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 38(b) of 

19 such Code is amended by striking ‘‘plus’’ at the end of 

20 paragraph (35), by striking the period at the end of para21 graph (36) and inserting ‘‘, plus’’, and by adding at the 

22 end the following new paragraph: 

23 ‘‘(37) the portion of the eligible farmer credit to 

24 which section 30E(d)(3)(A) applies.’’. 


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1 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 for subpart B of part IV of subchapter A of chapter 1 

3 of such Code is amended by adding at the end the fol4 lowing new item: 

‘‘Sec. 30E. Eligible farmer credits.’’. 

5 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

6 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

7 December 31, 2018. 

8 SEC. 522. ENSURING FARM SERVICE FACILITY LOANS CAN 

9 SERVE AGRICULTURAL COOPERATIVES. 

10 Section 1614(a) of the Food, Conservation, and En11 ergy Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 8789(a)) is amended by insert12 ing ‘‘(including agricultural cooperatives)’’ after ‘‘for pro13 ducers’’. 

14 SEC. 523. LOANS TO COOPERATIVES. 

15 Section 316(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural 

16 Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1946(a)) is amended by add17 ing at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(3) LOANS TO COOPERATIVES.—Notwith19 standing subtitle A or this subtitle, the liability for 

20 a farm ownership loan or farm operating loan under 

21 such subtitles to a cooperative of family farm farm22 ers shall be required to attach to the individual 

23 members of the cooperative, as determined by the 

24 Secretary.’’. 


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1 TITLE VI—FOOD WASTE 

2 SEC. 601. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING REDUCING 

3 FOOD WASTE. 

4 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find5 ings: 

6 (1) Up to 40 percent of food in the United 

7 States is wasted, the equivalent of 1,250 calories per 

8 person, per day, and more than 400 pounds of food 

9 per person, per year. 

10 (2) Growing, processing, transporting, and dis11 posing of uneaten food is a significant burden on the 

12 United States economy, costing approximately 

13 $218,000,000,000 annually. 

14 (3) Considerable resources in the United States 

15 are invested in the production of food that is eventu16 ally wasted, including an estimated 18 percent of 

17 fertilizer used in agricultural production, 19 percent 

18 of crop land, and 21 percent of agricultural water 

19 usage. 

20 (4) Growing, processing, transporting, and dis21 posing of food that is eventually wasted contributes 

22 to greenhouse gas emissions. 

23 (5) Disposing of uneaten food costs the average 

24 household of four in the United States an estimated 

25 $1,800 annually. 


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1 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—In light of the findings 

2 made in subsection (a), it is the sense of Congress that 

3 the Federal Government should invest in programs, meth4 odologies, and actions to reduce food waste across the 

5 United States at the Federal, State, and local levels, in6 cluding by— 

7 (1) providing targeted funding for food waste 

8 solutions; 

9 (2) improving and standardizing the measure10 ment and reporting of food waste data; 

11 (3) standardizing food date labels; 

12 (4) removing barriers to food donation; 

13 (5) supporting and encouraging local and re14 gional efforts to reduce food waste; and 

15 (6) engaging and educating the American public 

16 on how to reduce food waste. 

17 SEC. 602. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF FOOD WASTE. 

18 Subtitle D of the Department of Agriculture Reorga19 nization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6951 et seq.) is amended 

20 by adding at the end the following new section: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 244. OFFICE OF FOOD WASTE. 

22 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab23 lish within the executive operations of the Department an 

24 office to be known as the ‘Office of Food Waste’. 


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1 ‘‘(b) RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Office of Food Waste 

2 shall be responsible— 

3 ‘‘(1) for coordinating Federal programs to 

4 measure and reduce the incidence of food waste in 

5 the United States by serving as the central office 

6 within the Department for food waste reduction ef7 forts, including food waste prevention, food dona8 tion, recovery of surplus food for commercial pur9 poses, and food scrap recycling; 

10 ‘‘(2) for providing information about and rais11 ing awareness of food waste issues across sectors of 

12 the United States economy and across Federal agen13 cies; and 

14 ‘‘(3) for serving as the primary point of contact 

15 for food waste reduction and food recovery issues 

16 within the Department and across Federal agencies. 

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

18 Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use to carry out 

19 this section $100,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 

20 2019 through 2023.’’. 

21 SEC. 603. ESTABLISHMENT OF FOOD LOSS AND WASTE RE22 DUCTION TASK FORCE. 

23 Subtitle D of the Department of Agriculture Reorga24 nization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6951 et seq.) is further 


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1 amended by inserting after section 244, as added by sec2 tion 602, the following new section: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 245. FOOD LOSS AND WASTE REDUCTION TASK 

4 FORCE. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

6 the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 

7 of Agriculture, in consultation with the Administrator of 

8 the Environmental Protection Agency, shall establish, in 

9 the office of the Under Secretary for Food, Nutrition, and 

10 Consumer Services, a task force— 

11 ‘‘(1) to advise and support the Secretary and 

12 the Administrator in meeting the national food 

13 waste reduction goal of 50 percent by 2030, as spec14 ified in the announcement made on September 16, 

15 2015, by the Secretary and the Administrator; 

16 ‘‘(2) to provide strategic direction for efforts to 

17 meet the national food waste reduction goal; 

18 ‘‘(3) to monitor progress toward meeting the 

19 national food waste reduction goal; 

20 ‘‘(4) to support effective public reporting in the 

21 United States regarding progress toward meeting 

22 the national food waste reduction goal and any rel23 evant benchmarks in meeting such goal; 


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1 ‘‘(5) to raise public awareness and visibility of 

2 the national food waste reduction goal in the United 

3 States; and 

4 ‘‘(6) to recommend improvements to Federal ef5 forts to meet the national food waste reduction goal. 

6 ‘‘(b) COMPOSITION.—The task force shall be com7 posed of 15 members, appointed jointly by the Secretary 

8 and the Administrator. The task force shall include a rep9 resentative from each of the following industries and inter10 est groups: 

11 ‘‘(1) The agriculture industry. 

12 ‘‘(2) The food processing and manufacturing in13 dustry. 

14 ‘‘(3) The food distribution industry. 

15 ‘‘(4) The retail and grocery industry. 

16 ‘‘(5) The restaurant industry. 

17 ‘‘(6) The institutional food service industry. 

18 ‘‘(7) Government, private, and nonprofit enti19 ties focused on nutrition. 

20 ‘‘(8) Government, private, and nonprofit enti21 ties focused on consumer education. 

22 ‘‘(9) Government, private, and nonprofit enti23 ties focused on food waste entrepreneurship. 

24 ‘‘(10) Nonprofit entities focused on food waste 

25 prevention. 


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1 ‘‘(11) Government, private, and nonprofit enti2 ties focused on food donation. 

3 ‘‘(12) Government, private, and nonprofit enti4 ties focused on food scrap recycling. 

5 ‘‘(13) Educational institutions focused on food 

6 systems and food waste. 

7 ‘‘(14) A State or local government with a food 

8 waste reduction program. 

9 ‘‘(15) A scientist who specializes in the science 

10 of food scrap recycling and other relevant scientific 

11 processes. 

12 ‘‘(c) TERMS.—A member of the task force shall serve 

13 on the task force for a single term of 3 years. A member 

14 may not be reappointed. Any vacancy shall be filled within 

15 60 days in the same manner as the original appoint16 ment.’’. 

17 SEC. 604. STANDARDIZING, AGGREGATING, AND PUB18 LISHING FOOD WASTE DATA. 

19 (a) METHODOLOGY FOR MEASURING FOOD

20 WASTE.—Not later than 18 months after the date of the 

21 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall 

22 establish, through a rule made in accordance with section 

23 553 of title 5, United States Code, a standardized method24 ology for consistently measuring food waste in the United 

25 States economy, such as— 


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1 (1) on-farm losses during agricultural produc2 tion and harvesting; 

3 (2) losses during processing and distribution; 

4 (3) kitchen waste and post-consumer waste 

5 from the restaurant and hospitality industries; 

6 (4) food waste occurring in schools and other 

7 institutions; and 

8 (5) food waste occurring in other industries. 

9 (b) METHODOLOGY FOR AGGREGATING AND DIS10 SEMINATING DATA .—The methodology established under 

11 subsection (a) shall include aggregating and disseminating 

12 any data or information collected with respect to food 

13 waste. The methodology shall incorporate tools for describ14 ing why food waste occurs and the type of food wasted 

15 and take into account existing protocols and tools that 

16 may serve as resources. 

17 (c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF DATA.—Information 

18 collected with respect to food waste shall be made available 

19 through a publicly accessible internet website of the De20 partment of Agriculture, which may be disaggregated by 

21 private sector and State or local government data. 

22 (d) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

23 shall carry out this section in consultation with the Admin24 istrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. 


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1 TITLE VII—RESEARCH, EXTEN2 SION, AND RELATED MAT3 TERS 

4 Subtitle A—Investing in 

5 Sustainable Agriculture 

6 SEC. 701. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE RESEARCH, EXTEN7 SION, AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS. 

8 (a) FEDERAL-STATE GRANT PROGRAM.—Section 

9 1623 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade 

10 Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5813) is amended— 

11 (1) in the section heading, by striking 

12 ‘‘MATCHING’’; 

13 (2) in subsection (a)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘matching’’; and 

15 (B) by inserting ‘‘and centers’’ after ‘‘edu16 cation programs’’; 

17 (3) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ‘‘, and shall 

18 identify the sources of matching State funds for the 

19 same fiscal year’’; and 

20 (4) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol21 lows: 

22 ‘‘(d) DURATION.—The Secretary shall provide grants 

23 to eligible States for a period not to exceed 5 years.’’. 


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1 (b) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Section 1624 of the 

2 Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 

3 (7 U.S.C. 5814) is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘SEC. 1624. MANDATORY FUNDING. 

5 ‘‘Of the funds of the Commodity Credit Corporation, 

6 the Secretary shall make available to carry out this chap7 ter $75,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 

8 2023.’’. 

9 SEC. 702. NATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM. 

10 Section 1629(i) of the Food, Agriculture, Conserva11 tion, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5832(i)) is amend12 ed to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(i) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of the 

14 Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall make 

15 available to carry out this section $25,000,000 for each 

16 of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.’’. 

17 Subtitle B—Supporting Research 

18 To Help Farmers Adapt to a Dis19 rupted Climate 

20 SEC. 711. COMPETITIVE, SPECIAL, AND FACILITIES 

21 GRANTS. 

22 Section 2 of the Competitive, Special, and Facilities 

23 Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (b)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end 

2 the following new subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(G) PLANT AND ANIMAL BREEDING.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Classical animal 

5 and plant breeding— 

6 ‘‘(I) intended to deliver public 

7 plant cultivars and animal breeds; 

8 ‘‘(II) to achieve germplasm con9 servation; and 

10 ‘‘(III) to improve public access 

11 and use of such cultivars and breeds. 

12 ‘‘(ii) PRIORITY.—With respect to the 

13 breeding described in clause (i), the Sec14 retary shall give priority to— 

15 ‘‘(I) regionally-adapted cultivars 

16 and breeds; and 

17 ‘‘(II) breeds that perform well in 

18 organic and sustainable production 

19 systems.’’; 

20 (B) in paragraph (7), by inserting ‘‘, in21 cluding nonprofit organizations, private labora22 tories, Federal research entities, and other re23 search entities not affiliated with a university’’ 

24 after ‘‘organizations’’; 

25 (C) by striking paragraph (9); and 


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1 (D) in paragraph (11)(A)— 

2 (i) by striking ‘‘$700,000,000’’ and 

3 inserting ‘‘$900,000,000’’; and 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘2018’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘2023’’; and 

6 (2) in subsection (k)— 

7 (A) in the heading, by inserting ‘‘AND CLI8 MATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND ADAPTATION’’ 

9 after ‘‘AGRICULTURE’’; and 

10 (B) by inserting ‘‘and climate change miti11 gation and adaptation’’ after ‘‘systems of sus12 tainable agriculture’’. 

13 SEC. 712. SPECIALTY CROP RESEARCH INITIATIVE. 

14 (a) ELEMENTS OF INITIATIVE.—Section 412(b) of 

15 the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Re16 form Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7632(b)) is amended— 

17 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

18 (A) by inserting ‘‘and improve the resil19 iency of such crops towards global climate 

20 change’’ after ‘‘crop characteristics’’; and 

21 (B) in subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘, 

22 with priority given to responses and tolerances 

23 to global climate change’’ after ‘‘tolerances’’; 

24 and 


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1 (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘and threats 

2 due to global climate change’’ after ‘‘pollinators’’. 

3 (b) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Section 412(k)(1)(B) of 

4 the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Re5 form Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7632(k)(1)(B)) is amended 

6 by striking ‘‘$80,000,000 for fiscal year 2014 and each 

7 fiscal year thereafter’’ and inserting ‘‘$80,000,000 for 

8 each of fiscal years 2014 through 2018 and $100,000,000 

9 for fiscal year 2019 and each fiscal year thereafter’’. 

10 TITLE VIII—ANIMAL WELFARE 

11 Subtitle A—Ensuring Animal 

12 Welfare in Farming 

13 SEC. 801. DEFINITIONS FOR HUMANELY RAISED LIVE14 STOCK AND POULTRY CERTIFICATION PRO15 GRAMS. 

16 In this subtitle: 

17 (1) INDEPENDENT ANIMAL WELFARE CERTIFI18 CATION PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘independent animal 

19 welfare certification program’’ means an entity ap20 proved by the Secretary of Agriculture that uses 

21 qualified third-party on-farm auditors to routinely 

22 assess a producer’s 100 percent compliance with 

23 specific animal welfare standards exceeding industry 

24 standards (based on industry guidelines), subject to 

25 the following conditions: 


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1 (A) The standards’ protocols are made 

2 public. 

3 (B) The standards include, at a minimum, 

4 provisions for space allowance, environmental 

5 enrichment and ability to engage in natural be6 haviors, pain control and physical alternations, 

7 handling, and responsible antibiotic use. 

8 (C) Routine caging, crating or tethering of 

9 animals is prohibited. 

10 (D) Auditors have no vested or financial 

11 interest in audit outcomes. 

12 (E) Auditors possess a background in ani13 mal welfare science or have received equivalent 

14 training, and are able to recognize, review, and 

15 apply established farm animal welfare stand16 ards and protocols. 

17 (2) ELIGIBLE COSTS.—The term ‘‘eligible 

18 costs’’ means costs associated with application fees, 

19 inspections, labeling, shipment and marketing. 

20 SEC. 802. REQUIRING THE ISSUANCE OF THE FINAL RULE 

21 FOR SETTING PRODUCTION STANDARDS FOR 

22 ORGANIC LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY WITH23 OUT AMENDMENT. 

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1 ment, without amendment, the final rule entitled ‘‘Na2 tional Organic Program (NOP); Organic Livestock and 

3 Poultry Practices’’ and published in the Federal Register 

4 by the Department of Agriculture on January 19, 2017 

5 (82 Fed. Reg. 7042). 

6 SEC. 803. INCREASING MARKET ACCESS FOR HUMANELY 

7 RAISED LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY CERTIFI8 CATION PROGRAMS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture, act10 ing through the Agricultural Marketing Service, shall es11 tablish a cost-share program to assist producers and han12 dlers of livestock and poultry products in obtaining and 

13 maintaining animal welfare certifications through an inde14 pendent animal welfare certification program. 

15 (b) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Secretary may cover not 

16 more than 75 percent of the eligible costs, but not to ex17 ceed $750, incurred by a producer or handler in obtaining 

18 and maintaining an animal welfare certification through 

19 an independent animal welfare certification program. 

20 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than 

21 March 1 of each year, the Secretary shall submit to the 

22 Committee on Agriculture of the House of Representatives 

23 and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For24 estry of the Senate a report that describes the requests 

25 by, disbursements to, and expenditures for each State 


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1 under the program during the current and previous fiscal 

2 year, including the number of producers and handlers 

3 served by the program in the previous fiscal year. 

4 (d) FUNDING.— 

5 (1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of 

6 the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 

7 shall make available to carry out this section 

8 $1,250,000 for each of fiscal years 2018 through 

9 2023, to remain available until expended. 

10 (2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

11 There is authorized to be appropriated $22,000,000 

12 for fiscal years 2019 through 2023 to carry out this 

13 section. 

14 Subtitle B—Reforming Animal Wel15 fare in Agricultural Research 

16 Endeavors 

17 SEC. 811. ANIMAL WELFARE. 

18 Section 14 of the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 

19 2144) is amended— 

20 (1) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘Any’’ and 

21 inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), 

23 any Federal research facility or any other’’; 

24 (2) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘Any’’ 

25 and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) ANIMAL EXHIBITION.—Any’’; and 

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

3 paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(3) EXCLUSIONS NOT APPLICABLE.—For pur5 poses of the application of standards and other re6 quirements described in paragraph (1) to a Federal 

7 research facility or any other department, agency, or 

8 instrumentality of the United States having labora9 tory animal facilities, the exclusions contained in 

10 section 2(g)(3) shall not apply.’’. 

11 SEC. 812. ESTABLISHING A RESEARCH AND EXTENSION 

12 PROGRAM FOR HUMANELY RAISED LIVE13 STOCK AND POULTRY CERTIFICATIONS. 

14 (a) CONSUMER DEMAND FOR ANIMAL WELFARE AND

15 ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTS.—Section 

16 1402(6) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, 

17 and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3101(6)) is 

18 amended by inserting before the semicolon the following: 

19 ‘‘, and meet growing consumer demand for animal welfare, 

20 environmental sustainability, pasture-based rearing, and 

21 compliance with independent animal welfare certifi22 cations’’. 

23 (b) INDEPENDENT ANIMAL WELFARE CERTIFI24 CATION PROGRAM DEFINED.—Section 1404 of the Na25 tional Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching 


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1 Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103) is amended by adding 

2 at the end the following new paragraph: 

3 ‘‘(21) INDEPENDENT ANIMAL WELFARE CER4 TIFICATION PROGRAM.—The term ‘Independent ani5 mal welfare certification program’ has the meaning 

6 given that term in section 801(1) of the Food and 

7 Farm Act.’’. 

8 (c) FEDERAL-STATE PARTNERSHIP AND COORDINA9 TION.—Section 1409A of the National Agricultural Re10 search, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 

11 U.S.C. 3124a) is amended— 

12 (1) in subsection (c)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘and 

13 environmental’’ and inserting ‘‘environmental, ani14 mal welfare, and marketplace demand’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (c)(2), by inserting ‘‘pasture16 based rearing systems,’’ after ‘‘cooperatives,’’; and 

17 (3) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘improving 

18 animal well-being, facilitating enrollment in inde19 pendent animal welfare certification programs,’’ 

20 after ‘‘marketing systems,’’. 

21 (d) ANIMAL WELL-BEING RESEARCH.—The heading 

22 of subtitle E of the National Agricultural Research, Ex23 tension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (title XIV of 

24 Public Law 93–113) is amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘Subtitle E—Animal Health, Well2 Being, and Disease Research’’. 

3 (e) AUTHORIZING THE SECRETARY TO ACT.—Sec4 tion 1431(b)(2) of the National Agricultural Research, 

5 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

6 3193(b)(2)) is amended— 

7 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara8 graph (B); 

9 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub10 paragraph (C), and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following new sub12 paragraph: 

13 ‘‘(D) improve the flow of information to 

14 producers regarding enrollment in, compliance 

15 with, and marketing benefits of independent 

16 animal welfare certification programs.’’. 

17 (f) SMALL FARM RESEARCH AND EXTENSION.— 

18 (1) SMALL FARM EXTENSION PROGRAM.—Sec19 tion 502 of the Rural Development Act of 1972 (7 

20 U.S.C. 2662) is amended— 

21 (A) in subsection (d), by inserting ‘‘, im22 proved animal husbandry techniques including 

23 enrollment in independent animal welfare cer24 tification programs,’’ after ‘‘marketing tech25 niques’’; and 


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1 (B) in subsection (h)(1)— 

2 (i) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of 

3 subparagraph (E); 

4 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

5 (F) as subparagraph (H); and 

6 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

7 (E) the following new subparagraphs: 

8 ‘‘(F) opportunities for enrollment in inde9 pendent animal welfare certification programs; 

10 ‘‘(G) animal husbandry; and’’. 

11 (2) DEFINITION.—Section 506 of the Rural De12 velopment Act of 1972 (7 U.S.C. 2666) is amend13 ed— 

14 (A) by redesignating subsections (a), (b), 

15 and (c) as subsections (b), (c), and (d) respec16 tively; and 

17 (B) by inserting before subsection (b), as 

18 so redesignated, the following: 

19 ‘‘(a) ‘independent animal welfare certification 

20 program’ has the meaning given that term in section 

21 801(1) of the Food and Farm Act.’’. 


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1 Subtitle C—Protecting Companion 

2 Animals 

3 SEC. 821. MAINTENANCE AND PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF 

4 REGULATORY RECORDS. 

5 (a) MAINTENANCE OF INFORMATION.—Beginning 

6 not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment 

7 of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall maintain 

8 information relating to the administration of the Animal 

9 Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) and the Horse Protec10 tion Act (15 U.S.C. 1821 et seq.), including the following: 

11 (1) The entirety of each report of any inspec12 tion conducted, and record of any enforcement ac13 tion taken, under— 

14 (A) the Animal Welfare Act or the Horse 

15 Protection Act; and 

16 (B) any regulation issued under those 

17 Acts. 

18 (2) With respect to the Animal Welfare Act— 

19 (A) the entirety of each annual report sub20 mitted by a research facility under section 13 of 

21 that Act (7 U.S.C. 2143); and 

22 (B) the name, address, and license or reg23 istration number of each research facility, ex24 hibitor, dealer, and other person or establish25 ment— 


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1 (i) licensed by the Secretary under 

2 section 3 or 12 of that Act (7 U.S.C. 

3 2133, 2142); or 

4 (ii) registered with the Secretary 

5 under section 6 of that Act (7 U.S.C. 

6 2136). 

7 (3) With respect to the Horse Protection Act, 

8 the name and address of— 

9 (A) any person that is licensed to conduct 

10 any inspection under section 4(c) of that Act 

11 (15 U.S.C. 1823(c)); or 

12 (B) any organization or association that is 

13 licensed by the Department of Agriculture to 

14 promote horses through— 

15 (i) the showing, exhibiting, sale, auc16 tion, or registry of horses; or 

17 (ii) the conduct of any activity that 

18 contributes to the advancement of horses. 

19 (b) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION.—The 

20 information required to be maintained under subsection 

21 (a) shall promptly be made available to the public in an 

22 online searchable database in a machine-readable format 

23 on the website of the Department of Agriculture. 


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1 SEC. 822. PROHIBITING THE TRADE OF DOG AND CAT 

2 MEAT. 

3 The Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. 2131 et seq.) is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 30. PROHIBITION OF SLAUGHTER OF DOGS AND CATS 

6 FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION. 

7 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—No person may— 

8 ‘‘(1) knowingly slaughter a dog or cat for 

9 human consumption; or 

10 ‘‘(2) knowingly ship, transport, move, deliver, 

11 receive, possess, purchase, sell, or donate— 

12 ‘‘(A) a dog or cat to be slaughtered for 

13 human consumption; or 

14 ‘‘(B) dog or cat parts for human consump15 tion. 

16 ‘‘(b) PENALTY.—Any person who violates this section 

17 shall be subject to imprisonment for not more than 1 year, 

18 or a fine of not more than $2,500, or both. 

19 ‘‘(c) SCOPE.—Subsection (a) shall apply only with re20 spect to conduct in or affecting interstate or foreign com21 merce or within the special maritime and territorial juris22 diction of the United States. 

23 ‘‘(d) CONFLICT WITH STATE LAW.—This section 

24 shall not be construed to limit any State or local law or 

25 regulations protecting the welfare of animals or to prevent 

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1 ing animal welfare laws and regulations that are more 

2 stringent than this section.’’. 

3 TITLE IX—REGIONAL FOOD 

4 SYSTEMS 

5 Subtitle A—Expanding Support for 

6 Local and Regional Food Systems 

7 SEC. 901. SENSE OF THE CONGRESS. 

8 It is the sense of the Congress that: 

9 (1) Local and regional food systems provide 

10 jobs and economic opportunity for farmers and 

11 ranchers, businesses, entrepreneurs, and employees 

12 across the United States who cultivate, harvest, 

13 store, process, market, and distribute food, particu14 larly in rural areas. 

15 (2) Local and regional food systems provide 

16 meaningful access to healthy, fresh, and affordable 

17 foods that are grown and processed closer to mar18 kets, especially in food deserts and other under19 served areas. 

20 (3) Local and regional food systems lower the 

21 carbon footprint of America’s food system by grow22 ing, processing, distributing, and consuming prod23 ucts locally and reducing the use of fossil fuels. 

24 (4) Local and regional food systems foster 

25 American resiliency and independence by helping 


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1 communities become less dependent on external food 

2 sources. 

3 (5) Local and regional food systems increase 

4 accountability for farmers, ranchers, and others em5 ployed in the field to engage in sustainable and eth6 ical practices. 

7 (6) By supporting the growth and advancement 

8 of local and regional food systems, the people of the 

9 United States are investing in an environmentally 

10 and economically resilient food and agriculture sys11 tem that provides opportunity and livelihoods for 

12 farmers, ranchers, businesses, and employees 

13 throughout the economy. 

14 SEC. 902. EXPANDING THE FOOD LEVERAGING INVEST15 MENT FOR NETWORK COORDINATION (LINC) 

16 PROGRAM. 

17 (a) INCREASE IN NUMBER OF VALUE CHAIN COOR18 DINATORS.—The Secretary of Agriculture shall expand 

19 Rural Development Agency participation in the Food 

20 Leveraging Investment for Network Coordination (LINC) 

21 program, a public-private partnership to enhance regional 

22 food-value chains, to deploy during each of fiscal years 

23 2019 through 2023 at least 25 full-time value chain coor24 dinators to provide local food sector coordination services. 


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1 (b) LOCATION OF VALUE CHAIN COORDINATORS.— 

2 The Secretary of Agriculture shall ensure that at least 5 

3 value chain coordinators deployed under subsection (a) are 

4 located in each of the following: 

5 (1) The Pacific Northwest region of the United 

6 States. 

7 (2) The Northeast region of the United States. 

8 (3) The Western region of the United States. 

9 (4) The Midwest region of the United States. 

10 (5) The Southern region of the United States. 

11 (c) COORDINATION SERVICES DESCRIBED.—The du12 ties of a value chain coordinator include the following: 

13 (1) Identifying and connecting interested per14 sons through short-term engagement, helping to 

15 build relationships across the food value chain by en16 gaging interested persons, maintaining communica17 tion channels, and fostering a trusting environment 

18 among interested persons. 

19 (2) Identifying and pursuing resources, such as 

20 grants, loans, and services to support value-chain 

21 collaborators as they develop their enterprises. 

22 (3) Raising policy issues and partnering with 

23 interested persons to address policies and procure24 ment requirements. 


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1 (4) Working with food chain members to build 

2 capacity through education and training programs in 

3 such areas as organics and other sustainable produc4 tion practices, food safety, marketing, and branding. 

5 (5) Utilizing grants and other external re6 sources to test new business models to help lower 

7 the financial risk of businesses engaged in the value 

8 chain. 

9 (d) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity Cred10 it Corporation, the Secretary of the Agriculture shall use 

11 to carry out this section $20,000,000 for each of fiscal 

12 years 2019 through 2023. 

13 SEC. 903. ENSURING SUCCESS OF REGIONAL FOOD 

14 PROJECTS UNDER THE BUSINESS AND IN15 DUSTRY GUARANTEED LOAN PROGRAM. 

16 (a) USE OF FUNDS.—Section 310B(g)(9)(B) of the 

17 Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

18 1932(g)(9)(B)) is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(v) OUTREACH AND TECHNICAL AS21 SISTANCE.—Not more than 5 percent of 

22 the amounts reserved under clause (iv) for 

23 each fiscal year shall be used for outreach, 

24 and to provide marketing and technical as25 sistance through Federal entities, and 


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1 through State and private universities and 

2 nonprofit entities (including by contract), 

3 to potential recipients of a loan or loan 

4 guarantee under this subparagraph, to en5 sure the full utilization of any such loan or 

6 loan guarantee.’’. 

7 (b) INCREASE IN FUNDING.—Section 

8 310B(g)(9)(B)(iv)(I) of such Act (7 U.S.C. 

9 1932(g)(9)(B)(iv)(I)) is amended by striking ‘‘5’’ and in10 serting ‘‘10’’. 

11 SEC. 904. INCREASING SUPPORT FOR THE SPECIALTY CROP 

12 BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM. 

13 Section 101 of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness 

14 Act of 2004 (7 U.S.C. 1621 note) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘2018’’ and 

16 inserting ‘‘2023’’; and 

17 (2) in subsection (l)— 

18 (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

19 ‘‘and’’; 

20 (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking ‘‘and 

21 each fiscal year thereafter.’’ and inserting a 

22 semicolon; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(F) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(G) $110,000,000 for fiscal year 2020 

2 and each fiscal year thereafter.’’. 

3 Subtitle B—Enhancing Regional 

4 Food Infrastructure 

5 SEC. 911. SUPPORTING REGIONAL FOOD INFRASTRUCTURE 

6 ASSESSMENT AND COLLABORATIVE PLAN7 NING. 

8 (a) SUPPORT FOR REGION-WIDE ASSESSMENT AND

9 COLLABORATIVE PLANNING PROJECTS.—Section 6(b) of 

10 the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing Act of 1976 

11 (7 U.S.C. 3005(b)) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph 

13 (1); 

14 (2) by striking the period at the end of para15 graph (2) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

17 paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(3) full value chain assessments at the local 

19 and regional levels, as well as projects by entities de20 scribed in subsection (c) that maximize efficient use 

21 of existing food related infrastructure, identify gaps 

22 in that infrastructure, and address such gaps.’’. 

23 (b) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Paragraph (1) of sec24 tion 6(g) of the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing 


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1 Act of 1976 (7 U.S.C. 3005(g)) is amended to read as 

2 follows: 

3 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of 

4 the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 

5 shall use to carry out this section $80,000,000 for 

6 each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023.’’. 

7 (c) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—Paragraph (4) of 

8 section 6(g) of the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Marketing 

9 Act of 1976 (7 U.S.C. 3005(g)) is amended to read as 

10 follows: 

11 ‘‘(4) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—Of the funds 

12 made available to carry out this section for a fiscal 

13 year after fiscal year 2018— 

14 ‘‘(A) at least 40 percent of the funds shall 

15 be used for the purposes described in paragraph 

16 (1) of subsection (b); 

17 ‘‘(B) at least 40 percent of the funds shall 

18 be used for the purposes described in paragraph 

19 (2) of such subsection; and 

20 ‘‘(C) not more than 20 percent of the 

21 funds may be used for the purposes described 

22 in paragraph (3) of such subsection.’’. 


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1 SEC. 912. LIVESTOCK, DAIRY, AND POULTRY SUPPLY CHAIN 

2 INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS AND LOANS. 

3 Subtitle D of title III of the Consolidated Farm and 

4 Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1981 et seq.) is amend5 ed by adding at the end the following new section: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 379I. LIVESTOCK, DAIRY, AND POULTRY SUPPLY 

7 CHAIN INFRASTRUCTURE. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized to 

9 provide grants or make or insure loans under any of the 

10 programs authorized by this Act, the Agricultural Mar11 keting Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.), or the Rural 

12 Electrification Act of 1936 (7 U.S.C. 901 et seq.), as the 

13 Secretary determines to be appropriate, to assist farmers 

14 and rural businesses and cooperatives to maintain or in15 crease the production, aggregation, processing, distribu16 tion, and marketing of value-added, niche, or regionally17 marketed meat, dairy, and poultry products. 

18 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In implementing subsection (a), the 

19 Secretary shall give priority to grants or loans that will 

20 help increase or enhance the availability and geographic 

21 distribution of State- and Department of Agriculture-in22 spected small processing facilities. 

23 ‘‘(c) SMALL PROCESSING FACILITY DEFINED.—In 

24 this section, the term ‘small processing facility’ means— 

25 ‘‘(1) with respect to an establishment that is 

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1 spection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.), a certain small 

2 establishment that is eligible to be selected under 

3 section 501(b) of such Act; or 

4 ‘‘(2) a selected establishment (as defined in sec5 tion 31(a) of the Poultry Products Inspection Act 

6 (21 U.S.C. 472(a))).’’. 

7 Subtitle C—Expanding Accessi8 bility of Federal Grant Pro9 grams 

10 SEC. 921. PUBLISHING INFORMATION ABOUT FUNDED 

11 FARMERS’ MARKET AND LOCAL FOOD PRO12 MOTION PROGRAM PROJECTS. 

13 Section 6 of the Farmer-to-Consumer Direct Mar14 keting Act of 1976 (7 U.S.C. 3005) is amended by adding 

15 at the end the following new subsection: 

16 ‘‘(h) PROJECT DATABASE.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, not later 

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

19 subsection, shall publish, and update on an annual 

20 basis, on the Internet website of the Department of 

21 Agriculture a database, in a machine-readable for22 mat, that contains information with respect to any 

23 project with respect to which a grant was awarded 

24 under this section in the previous fiscal year. 


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1 ‘‘(2) INFORMATION INCLUDED.—The database 

2 under paragraph (1) shall include, with respect to 

3 each project for which a grant was awarded under 

4 this section in the previous fiscal year— 

5 ‘‘(A) a general overview of such project, in6 cluding a summary of, the timeline, goals, and 

7 objectives for, and key partners and other 

8 stakeholders involved in, such project; 

9 ‘‘(B) the steps taken to carry out such 

10 project; 

11 ‘‘(C) any materials used to carry out such 

12 project; 

13 ‘‘(D) the delivery area of the project; 

14 ‘‘(E) the total project cost and any non15 Federal funding sources for such project costs; 

16 ‘‘(F) a general description of project bene17 ficiaries; and 

18 ‘‘(G) the results of such project.’’. 

19 SEC. 922. STREAMLINING OF LOCAL AND REGIONAL FOOD 

20 PROGRAM APPLICATION PROCEDURES. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture 

22 shall, not later than one year after the date of the enact23 ment of this Act, identify procedures that coordinate and 

24 streamline the application process for local and regional 

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1 tion quality. The Secretary shall identify such procedures 

2 with respect to each of the following: 

3 (1) Streamlining application forms. 

4 (2) Removing repetition from forms and the on5 line toolkit used to complete such applications. 

6 (3) To the extent possible, accepting applica7 tions electronically (including through email). 

8 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

9 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

10 such sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

11 2019 through 2023. 

12 Subtitle D—Leveling the Playing 

13 Field for Small Farmers 

14 SEC. 931. ENSURING FAIR PRACTICES IN AGRICULTURE. 

15 Not later than 30 days after the date of the enact16 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall imple17 ment, without amendment, the final rule entitled ‘‘Unfair 

18 Practices and Undue Preferences in Violation of the Pack19 ers and Stockyards Act’’ and published in the Federal 

20 Register by the Department of Agriculture on December 

21 20, 2016 (81 Fed. Reg. 92703). 

Æ 


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