II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1016 

To address the impact of climate change on agriculture, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 28, 2023 

Mr. HEINRICH (for himself, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mr. WELCH, Ms. SMITH, Mr. 

BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. MURPHY, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. MARKEY, 

and Mr. SANDERS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 

and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To address the impact of climate change on agriculture, 

and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Agriculture Resilience Act of 2023’’. 

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

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definition of Secretary. 

TITLE I—NATIONAL GOALS 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•S 1016 IS

Sec. 101. National goals. 

Sec. 102. Action plan. 

TITLE II—RESEARCH 

Sec. 201. Research, extension, and education purpose. 

Sec. 202. Regional hubs for risk adaptation and mitigation to climate change. 

Sec. 203. Sustainable agriculture research and education resilience initiative. 

Sec. 204. Long-Term Agroecosystem Research Network. 

Sec. 205. Public breed and cultivar research. 

Sec. 206. ARS Climate Scientist Career Development Program. 

Sec. 207. Agricultural Climate Adaptation and Mitigation through AFRI. 

Sec. 208. Specialty crop research initiative. 

Sec. 209. Integrated pest management. 

Sec. 210. Appropriate technology transfer for rural areas program. 

TITLE III—SOIL HEALTH 

Sec. 301. Crop insurance. 

Sec. 302. Environmental quality incentives program. 

Sec. 303. Conservation stewardship program. 

Sec. 304. State assistance for soil health. 

Sec. 305. Funding and administration. 

Sec. 306. Conservation compliance. 

Sec. 307. National and regional agroforestry centers. 

TITLE IV—FARMLAND PRESERVATION AND FARM VIABILITY 

Sec. 401. Local Agriculture Market Program. 

Sec. 402. National organic certification cost-share program. 

Sec. 403. Farmland Protection Policy Act. 

Sec. 404. Agricultural conservation easement program. 

TITLE V—PASTURE-BASED LIVESTOCK 

Sec. 501. Animal raising claims. 

Sec. 502. Processing resilience grant program. 

Sec. 503. Conservation of private grazing land. 

Sec. 504. Conservation reserve program. 

Sec. 505. Alternative manure management program. 

TITLE VI—ON-FARM RENEWABLE ENERGY 

Sec. 601. Rural Energy For America Program. 

Sec. 602. Agrivoltaic systems. 

Sec. 603. AgSTAR program. 

TITLE VII—FOOD LOSS AND WASTE 

Subtitle A—Food Date Labeling 

Sec. 701. Definitions. 

Sec. 702. Quality dates and discard dates. 

Sec. 703. Misbranding. 

Sec. 704. Regulations. 

Sec. 705. Delayed applicability. 

Subtitle B—Other Provisions 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•S 1016 IS

Sec. 711. Composting as conservation practice. 

Sec. 712. Amendments to Federal Food Donation Act. 

Sec. 713. Grants for composting and anaerobic digestion food waste-to-energy 

projects. 

Sec. 714. School food waste reduction grant program. 

Sec. 715. Support for national media campaigns to decrease incidence of food 

waste. 

Sec. 716. Food waste research program. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITION OF SECRETARY. 

2 In this Act, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec3 retary of Agriculture. 

4 TITLE I—NATIONAL GOALS 

5 SEC. 101. NATIONAL GOALS. 

6 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the goals established 

7 under this title is to prevent climate change from exceed8 ing 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming above preindustrial lev9 els through a national greenhouse gas emission reduction 

10 effort. 

11 (b) NATIONAL GOALS.—The national goals for the 

12 agricultural sector shall be to achieve— 

13 (1) not less than a 50-percent reduction in net 

14 greenhouse gas emissions, as compared to those lev15 els during calendar year 2010, by not later than De16 cember 31, 2030; and 

17 (2) net zero emissions by not later than Decem18 ber 31, 2040. 

19 (c) SUBGOALS.—To achieve the national goals de20 scribed in subsection (b), there are established the fol21 lowing subgoals: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•S 1016 IS

1 (1) RESEARCH.—The total Federal investment 

2 in public food and agriculture research and exten3 sion should— 

4 (A) at a minimum, as compared to that 

5 total Federal investment for fiscal year 2023— 

6 (i) triple by not later than December 

7 31, 2030; and 

8 (ii) quadruple by not later than De9 cember 31, 2040; and 

10 (B) strongly focus on climate change adap11 tation and mitigation, soil health and carbon se12 questration, nutrient and manure management 

13 to curb nitrous oxide and methane emissions, 

14 agroforestry, advanced grazing management 

15 and crop-livestock integration, perennial pro16 duction systems, on-farm and food system en17 ergy efficiency and renewable energy produc18 tion, farmland preservation and viability, food 

19 waste reduction, and any other related areas, as 

20 determined by the Secretary. 

21 (2) SOIL HEALTH.—The United States 

22 should— 

23 (A) immediately become a member of the 

24 Partners Forum and the Consortium of the 4 

25 per 1000 Initiative, hosted by the Consultative 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•S 1016 IS

1 Group for International Agricultural Research, 

2 with the aim of increasing total soil carbon 

3 stocks by 0.4 percent annually to reduce carbon 

4 in the atmosphere, restore soil health and pro5 ductivity, and thereby improve food security; 

6 (B) sufficiently expand adoption of soil 

7 health systems and practices (including diverse 

8 crop rotations, cover cropping, and conservation 

9 tillage), perennial crop and grass-based live10 stock production systems, agroforestry, 

11 composting, advanced nutrient budgeting and 

12 biologically based nutrient management, ad13 vanced grazing management (including 

14 silvopasture and management-intensive rota15 tional grazing), and integrated crop-livestock 

16 systems— 

17 (i) to reduce nitrous oxide emissions 

18 from agricultural soils, as compared to 

19 those levels during calendar year 2023— 

20 (I) by 25 percent by not later 

21 than December 31, 2030; and 

22 (II) by 75 percent by not later 

23 than December 31, 2040; 

24 (ii) to increase soil carbon stocks by 

25 0.4 percent annually on at least 50 percent 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•S 1016 IS

1 of agricultural land by not later than De2 cember 31, 2030; and 

3 (iii) to meet or exceed the threshold 

4 described in clause (ii) on all agricultural 

5 land by not later than December 31, 2040; 

6 (C) expand implementation of regionally 

7 appropriate cover crops and other continual liv8 ing cover so that— 

9 (i) at least 50 percent of cropland 

10 acres include 1 or more cover crops or 

11 other continual living cover in the rotations 

12 of the cropland acres by not later than De13 cember 31, 2030; 

14 (ii) at least 75 percent of cropland 

15 acres include 1 or more cover crops or 

16 other continual living cover in the rotations 

17 of the cropland acres by not later than De18 cember 31, 2040; 

19 (iii) cropland acres are covered by 

20 crops (including forages and hay crops), 

21 cover crops, or residue for an average of 

22 75 percent of each calendar year by not 

23 later than December 31, 2030; and 

24 (iv) cropland acres are covered by 

25 crops (including forages and hay crops), 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•S 1016 IS

1 cover crops, or residue for an average of 

2 85 percent of each calendar year by not 

3 later than December 31, 2040; and 

4 (D) encourage conversion of at least— 

5 (i) 15 percent of annual grain crop 

6 acres, as in use on the date of enactment 

7 of this Act, to agroforestry, perennial graz8 ing, perennial grain crops, or other peren9 nial production systems by not later than 

10 December 31, 2030; and 

11 (ii) 30 percent of annual grain crop 

12 acres, as in use on the date of enactment 

13 of this Act, to agroforestry, perennial graz14 ing, perennial grain crops, or other peren15 nial production systems by not later than 

16 December 31, 2040. 

17 (3) FARMLAND PRESERVATION.— 

18 (A) 2030 GOAL.—The rate of conversion of 

19 agricultural land to development, and the rate 

20 of conversion of grassland to cropping, should 

21 be reduced by at least 80 percent, as compared 

22 to those rates for calendar year 2023 by not 

23 later than December 31, 2030. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•S 1016 IS

1 (B) 2040 GOAL.—There should be no con2 version of agricultural land to development, or 

3 grassland to cropping, by December 31, 2040. 

4 (4) PASTURE-BASED LIVESTOCK.—The live5 stock sector should— 

6 (A) establish advanced grazing manage7 ment, including management-intensive rota8 tional grazing, on at least— 

9 (i) 50 percent of all grazing land by 

10 not later than December 31, 2030; and 

11 (ii) 100 percent of all grazing land by 

12 not later than December 31, 2040; 

13 (B)(i) reduce greenhouse gas emissions re14 lated to feeding of ruminants by at least— 

(I) 1 15 ⁄3 by not later than December 31, 

16 2030; and 

(II) 1 17 ⁄2 by not later than December 

18 31, 2040; and 

19 (ii) accomplish the reductions described in 

20 clause (i) by— 

21 (I) reducing nongrazing feeding of 

22 ruminants; 

23 (II) growing feed grains and forages 

24 with soil health and nutrient management 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•S 1016 IS

1 practices that minimize net greenhouse gas 

2 emissions from cropland; and 

3 (III) designing livestock feed mixtures 

4 and supplements to mitigate enteric meth5 ane emissions; 

6 (C) re-integrate livestock and crop produc7 tion systems at farm, local, and regional levels 

8 to facilitate environmentally sound management 

9 and field application of manure and reduce the 

10 need for long-term manure storage by increas11 ing acreage on individual farms under crop-live12 stock integrated management by at least— 

13 (i) 100 percent as compared to cal14 endar year 2017 levels by not later than 

15 December 31, 2030; and 

16 (ii) 300 percent as compared to cal17 endar year 2017 levels by not later than 

18 December 31, 2040; and 

19 (D) reduce greenhouse gas emissions re20 sulting from manure management by— 

21 (i) immediately ceasing building any 

22 new or expanded waste lagoons for con23 fined animal feeding operations; and 

24 (ii) converting— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•S 1016 IS

1 (I) by not later than December 

31, 2030, at least 1 2 ⁄3 of wet manure 

3 handling and storage to non-digester 

4 dairy or livestock methane manage5 ment methods (as defined in section 

6 1240T(a) of the Food Security Act of 

7 1985); and 

8 (II) by not later than December 

31, 2040, at least 2 9 ⁄3 of wet manure 

10 handling and storage to non-digester 

11 dairy or livestock methane manage12 ment methods (as so defined). 

13 (5) ON-FARM RENEWABLE ENERGY.—The agri14 cultural sector should— 

15 (A) implement energy audits and energy 

16 efficiency improvements on at least— 

17 (i) 50 percent of farms by not later 

18 than December 31, 2030; and 

19 (ii) 100 percent of farms by not later 

20 than December 31, 2040; 

21 (B) expand on-farm clean renewable en22 ergy production to a level that is at least— 

23 (i) double the 2017 level by not later 

24 than December 31, 2030; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•S 1016 IS

1 (ii) triple the 2017 level by not later 

2 than December 31, 2040; and 

3 (C) install and manage on-farm renewable 

4 energy infrastructure in a manner that does 

5 not— 

6 (i) compromise the climate resilience 

7 and greenhouse gas mitigation goals of this 

8 Act; or 

9 (ii) adversely impact farmland, soil, 

10 and water resources, or food production. 

11 (6) FOOD LOSS AND WASTE.—Consistent with 

12 the Food Waste Challenge launched by the Depart13 ment of Agriculture and the Environmental Protec14 tion Agency in June 2013, and the national food 

15 loss and waste goal announced in September 2015, 

16 the food and agricultural sector should commit to— 

17 (A) at least a 50-percent reduction in food 

18 loss and waste by not later than December 31, 

19 2030; 

20 (B) at least a 75-percent reduction in food 

21 loss and waste by not later than December 31, 

22 2040; and 

23 (C) in a manner consistent with the Food 

24 Recovery Hierarchy established by the Environ25 mental Protection Agency, diverting from landVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1016.IS S1016

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•S 1016 IS

1 fills through composting and other means at 

2 least— 

3 (i) 50 percent of unavoidable food 

4 waste and food processing byproducts by 

5 not later than December 31, 2030; and 

6 (ii) 90 percent of unavoidable food 

7 waste and food processing byproducts by 

8 not later than December 31, 2040. 

9 SEC. 102. ACTION PLAN. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

11 (1) develop a plan (referred to in this section as 

12 the ‘‘plan’’), which may involve actions to be taken 

13 by other Federal agencies, to make significant and 

14 rapid progress to achieve the national goals de15 scribed in section 101; and 

16 (2) make the plan available for public comment 

17 for a period of not less than 90 days. 

18 (b) ACTIONS.—Actions under the plan shall— 

19 (1) include issuing regulations, providing incen20 tives, carrying out research and development pro21 grams, and any other actions the Secretary deter22 mines are necessary to achieve the national goals de23 scribed in section 101; and 

24 (2) be designed— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
13 

•S 1016 IS

1 (A) to fully implement the provisions of 

2 this Act and the amendments made by this Act; 

3 (B) to provide benefits for farmers and 

4 ranchers, rural communities, small businesses, 

5 and consumers; 

6 (C) to improve public health, resilience, 

7 and environmental outcomes, especially for 

8 rural and low-income households, communities 

9 of color, Tribal and indigenous communities, 

10 and communities that are disproportionately 

11 vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, air 

12 and water pollution, and other resource deg13 radation; and 

14 (D) to prioritize investments that reduce 

15 emissions of greenhouse gases and sequester 

16 carbon while simultaneously helping to solve 

17 other pressing agro-environmental resource con18 cerns, increase farming and ranching opportuni19 ties, create quality jobs, improve farmworker 

20 working conditions and living standards, and 

21 make communities more resilient to the effects 

22 of climate change. 

23 (c) FINAL PLAN.—Not later than 18 months after 

24 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
14 

•S 1016 IS

1 (1) finalize the plan, taking into account any 

2 public comments received on the plan; 

3 (2) begin implementation of the plan; and 

4 (3) submit the plan to Congress. 

5 (d) UPDATES.—Beginning 2 years after the date on 

6 which the Secretary submits the plan to Congress under 

7 subsection (c)(3), and not less frequently than biennially 

8 thereafter, the Secretary shall— 

9 (1) review and revise the plan to ensure that 

10 the plan is sufficient to achieve the national goals 

11 described in section 101; and 

12 (2) submit the revised plan to Congress. 

13 (e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after 

14 the date on which the Secretary submits the plan to Con15 gress under subsection (c)(3), and annually thereafter, the 

16 Secretary shall submit to Congress, and make publicly 

17 available, an annual report that describes, for the period 

18 covered by the report— 

19 (1) actions taken pursuant to the plan and the 

20 effects of those actions; 

21 (2) the conclusion of the most recent review of 

22 the plan conducted under subsection (d), if applica23 ble; and 

24 (3) a summary of any revisions made to the 

25 plan under that subsection. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
15 

•S 1016 IS

1 TITLE II—RESEARCH 

2 SEC. 201. RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND EDUCATION PUR3 POSE. 

4 Section 1402 of the National Agricultural Research, 

5 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

6 3101) is amended— 

7 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (8) and (9) as 

8 paragraphs (9) and (11), respectively; 

9 (2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(8) accelerate the ability of agriculture and the 

12 food system of the United States to first achieve net13 zero carbon emissions and then be carbon negative 

14 by removing additional carbon dioxide from the at15 mosphere;’’; 

16 (3) in paragraph (9) (as so redesignated), by 

17 striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

18 (4) by inserting after paragraph (9) (as so re19 designated) the following: 

20 ‘‘(10) develop food systems that are healthful, 

21 sustainable, equitable, and resilient to extreme 

22 weather, other impacts of climate change, and other 

23 potential intersecting global and national disrup24 tions; and’’; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
16 

•S 1016 IS

1 (5) in paragraph (11) (as so redesignated), in 

2 subparagraph (B), by inserting ‘‘and delivering to 

3 agricultural producers’’ after ‘‘improving’’. 

4 SEC. 202. REGIONAL HUBS FOR RISK ADAPTATION AND 

5 MITIGATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE. 

6 Title IV of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

7 Education Reform Act of 1998 is amended by inserting 

8 before section 404 (7 U.S.C. 7624) the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 401. REGIONAL HUBS FOR RISK ADAPTATION AND 

10 MITIGATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE. 

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab12 lish a national network of regional hubs for risk adapta13 tion and mitigation to climate change to provide to farm14 ers, ranchers, forest landowners, and other agricultural 

15 and natural resource managers— 

16 ‘‘(1) science-based, region-specific, cost-effec17 tive, and practical information and program support 

18 for science-informed decision making in light of the 

19 increased costs, opportunities, risks, and 

20 vulnerabilities associated with a changing climate; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(2) access to assistance to implement that de23 cision making. 

24 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—An entity shall be eligible to be 

25 selected as a regional hub under subsection (a) if the entiVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1016.IS S1016

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
17 

•S 1016 IS

1 ty is any office of the Agricultural Research Service, the 

2 Forest Service, or any other agency of the Department 

3 of Agriculture that the Secretary determines to be appro4 priate. 

5 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATION.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The network established 

7 under subsection (a) shall be designated and admin8 istered jointly by the Agricultural Research Service 

9 and the Forest Service, in partnership with other 

10 Federal agencies, including the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) Within the Department of Agri12 culture, the following agencies: 

13 ‘‘(i) The Natural Resources Conserva14 tion Service. 

15 ‘‘(ii) The Farm Service Agency. 

16 ‘‘(iii) The Risk Management Agency. 

17 ‘‘(iv) The Animal and Plant Health 

18 Inspection Service. 

19 ‘‘(v) The National Institute of Food 

20 and Agriculture. 

21 ‘‘(B) The Department of the Interior. 

22 ‘‘(C) The Department of Energy. 

23 ‘‘(D) The Environmental Protection Agen24 cy. 

25 ‘‘(E) The United States Geological Survey. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
18 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(F) The National Oceanic and Atmos2 pheric Administration. 

3 ‘‘(G) The National Aeronautics and Space 

4 Administration. 

5 ‘‘(H) Such other Federal agencies as the 

6 Secretary determines to be appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(2) PARTNERS.—The regional hubs estab8 lished under subsection (a) shall work in close part9 nership with other stakeholders and partners, includ10 ing— 

11 ‘‘(A) colleges and universities (as defined 

12 in section 1404 of the Food and Agriculture 

13 Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)); 

14 ‘‘(B) cooperative extension services (as de15 fined in that section); 

16 ‘‘(C) State agricultural experiment stations 

17 (as defined in that section); 

18 ‘‘(D) private entities; 

19 ‘‘(E) State, local, and regional govern20 ments; 

21 ‘‘(F) Indian Tribes; 

22 ‘‘(G) agriculture and commodity organiza23 tions; 

24 ‘‘(H) nonprofit and community-based orga25 nizations; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
19 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(I) other partners, as determined by the 

2 Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(d) RESPONSIBILITIES.—A regional hub established 

4 under subsection (a) shall— 

5 ‘‘(1) offer tools, strategic management options, 

6 and technical support to farmers, ranchers, and for7 est landowners to help those farmers, ranchers, and 

8 forest landowners mitigate and adapt to climate 

9 change; 

10 ‘‘(2) direct farmers, ranchers, and forest land11 owners to Federal agencies that can provide pro12 gram support to enable those farmers, ranchers, and 

13 forest landowners to implement science-informed 

14 management practices that address climate change; 

15 ‘‘(3) determine how climate and weather projec16 tions will impact the agricultural and forestry sec17 tors; 

18 ‘‘(4) provide periodic regional assessments of 

19 risk and vulnerability in the agricultural and for20 estry sectors— 

21 ‘‘(A) to help farmers, ranchers, and forest 

22 landowners better understand the potential di23 rect and indirect impacts of climate change; 

24 and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
20 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(B) to inform the United States Global 

2 Change Research Program established under 

3 section 103 of the Global Change Research Act 

4 of 1990 (15 U.S.C. 2933); 

5 ‘‘(5) provide to farmers, ranchers, forest land6 owners, and rural communities outreach, education, 

7 and extension on science-based risk management 

8 through partnerships with the land-grant colleges 

9 and universities (as defined in section 1404 of the 

10 Food and Agriculture Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)), 

11 cooperative extension services (as defined in that 

12 section), and other entities; 

13 ‘‘(6) work with any cooperative extension serv14 ices (as defined in section 1404 of the Food and Ag15 riculture Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)), conservation 

16 districts, and nongovernmental organizations in17 volved in farmer outreach in the region served by the 

18 hub to assist producers in developing business plans 

19 and conservation plans that take into account 

20 emerging climate risk science with respect to crop, 

21 production, and conservation system changes that 

22 will help producers adapt to a changing climate; and 

23 ‘‘(7) establish, in partnership with programs 

24 and projects carried out under subtitle B of title 

25 XVI of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
21 

•S 1016 IS

1 Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5801 et seq.), addi2 tional partnerships with farmers and nonprofit and 

3 community-based organizations to conduct applied 

4 on-farm research on climate change. 

5 ‘‘(e) PRIORITIES.—A regional hub established under 

6 subsection (a) shall prioritize synthesis and dissemination 

7 of research and data collection activities in the following 

8 areas: 

9 ‘‘(1) Improved measurement and monitoring 

10 of— 

11 ‘‘(A) soil organic carbon sequestration; and 

12 ‘‘(B) total net greenhouse gas impacts of 

13 different farming systems and practices. 

14 ‘‘(2) Lifecycle analysis for total net greenhouse 

15 gas emissions related to— 

16 ‘‘(A) alternative cropping systems; 

17 ‘‘(B) alternative livestock production sys18 tems; 

19 ‘‘(C) integrated cropping-livestock systems; 

20 ‘‘(D) alternative biofuel crop production 

21 systems and biofuel end uses; 

22 ‘‘(E) alternative agroforestry practices and 

23 systems; and 

24 ‘‘(F) alternative forestry management sys25 tems. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
22 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(3) Research and education on— 

2 ‘‘(A) optimal soil health management sys3 tems and practices; 

4 ‘‘(B) advanced biological nutrient manage5 ment based on optimal soil health practices; 

6 ‘‘(C) enhanced synergies between crop 

7 roots and soil biota; 

8 ‘‘(D) linkages between soil, plant, animal, 

9 and human health; 

10 ‘‘(E) adaption and mitigation needs of 

11 stakeholders; 

12 ‘‘(F) new crops or new varieties to help 

13 producers be profitable while implementing soil 

14 health management systems and adapting to a 

15 changing climate; 

16 ‘‘(G) social and economic barriers to stake17 holder adoption of new practices that improve 

18 adaptation, mitigation, and soil sequestration; 

19 and 

20 ‘‘(H) evaluation and assessment of climate21 related decision tools of the Department of Ag22 riculture. 

23 ‘‘(4) Grazing-based livestock management sys24 tems to optimize the net greenhouse gas footprint, 

25 including— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
23 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(A) grazing land carbon sequestration; 

2 ‘‘(B) reduction of nitrous oxide emissions 

3 from manure deposited on grazing land; and 

4 ‘‘(C) mitigation of enteric methane. 

5 ‘‘(5) Perennial production systems that seques6 ter carbon, enhance soil health, and increase resil7 ience, including— 

8 ‘‘(A) perennial forages; 

9 ‘‘(B) perennial grains; and 

10 ‘‘(C) agroforestry. 

11 ‘‘(f) STAKEHOLDER INPUT.—Each regional hub es12 tablished under subsection (a)— 

13 ‘‘(1) shall solicit input from stakeholders on 

14 pressing needs, important issues, and outreach strat15 egies through a variety of mechanisms, including re16 gional stakeholder committees; and 

17 ‘‘(2) may partner with stakeholders in con18 ducting research and developing tools. 

19 ‘‘(g) RISK MANAGEMENT.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall appoint 

21 a team of individuals representing the regional hubs 

22 established under subsection (a), partners with those 

23 regional hubs, and the Risk Management Agency to 

24 develop recommendations to better account for— 

25 ‘‘(A) climate risk in actuarial tables; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
24 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(B) soil health and other risk-reducing 

2 conservation activities under the Federal crop 

3 insurance program under the Federal Crop In4 surance Act (7 U.S.C. 1501 et seq.). 

5 ‘‘(2) SUBMISSION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

6 The team appointed under paragraph (1) shall sub7 mit to the Secretary, on an iterative basis, but not 

8 less frequently than once every 2 years, the rec9 ommendations developed by the team under that 

10 paragraph. 

11 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

12 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

13 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028.’’. 

14 SEC. 203. SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE RESEARCH AND 

15 EDUCATION RESILIENCE INITIATIVE. 

16 (a) SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE RESEARCH AND

17 EDUCATION.—Section 1619 of the Food, Agriculture, 

18 Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5801) is 

19 amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

22 the end; 

23 (B) in paragraph (6), by striking the pe24 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
25 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(7) increase resilience in the context of a 

2 changing climate and related economic, social, and 

3 environmental shocks.’’; and 

4 (2) in subsection (b)— 

5 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

6 (i) by striking ‘‘integrated crop man7 agement’’ and inserting ‘‘integrated crop 

8 and livestock management system or prac9 tice’’; and 

10 (ii) by inserting ‘‘resilience,’’ after 

11 ‘‘profitability,’’; and 

12 (B) by striking paragraph (3) and insert13 ing the following: 

14 ‘‘(3) The term ‘resilience’ means, with respect 

15 to an agricultural management system, the ability of 

16 that system to absorb and recover from climate and 

17 other disturbances, such that the system is not im18 pacted by severe shocks.’’. 

19 (b) ELIGIBILITY OF TRIBAL COLLEGES TO ENTER

20 INTO RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROJECT AGREE21 MENTS.—Section 1621(b) of the Food, Agriculture, Con22 servation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5811(b)) is 

23 amended by striking ‘‘or Federal or State’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘1994 Institutions (as defined in section 532 of the Eq25 uity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
26 

•S 1016 IS

1 U.S.C. 301 note; Public Law 103–382)), or Federal, 

2 State, or Tribal’’. 

3 (c) AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SYSTEM RESILIENCE

4 INITIATIVE.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1627 of the Food, 

6 Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 

7 U.S.C. 5821) is amended— 

8 (A) in the section heading, by striking 

9 ‘‘INTEGRATED MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD

11 SYSTEM RESILIENCE INITIATIVE’’; 

12 (B) by striking subsection (a) and insert13 ing the following: 

14 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In close conjunction with 

16 programs and projects established under sections 

17 1621 and 1623, the Secretary shall establish a re18 search, education, extension, and outreach initiative 

19 to increase the resilience and climate change mitiga20 tion potential of agriculture and the food system in 

21 the context of a changing climate and related eco22 nomic, social, and environmental shocks, which may 

23 include— 

24 ‘‘(A) farmer and rancher research and 

25 demonstration grants; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
27 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(B) the use of an interdisciplinary ap2 proach wherever appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(2) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the initiative 

4 established under paragraph (1) shall be— 

5 ‘‘(A) to equip farmers to prepare, adapt, 

6 and transform the farming systems of the farm7 ers when confronted by shocks and stresses to 

8 the agricultural production and livelihoods of 

9 the farmers; 

10 ‘‘(B) to support local and regional food 

11 systems that support resilience and enhance 

12 local access to and control over productive re13 sources; 

14 ‘‘(C) to encourage producers to adopt prac15 tices and systems that provide living cover year16 round throughout the farm, including through 

17 the use of cover crops and perennial plants in 

18 diversified combinations, and that are designed 

19 to support crop, livestock, and crop-livestock in20 tegrated systems that— 

21 ‘‘(i) minimize or abate adverse climate 

22 and environmental impacts; 

23 ‘‘(ii) increase soil carbon sequestration 

24 and storage; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
28 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) reduce soil erosion and loss of 

2 water and nutrients; 

3 ‘‘(iv) enhance soil quality and the effi4 cient use of on-farm and off-farm inputs; 

5 ‘‘(v) reduce dependency on fossil fuels; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(vi) maintain or increase profitability 

8 and long-term productivity; 

9 ‘‘(D) to develop knowledge and information 

10 and conduct outreach on living cover systems 

11 and practices, including greater use of 

12 perennials, and integrated crop and livestock 

13 management systems and practices to increase 

14 resilience and assist agricultural producers in 

15 the adoption of those systems and practices; 

16 ‘‘(E) to facilitate the adoption of year17 round living cover and perennial production sys18 tems supporting whole-farm integrated crop 

19 and livestock management systems and prac20 tices through demonstration projects on indi21 vidual farms, including small and limited re22 source farms, throughout the United States; 

23 and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
29 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(F) to evaluate and recommend appro2 priate policies and programs to improve food 

3 and agricultural system resilience.’’; and 

4 (C) by striking subsections (b), (c), and (d) 

5 and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(b) FUNDING.— 

7 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of 

8 the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 

9 shall use to carry out this section $50,000,000 for 

10 fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter. 

11 ‘‘(2) DISCRETIONARY FUNDING.—There is au12 thorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

13 through the National Institute of Food and Agri14 culture $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2013 

15 through 2028.’’. 

16 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter 

17 heading of chapter 2 of subtitle B of title XVI of the 

18 Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 

19 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5821) is amended to read as follows: 

20 ‘‘AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SYSTEM 

21 RESILIENCE INITIATIVE’’. 

22 (d) TECHNICAL GUIDES AND BOOKS.—Section 1628 

23 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 

24 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5831) is amended— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
30 

•S 1016 IS

1 (1) by inserting ‘‘and outreach resources and’’ 

2 after ‘‘educational’’ each place it appears; 

3 (2) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘Not later 

4 than two years after the date of the enactment of 

5 this Act, the Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘The Sec6 retary’’; 

7 (3) in subsection (b), by striking the second 

8 sentence; 

9 (4) in subsection (d)— 

10 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and 

11 (4) as paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and 

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

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(3) adapting to and mitigating the effects of 

15 climate change;’’; 

16 (5) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘Soil Con17 servation’’ and inserting ‘‘Natural Resources Con18 servation’’; and 

19 (6) in subsection (f)(2), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘2028’’. 

21 (e) NATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAM.—Section 1629 

22 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 

23 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5832) is amended— 

24 (1) in subsection (g)— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
31 

•S 1016 IS

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

2 Conservation Service and the Agricultural Sta3 bilization and Conservation Service’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘Natural Resources Conservation Service 

5 and the Farm Service Agency’’; 

6 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (10) and 

7 (11) as paragraphs (11) and (12), respectively; 

8 and 

9 (C) by inserting after paragraph (9) the 

10 following; 

11 ‘‘(10) develop and provide information con12 cerning climate change adaptation and mitigation 

13 developed under this subtitle and other research and 

14 education programs of the Department;’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (h), by striking ‘‘Soil Con16 servation Service’’ and inserting ‘‘Natural Resources 

17 Conservation Service’’; and 

18 (3) in subsection (i), by inserting ‘‘, and 

19 $30,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 

20 2028’’ before the period at the end. 

21 SEC. 204. LONG-TERM AGROECOSYSTEM RESEARCH NET22 WORK. 

23 Title IV of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and 

24 Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7624 et seq.) 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
32 

•S 1016 IS

1 is amended by inserting after section 401 (as added by 

2 section 202) the following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 402. LONG-TERM AGROECOSYSTEM RESEARCH NET4 WORK. 

5 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

6 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

7 through the Administrator of the Agricultural Re8 search Service, shall provide for the establishment 

9 and maintenance of a network of research sites oper10 ated by the Agricultural Research Service for re11 search on the sustainability of agricultural systems 

12 in the United States, to be known as the ‘Long13 Term Agroecosystem Research Network’ (referred to 

14 in this section as the ‘Network’). 

15 ‘‘(2) GOALS.—The Network shall have the fol16 lowing goals: 

17 ‘‘(A) To understand and enhance the sus18 tainability of agriculture. 

19 ‘‘(B) To integrate research projects with 

20 common standardized measurements on mul21 tiple agroecosystems and land uses, including 

22 cropland, rangeland, and pastureland. 

23 ‘‘(C) To develop new farming systems, 

24 practices, and technologies to address agricul25 tural challenges and opportunities, including 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
33 

•S 1016 IS

1 challenges and opportunities posed by climate 

2 change. 

3 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED.—The activities of the 

4 Network shall include— 

5 ‘‘(1) research conducted for a minimum of 30 

6 years to develop novel scientific insights at regional 

7 and national scales and evaluate the applicability of 

8 and adaptation to local conditions; 

9 ‘‘(2) the establishment and maintenance of mul10 tiple sites or research centers that capture the diver11 sity of agricultural production systems that function 

12 as a network; and 

13 ‘‘(3) the coordination, management, and anal14 ysis of large-scale data collection relating to the sus15 tainability of agricultural systems and the provision 

16 of infrastructure to research sites to allow for ana17 lyzing and disseminating that data. 

18 ‘‘(c) COORDINATION OF RESEARCH.—The Secretary 

19 shall, in carrying out subsection (a)— 

20 ‘‘(1) coordinate long-term agroecological re21 search to improve understanding within the Depart22 ment of how agroecosystems function at the field, 

23 regional, and national scales; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
34 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(2) designate research sites for inclusion in 

2 the Network that are representative of major agri3 cultural regions; 

4 ‘‘(3) ensure that each research site included in 

5 the Network conducts experiments with common 

6 standardized goals and methods— 

7 ‘‘(A) to increase agricultural productivity 

8 and profitability; 

9 ‘‘(B) to enhance agricultural resilience and 

10 the capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate 

11 change; 

12 ‘‘(C) to boost the provision of ecosystem 

13 services from agricultural landscapes; and 

14 ‘‘(D) to improve opportunities for rural 

15 communities; 

16 ‘‘(4) make data collected at research sites in17 cluded in the Network open to researchers and the 

18 public whenever practicable, and integrate data 

19 across the network and partner sites; 

20 ‘‘(5) provide infrastructure to research sites in21 cluded in the Network for data collection, common 

22 measurements, and data streams that complement 

23 other national networks, such as the National Eco24 logical Observatory Network and the Long-Term Ec25 ological Research network; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
35 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(6) coordinate with Department of Agriculture 

2 Climate Hubs to share research findings and data 

3 insights; and 

4 ‘‘(7) collaborate with Department of Agriculture 

5 Climate Hubs to translate research findings into 

6 educational, outreach, and technical assistance mate7 rials for agricultural producers. 

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

9 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out activities of 

10 the Network under this section $50,000,000 for each of 

11 fiscal years 2024 through 2028.’’. 

12 SEC. 205. PUBLIC BREED AND CULTIVAR RESEARCH. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Competitive, Special, and Fa14 cilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 ‘‘(A) CONVENTIONAL BREEDING.—The 

19 term ‘conventional breeding’ means the develop20 ment of a new variety of an organism through 

21 controlled mating and selection without the use 

22 of transgenic methods. 

23 ‘‘(B) CULTIVAR.—The term ‘cultivar’ 

24 means a variety of a species of plant that has 

25 been intentionally selected for use in cultivation 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
36 

•S 1016 IS

1 because of the improved characteristics of that 

2 variety of the species. 

3 ‘‘(C) PUBLIC ANIMAL BREED.—The term 

4 ‘public animal breed’ means an animal breed 

5 that is the commercially available end product 

6 of a publicly funded breeding program that has 

7 been sufficiently tested to demonstrate im8 proved characteristics and stable performance. 

9 ‘‘(D) PUBLIC CULTIVAR.—The term ‘public 

10 cultivar’ means a cultivar— 

11 ‘‘(i) that is the commercially available 

12 end product of a publicly funded breeding 

13 program that has been sufficiently tested 

14 to demonstrate improved characteristics 

15 and stable performance; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) with respect to which, if intellec17 tual property rights are asserted, the intel18 lectual property rights are in the form of 

19 plant patents or plant variety protection 

20 and not utility patents. 

21 ‘‘(E) PUBLIC CULTIVAR OR ANIMAL

22 BREED.—The term ‘public cultivar or animal 

23 breed’ means— 

24 ‘‘(i) a public animal breed; and 

25 ‘‘(ii) a public cultivar.’’; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
37 

•S 1016 IS

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

2 ‘‘(l) PUBLIC BREED AND CULTIVAR DEVELOPMENT

3 FUNDING.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Of the total amount of 

5 grants made under the provisions of law described in 

6 paragraph (2), the Secretary shall ensure that not 

7 less than $75,000,000 for each fiscal year is used 

8 for competitive research grants that support the de9 velopment of public cultivars and animal breeds. 

10 ‘‘(2) APPLICABLE PROGRAMS.—The provisions 

11 of law referred to in paragraph (1) are— 

12 ‘‘(A) subsections (a) and (b); 

13 ‘‘(B) section 1672B(e) of the Food, Agri14 culture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 

15 (7 U.S.C. 5925b(e)); 

16 ‘‘(C) sections 1619 through 1624 of that 

17 Act (7 U.S.C. 5801 et seq.); 

18 ‘‘(D) any relevant competitive grant pro19 gram authorized by section 406 of the Agricul20 tural Research, Extension, and Education Re21 form Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7626), as deter22 mined by the Secretary; and 

23 ‘‘(E) section 412 of that Act (7 U.S.C. 

24 7632). 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
38 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(3) PRIORITY.—In making grants under para2 graph (1), the Secretary shall give priority to high3 potential research projects that lead to the release of 

4 regionally adapted public cultivars and animal 

5 breeds that assist producers in mitigating and 

6 adapting to climate change, including— 

7 ‘‘(A) regionally adapted public cultivars 

8 and animal breeds; 

9 ‘‘(B) public cultivars and animal breeds 

10 bred for environmental resilience, including re11 silience to changing climates, mitigating green12 house gas emissions, and sequestering carbon; 

13 ‘‘(C) public animal breeds adapted to graz14 ing and overwintering as appropriate for the 

15 applicable production region; 

16 ‘‘(D) public cultivars and animal breeds 

17 bred to enhance the nutritional and health out18 comes of local and Native American, Alaska 

19 Native, and Native Hawaiian populations; 

20 ‘‘(E) public cultivars and animal breeds of 

21 indigenous and place-based importance that are 

22 endangered; and 

23 ‘‘(F) public cultivars and animal breeds 

24 with beneficial and compatible characteristics 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
39 

•S 1016 IS

1 and behaviors for dual-use renewable energy-ag2 ricultural systems. 

3 ‘‘(4) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall ensure 

4 that— 

5 ‘‘(A) the terms and renewal process for 

6 any competitive grants made under subsection 

7 (b) in accordance with paragraph (1) facilitates 

8 the development and commercialization of pub9 lic cultivars and animal breeds through long10 term grants not less than 5 years in length; and 

11 ‘‘(B) Tribal consultation occurs to ensure 

12 public cultivar or animal breed development 

13 does not infringe on the abilities of Tribes to 

14 maintain culturally sensitive animal breeds and 

15 cultivars. 

16 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENT FOR DOMESTIC PRODUC17 TION.—No person that receives title to a plant pat18 ent or plant variety protection relating to any public 

19 cultivar or animal breed developed using funds re20 ceived under this subsection, and no assignee of any 

21 such person, shall grant to any person the exclusive 

22 right to use or sell that public cultivar or animal 

23 breed unless that person agrees that any cultivars or 

24 animals embodying the public cultivar or animal 

25 breed or produced through the use of the public 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
40 

•S 1016 IS

1 cultivar or animal breed will be produced substan2 tially in the United States. 

3 ‘‘(6) REPORT.—Not later than October 1 of 

4 each year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a 

5 report that provides information on all public 

6 cultivar and animal breeding research funded by the 

7 Department of Agriculture, including— 

8 ‘‘(A) a list of public cultivars and animal 

9 breeds developed and released in a commercially 

10 available form; 

11 ‘‘(B) areas of high-priority research; 

12 ‘‘(C) identified research gaps relating to 

13 public cultivar and animal breed development; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(D) an assessment of the state of com16 mercialization for public cultivars and animal 

17 breeds.’’. 

18 (b) PUBLIC BREED AND CULTIVAR RESEARCH AC19 TIVITIES COORDINATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 251 of the Depart21 ment of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 

22 U.S.C. 6971) is amended— 

23 (A) in subsection (e), by adding at the end 

24 the following: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
41 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(7) PUBLIC BREED AND CULTIVAR RESEARCH

2 ACTIVITIES COORDINATOR.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Under Secretary 

4 shall appoint a coordinator within the Office of 

5 the Chief Scientist that reports to the Under 

6 Secretary to coordinate research activities at 

7 the Department relating to the breeding of pub8 lic cultivars and animal breeds (as defined in 

9 paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of the Competi10 tive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act 

11 (7 U.S.C. 3157(a))). 

12 ‘‘(B) DUTIES OF COORDINATOR.—The co13 ordinator appointed under subparagraph (A) 

14 shall— 

15 ‘‘(i) coordinate plant and animal 

16 breeding research activities funded by the 

17 Department relating to the development of 

18 public cultivars and animal breeds; 

19 ‘‘(ii)(I) carry out ongoing analysis and 

20 track activities for any Federal research 

21 funding supporting plant and animal 

22 breeding (including any public cultivars 

23 and animal breeds developed with Federal 

24 funds); and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
42 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(II) ensure that the analysis and ac2 tivities are made available to the public not 

3 later than 60 days after the last day of 

4 each fiscal year; 

5 ‘‘(iii) develop a strategic plan that es6 tablishes targets for public cultivar and 

7 animal breed research investments across 

8 the Department to ensure that a diverse 

9 range of crop and animal needs are being 

10 met in a timely and transparent manner, 

11 with a strong focus on delivery of resource12 efficient, stress-tolerant, regionally adapted 

13 public cultivar and animal breeds that— 

14 ‘‘(I) help build agricultural resil15 ience to climate change; and 

16 ‘‘(II) support on-farm carbon se17 questration and greenhouse gas miti18 gation, nutritional quality, and other 

19 farmer-identified priority agronomic 

20 and market traits; 

21 ‘‘(iv) convene a working group to 

22 carry out the coordination functions de23 scribed in this subparagraph comprised of 

24 individuals who are responsible for the 

25 management, administration, or analysis of 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
43 

•S 1016 IS

1 public cultivar and animal breeding pro2 grams within the Department from— 

3 ‘‘(I) the National Institute of 

4 Food and Agriculture; 

5 ‘‘(II) the Agricultural Research 

6 Service; and 

7 ‘‘(III) the Economic Research 

8 Service; 

9 ‘‘(v) in order to maximize delivery of 

10 public cultivars and animal breeds, pro11 mote collaboration among— 

12 ‘‘(I) the coordinator; 

13 ‘‘(II) the working group convened 

14 under clause (iv); 

15 ‘‘(III) the advisory council estab16 lished under section 1634 of the 

17 Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and 

18 Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5843); 

19 ‘‘(IV) genetic resource conserva20 tion centers; 

21 ‘‘(V) land-grant colleges and uni22 versities (as defined in section 1404 of 

23 the National Agricultural Research, 

24 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 

25 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)); 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
44 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(VI) Hispanic-serving institu2 tions (as defined in section 502(a) of 

3 the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 

4 U.S.C. 1101a(a))); 

5 ‘‘(VII) Native American-serving 

6 nontribal institutions (as defined in 

7 section 371(c) of the Higher Edu8 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

9 1067q(c))); 

10 ‘‘(VIII) Tribal Colleges and Uni11 versities (as defined in section 316(b) 

12 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

13 (20 U.S.C. 1059c(b))) and federally 

14 recognized Tribes extension programs; 

15 ‘‘(IX) nongovernmental organiza16 tions with interest or expertise in pub17 lic breeding; and 

18 ‘‘(X) public and private plant and 

19 animal breeders, including small-scale 

20 organic breeders; 

21 ‘‘(vi) convene regular stakeholder lis22 tening sessions to provide input on na23 tional and regional priorities for public 

24 cultivar and animal breed research activi25 ties across the Department; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
45 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(vii) evaluate and make rec2 ommendations to the Under Secretary on 

3 training and resource needs to meet future 

4 breeding challenges.’’; and 

5 (B) in subsection (f)(1)(D)(i), by striking 

6 ‘‘(7 U.S.C. 450i(b))’’ and inserting ‘‘(7 U.S.C. 

7 3157(b))’’. 

8 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

9 296(b)(6)(B) of the Department of Agriculture Re10 organization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 7014(b)(6)(B)) 

11 is amended by striking ‘‘Scientist; and’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘Scientist (including the public breed and 

13 cultivar research activities coordinator under sub14 section (e)(7) of that section); and’’. 

15 (c) PUBLIC BREED AND CULTIVAR DEVELOP16 MENT.—Subtitle H of title XVI of the Food, Agriculture, 

17 Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 5921 et 

18 seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 1681. PUBLIC BREED AND CULTIVAR DEVELOPMENT. 

20 ‘‘(a) FUNDING.—The Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

21 through the Administrator of the Agricultural Research 

22 Service (referred to in this section as the ‘Secretary’) and 

23 in conjunction with the Director of the National Genetic 

24 Resources Program appointed under section 1633, shall 

25 support the development of public breeds and cultivars (as 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
46 

•S 1016 IS

1 defined in paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of the Competi2 tive, Special, and Facilities Research Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 

3 3157(a))) by Federal researchers. 

4 ‘‘(b) PRIORITY.—In supporting research under sub5 section (a) using funds made available pursuant to sub6 section (d), the Secretary shall give priority to high-poten7 tial research projects that lead to the release of regionally 

8 adapted public breeds and cultivars that assist producers 

9 in mitigating and adapting to climate change. 

10 ‘‘(c) REPORT.—Not later than October 1 of each 

11 year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that 

12 provides information on all public breed and cultivar re13 search funded by the Agricultural Research Service and 

14 the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, includ15 ing— 

16 ‘‘(1) a list of public breeds and cultivars devel17 oped and released in a commercially available form; 

18 ‘‘(2) areas of high-priority research; 

19 ‘‘(3) identified research gaps relating to public 

20 breed and cultivar development, including newly 

21 emerging needs stemming from climate change; and 

22 ‘‘(4) an assessment of the state of commer23 cialization for breeds and cultivars that have been 

24 developed. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
47 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(d) FUNDING.—Of the funds made available to the 

2 Secretary for a fiscal year, not less than $50,000,000 shall 

3 be made available to carry out this section.’’. 

4 SEC. 206. ARS CLIMATE SCIENTIST CAREER DEVELOPMENT 

5 PROGRAM. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, in accord7 ance with section 922 of the Federal Agriculture Improve8 ment and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 2279c), carry 

9 out an internship program within the Agricultural Re10 search Service for graduate students pursuing a degree 

11 or conducting research relating to climate change and ag12 riculture. 

13 (b) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity Cred14 it Corporation, the Secretary may use to carry out the pro15 gram described in subsection (a) not more than 

16 $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 

17 SEC. 207. AGRICULTURAL CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND MITI18 GATION THROUGH AFRI. 

19 Subsection (b)(2) of the Competitive, Special, and 

20 Facilities Grant Act (7 U.S.C. 3157(b)(2)) is amended by 

21 adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(G) AGRICULTURAL CLIMATE ADAPTA23 TION AND MITIGATION.—Agricultural climate 

24 adaptation and mitigation, including— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
48 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(i) strategies for agricultural adapta2 tion to climate change and drought, includ3 ing strategies for small and medium-sized 

4 farms and ranches; 

5 ‘‘(ii) on-farm mitigation strategies and 

6 solutions, including infrastructure, equip7 ment, and ecosystems-based strategies; 

8 ‘‘(iii) economic and social costs and 

9 benefits of adopting conservation practices 

10 to mitigate and adapt to climate change; 

11 ‘‘(iv) ecosystem services co-benefits of 

12 reducing net greenhouse gas emissions and 

13 adapting to climate change; 

14 ‘‘(v) new technologies, methods, and 

15 models to measure and predict greenhouse 

16 gas emissions and soil carbon sequestra17 tion; and 

18 ‘‘(vi) the intersection of agricultural 

19 production, soil health, climate change, and 

20 human health.’’. 

21 SEC. 208. SPECIALTY CROP RESEARCH INITIATIVE. 

22 Section 412 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, 

23 and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7632) is 

24 amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (b)— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
49 

•S 1016 IS

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

2 by inserting ‘‘, diverse multi-crop production 

3 systems,’’ after ‘‘specific crops’’; 

4 (B) in paragraph (3)(B)(ii), by striking 

5 ‘‘pesticide application systems’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘ecologically based pest management, pesticide 

7 application systems,’’; 

8 (C) in paragraph (4)(E), by striking ‘‘and’’ 

9 at the end; 

10 (D) in paragraph (5), by striking the pe11 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

12 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(6) efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate 

14 change, including— 

15 ‘‘(A) on-farm mitigation strategies and so16 lutions, including agricultural ecosystems-based 

17 strategies; 

18 ‘‘(B) conservation practices and tech19 nologies designed to improve soil health, includ20 ing practices and technologies that sequester 

21 carbon in soil; and 

22 ‘‘(C) breeding research and cultivar devel23 opment to help adapt to climate change.’’; and 

24 (2) in subsection (g)(3)(A), by striking ‘‘equal 

25 to not less than the amount of the grant’’ and inVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00049 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1016.IS S1016

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
50 

•S 1016 IS

1 serting ‘‘in an amount that is equal to not less than 

2 25 percent of the funds provided through the 

3 grant’’. 

4 SEC. 209. INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT. 

5 Section 406 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, 

6 and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7626) is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), and 

9 (f) as subsections (f), (g), and (h), respectively; 

10 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(d) EMPHASIS ON CLIMATE RESILIENCE.—The Sec13 retary shall ensure that grants made under this section 

14 are, where appropriate, consistent with the development 

15 of food and agricultural systems that improve climate re16 silience. 

17 ‘‘(e) ECOLOGICALLY BASED PEST MANAGEMENT.— 

18 The Secretary shall ensure that grants made under this 

19 section to support pest management prioritize ecologically 

20 based approaches that— 

21 ‘‘(1) are effective, affordable, and environ22 mentally sound; 

23 ‘‘(2) maintain agricultural productivity and 

24 healthy communities; and 

25 ‘‘(3) improve climate resilience.’’; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
51 

•S 1016 IS

1 (3) in subsection (h) (as so redesignated), by 

2 striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘2028’’. 

3 SEC. 210. APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER FOR 

4 RURAL AREAS PROGRAM. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Section 310B(i)(2) of the 

6 Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

7 1932(i)(2)) is amended— 

8 (1) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

9 by inserting ‘‘, including a beginning farmer or 

10 rancher and a veteran farmer or rancher (as those 

11 terms are defined in section 2501(a) of the Food, 

12 Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 

13 U.S.C. 2279(a))) and a socially disadvantaged farm14 er or rancher (as defined in section 355(e)),’’ after 

15 ‘‘producers’’; 

16 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

17 the end; 

18 (3) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as sub19 paragraph (E); 

20 (4) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(D) increase on-farm resilience to extreme 

23 weather by enhancing soil health and adopting 

24 other conservation practices;’’; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
52 

•S 1016 IS

1 (5) in subparagraph (E) (as so redesignated), 

2 by striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

3 and’’; and 

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

5 ‘‘(F) improve farm viability and strengthen 

6 local, regional, and national supply chains.’’. 

7 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—Section 310B(i)(3) of the 

8 Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 

9 1932(i)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(C) ELIGIBILITY FOR AND USE OF OTHER

11 FUNDS.—A national nonprofit agricultural as12 sistance institution that receives a grant or en13 ters into a cooperative agreement under this 

14 subsection— 

15 ‘‘(i) may not, as a result of that grant 

16 or cooperative agreement, be treated as in17 eligible for a grant under any other Fed18 eral program; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) may utilize, in accordance with 

20 applicable law, other public and private 

21 funds made available to the institution to 

22 expand the resources and outreach of the 

23 program established under this sub24 section.’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
53 

•S 1016 IS

1 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

2 310B(i) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development 

3 Act (7 U.S.C. 1932(i)) is amended by striking paragraph 

4 (4) and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

6 There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

7 this subsection— 

8 ‘‘(A) $5,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; and 

9 ‘‘(B) $8,500,000 for each of fiscal years 

10 2024 through 2028.’’. 

11 TITLE III—SOIL HEALTH 

12 SEC. 301. CROP INSURANCE. 

13 (a) VOLUNTARY GOOD FARMING PRACTICES.—Sec14 tion 508(a)(3)(A)(iii) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act 

15 (7 U.S.C. 1508(a)(3)(A)(iii)) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking ‘‘including scientifically’’ and in17 serting the following: ‘‘including— 

18 ‘‘(I) scientifically’’; 

19 (2) in subclause (I) (as so designated), by strik20 ing the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

22 ‘‘(II) conservation practices and 

23 enhancements that are approved by— 

24 ‘‘(aa) the Natural Resources 

25 Conservation Service; or 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
54 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(bb) an agricultural expert, 

2 as determined by the Secretary.’’. 

3 (b) RISK-REDUCTION BASED DISCOUNTS.—Section 

4 508(d) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 U.S.C. 

5 1508(d)) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as para7 graph (5); and 

8 (2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(4) RISK-REDUCTION BASED DISCOUNT.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Effective beginning 

12 with the 2024 reinsurance year, the Corpora13 tion may provide a risk-reduction based pre14 mium discount for a producer of an agricultural 

15 commodity who uses risk-reduction farming 

16 practices, as determined by the Corporation in 

17 accordance with subparagraph (B). 

18 ‘‘(B) RISK-REDUCTION FARMING PRAC19 TICES.—For purposes of subparagraph (A), a 

20 risk-reduction farming practice may include any 

21 of the following: 

22 ‘‘(i) The use of a cover crop. 

23 ‘‘(ii) A resource-conserving crop rota24 tion. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
55 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) Management-intensive rotational 

2 grazing. 

3 ‘‘(iv) A compost or biochar applica4 tion. 

5 ‘‘(v) An agroforestry or other peren6 nial production system. 

7 ‘‘(vi) Other risk-reducing and soil 

8 health-promoting farming practices, as de9 termined by the Corporation.’’. 

10 (c) CROP PRODUCTION ON NATIVE SOD APPLICA11 BILITY.— 

12 (1) APPLICATION TO CERTAIN STATES.—Sec13 tion 508(o) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act (7 

14 U.S.C. 1508(o)) is amended by striking paragraph 

15 (3). 

16 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 

17 by paragraph (1) shall take effect on the first day 

18 of the first reinsurance year that begins after the 

19 date that is 1 year after the date of enactment of 

20 this Act. 

21 SEC. 302. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PRO22 GRAM. 

23 (a) PURPOSES.—Section 1240 of the Food Security 

24 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa) is amended— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
56 

•S 1016 IS

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

2 striking ‘‘and environmental quality’’ and inserting 

3 ‘‘environmental quality, and climate change adapta4 tion and mitigation’’; 

5 (2) in paragraph (1)— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

7 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

8 (B) in subparagraph (C), by adding ‘‘and’’ 

9 at the end; and 

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

11 ‘‘(D) greenhouse gas emissions reduction 

12 and carbon sequestration;’’; 

13 (3) in paragraph (3)(C), by inserting ‘‘seques14 tering carbon, increasing drought resilience, reduc15 ing greenhouse gas emissions, and’’ before ‘‘con16 serving energy’’; and 

17 (4) in paragraph (4), by inserting ‘‘climate 

18 change and’’ before ‘‘increasing weather volatility’’. 

19 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1240A of the Food Secu20 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–1) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (6)(B)— 

22 (A) in clause (v), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

23 end; 

24 (B) by redesignating clause (vi) as clause 

25 (vii); and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
57 

•S 1016 IS

1 (C) by inserting after clause (v) the fol2 lowing: 

3 ‘‘(vi) greenhouse gas emissions reduc4 tion planning; and’’; 

5 (2) in paragraph (7), in the matter preceding 

6 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘natural resource 

7 concern or problem’’ and inserting ‘‘resource con8 cern’’; 

9 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (9) and (10) 

10 as paragraphs (10) and (11), respectively; and 

11 (4) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(9) RESOURCE CONCERN.—The term ‘resource 

14 concern’ means a natural resource condition of the 

15 soil, water, air, plant, animal, or energy resource 

16 base that impairs the sustainability or intended uses 

17 of the resource.’’. 

18 (c) ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF EN19 VIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PROGRAM.— 

20 (1) PAYMENTS.—Section 1240B(d)(7)(A) of the 

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

22 2(d)(7)(A)) is amended— 

23 (A) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘; or’’ and 

24 inserting a semicolon; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
58 

•S 1016 IS

1 (B) in clause (iv), by striking the period at 

2 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

4 ‘‘(v) increases carbon sequestration or 

5 reduces greenhouse gas emissions.’’. 

6 (2) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.—Section 

7 1240B(f)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

8 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(f)(1)) is amended— 

9 (A) by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘2031’’; and 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘including grazing management’’ and inserting ‘‘of which not less than 2 12 ⁄3

13 shall be targeted at practices relating to grazing 

14 management’’. 

15 (3) PAYMENTS FOR CONSERVATION PRACTICES

16 RELATED TO ORGANIC PRODUCTION.—Section 

17 1240B(i) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

18 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(i)) is amended— 

19 (A) by striking paragraph (3); and 

20 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and 

21 (5) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively. 

22 (4) CONSERVATION INCENTIVE CONTRACTS.— 

23 Section 1240B(j) of the Food Security Act of 1985 

24 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(j)) is amended— 

25 (A) in paragraph (1)— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
59 

•S 1016 IS

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

2 ‘‘, which may include climate change adap3 tation and mitigation,’’ after ‘‘priority re4 source concerns’’; and 

5 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

6 ‘‘, which may include climate change adap7 tation and mitigation’’ before the period at 

8 the end; and 

9 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

10 (i) in subparagraph (A)(ii)— 

11 (I) in subclause (I), by striking 

12 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

13 (II) in subclause (II), by striking 

14 the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

15 or’’; and 

16 (III) by adding at the end the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(III) funding, through annual 

19 payments, for a suite of incentive 

20 practices that are appropriate for the 

21 region and land use and that best en22 hance soil health and carbon seques23 tration and reduce greenhouse gas 

24 emissions, as determined by the Sec25 retary.’’; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
60 

•S 1016 IS

1 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 

2 inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(B) TERM.— 

4 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A contract under 

5 this subsection shall have a term of not 

6 less than 5, and not more than 10, years. 

7 ‘‘(ii) GRADUATION OPTION.—The Sec8 retary may reduce the term for a contract 

9 under this subsection if the producer en10 ters into a conservation stewardship con11 tract under section 1240K with respect to 

12 the eligible land that is subject to the con13 tract under this subsection.’’; and 

14 (iii) in subparagraph (C)— 

15 (I) in clause (i), by striking 

16 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

17 (II) in clause (ii), by striking the 

18 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

19 and’’; and 

20 (III) by adding at the end the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(iii) give priority to applications that 

23 cover eligible land that, on expiration of a 

24 contract under this subsection, may be enVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00060 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1016.IS S1016

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
61 

•S 1016 IS

1 rolled in a conservation stewardship con2 tract under section 1240K.’’. 

3 (d) ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PLAN.— 

4 Section 1240E(a)(3) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

5 U.S.C. 3839aa–5(a)(3)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and 

6 a greenhouse gas emissions reduction plan’’ after ‘‘if appli7 cable’’. 

8 (e) LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS.—Section 1240G of 

9 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–7) is 

10 amended by striking ‘‘Not including payments’’ and all 

11 that follows through ‘‘2023’’ and inserting ‘‘A person or 

12 legal entity (including a joint venture and a general part13 nership) may not receive, directly or indirectly, cost-share 

14 or incentive payments under this subchapter that, in ag15 gregate, exceed $450,000 for all contracts entered into 

16 under this subchapter by the person or legal entity during 

17 any 5-fiscal-year period’’. 

18 (f) CONSERVATION INNOVATION GRANTS.— 

19 (1) AIR QUALITY CONCERNS FROM AGRICUL20 TURAL OPERATIONS.—Section 1240H(b) of the 

21 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–8(b)) 

22 is amended— 

23 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

24 (i) by striking ‘‘practices to address’’ 

25 in the first sentence and all that follows 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
62 

•S 1016 IS

1 through ‘‘The funds’’ in the second sen2 tence and inserting the following: ‘‘prac3 tices— 

4 ‘‘(i) to address air quality concerns 

5 from agricultural operations; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) to meet Federal, State, and 

7 local— 

8 ‘‘(I) regulatory requirements; and 

9 ‘‘(II) goals with respect to green10 house gas emissions reductions. 

11 ‘‘(B) BASIS OF AVAILABILITY AND USE.— 

12 Funds for payments under subparagraph (A)’’; 

13 and 

14 (ii) in the matter preceding clause (i) 

15 (as so designated), by striking ‘‘The Sec16 retary’’ and inserting the following: 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary’’; and 

18 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking 

19 ‘‘$37,500,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 

20 through 2031’’ and inserting ‘‘$37,500,000 for 

21 each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023, and 

22 $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 

23 through 2031’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
63 

•S 1016 IS

1 (2) ON-FARM CONSERVATION INNOVATION

2 TRIALS.—Section 1240H(c) of the Food Security 

3 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–8(c)) is amended— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1)(B)(i)— 

5 (i) in subclause (II), by inserting ‘‘on6 farm nutrient recycling,’’ after ‘‘plans,’’; 

7 (ii) in subclause (VI), by striking 

8 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

9 (iii) by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(VII) perennial production sys12 tems, including agroforestry and pe13 rennial forages and grain crops; and’’; 

14 and 

15 (B) in paragraph (2), in the matter pre16 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘2019 

17 through 2031’’ and inserting ‘‘2019 through 

18 2023, $50,000,000 of the funds made available 

19 to carry out this subchapter for each of fiscal 

20 years 2024 and 2025, and $100,000,000 of the 

21 funds made available to carry out this sub22 chapter for each of fiscal years 2026 through 

23 2031’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
64 

•S 1016 IS

1 SEC. 303. CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM. 

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1240I of the Food Secu3 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–21) is amended— 

4 (1) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘en6 hancements,’’ after ‘‘practices,’’; and 

7 (B) in subparagraph (B)(v), by inserting 

8 ‘‘and climate change’’ before the period at the 

9 end; 

10 (2) in paragraph (3)(C), by inserting ‘‘main11 tained, actively’’ after ‘‘implemented,’’; 

12 (3) in paragraph (5), in the matter preceding 

13 subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘natural resource 

14 concern or problem’’ and inserting ‘‘resource con15 cern’’; 

16 (4) by redesignating paragraph (7) as para17 graph (8); and 

18 (5) by inserting after paragraph (6) the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(7) RESOURCE CONCERN.—The term ‘resource 

21 concern’ means a natural resource condition of the 

22 soil, water, air, plant, animal, or energy resource 

23 base that impairs the sustainability or intended uses 

24 of the resource.’’. 

25 (b) CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM.—Sec26 tion 1240J(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
65 

•S 1016 IS

1 U.S.C. 3839aa–22(a)) is amended by striking paragraphs 

2 (1) and (2) and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(1) by maintaining, actively managing, and, 

4 where practicable, improving existing conservation 

5 activities; and 

6 ‘‘(2) by undertaking additional conservation ac7 tivities.’’. 

8 (c) STEWARDSHIP CONTRACTS.— 

9 (1) SUBMISSION OF CONTRACT OFFERS.—Sec10 tion 1240K(a)(2)(B) of the Food Security Act of 

11 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–23(a)(2)(B)) is amended 

12 by striking ‘‘improving, maintaining, and managing’’ 

13 and inserting ‘‘maintaining, actively managing, and, 

14 where practicable, improving’’. 

15 (2) EVALUATION OF CONTRACT OFFERS.—Sec16 tion 1240K(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

17 U.S.C. 3839aa–23(b)) is amended— 

18 (A) in paragraph (1)(A), by striking clause 

19 (iii) and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(iii) other criteria consistent with an 

21 equal weighting of the factors described in 

22 clauses (i) and (ii), as determined by the 

23 Secretary, including criteria the Secretary 

24 determines are necessary to ensure that— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
66 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(I) the program effectively tar2 gets improvements to soil health, in3 creases in carbon sequestration, and 

4 reductions in greenhouse gas emis5 sions; and 

6 ‘‘(II) other national, State, and 

7 local priority resource concerns are ef8 fectively addressed.’’; and 

9 (B) by striking paragraph (3). 

10 (3) CONTRACT RENEWAL.—Section 1240K(e) 

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

12 3839aa–23(e)) is amended— 

13 (A) in paragraph (3)— 

14 (i) by striking subparagraph (B); 

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

16 ‘‘; or’’ at the end and inserting ‘‘, if appli17 cable.’’; and 

18 (iii) by striking ‘‘period—’’ in the 

19 matter preceding subparagraph (A) and all 

20 that follows through ‘‘to meet’’ in subpara21 graph (A) and inserting ‘‘period, to meet’’; 

22 (B) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 

23 through (3) as subparagraphs (A) through (C), 

24 respectively, and indenting appropriately; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
67 

•S 1016 IS

1 (C) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

2 (A) (as so redesignated), by striking ‘‘The Sec3 retary’’ and inserting the following: 

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

5 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(2) RANKING AND PAYMENTS.—In deter7 mining whether to accept an application for contract 

8 renewal under this subsection, and when calculating 

9 payments for those renewed contracts, the Secretary 

10 shall consider the full conservation benefits across 

11 the entire applicable agricultural operation, includ12 ing— 

13 ‘‘(A) the number of priority resource con14 cerns with respect to which the producer is ex15 pected to meet or exceed the stewardship 

16 threshold by the end of the contract period; and 

17 ‘‘(B) the active management and mainte18 nance of ongoing conservation activities, includ19 ing— 

20 ‘‘(i) the conservation activities adopt21 ed during a prior contract period; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) the new or improved conservation 

23 activities to be adopted if a contract is re24 newed.’’. 

25 (d) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
68 

•S 1016 IS

1 (1) CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND MITI2 GATION.—Section 1240L(a)(2) of the Food Security 

3 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(a)(2)) is amend4 ed by inserting ‘‘(which may include climate change 

5 adaptation and mitigation)’’ after ‘‘priority resource 

6 concerns’’. 

7 (2) CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PAY8 MENTS.—Section 1240L(c) of the Food Security Act 

9 of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(c)) is amended— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

11 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

12 ‘‘on 1 or more types of eligible land cov13 ered by the contract’’ after ‘‘activities’’; 

14 and 

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

16 ‘‘improving, maintaining, and managing’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘maintaining, actively man18 aging, and improving’’; 

19 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

20 (i) by striking subparagraph (B) and 

21 inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(B) Income forgone by the producer, in23 cluding amounts that reflect— 

24 ‘‘(i) increased economic risk; and 

25 ‘‘(ii) loss in revenue due to— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
69 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(I) production changes; 

2 ‘‘(II) anticipated reductions in 

3 yield; 

4 ‘‘(III) transitioning to an or5 ganic, resource-conserving cropping or 

6 grazing, or perennial production sys7 tem; or 

8 ‘‘(IV) acreage converted to con9 servation uses.’’; and 

10 (ii) in subparagraph (E), by inserting 

11 ‘‘, actively managed, and, where applicable, 

12 improved’’ after ‘‘maintained’’; and 

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

14 ‘‘(6) PAYMENTS FOR CONSERVATION ACTIVI15 TIES RELATED TO ORGANIC PRODUCTION SYS16 TEMS.— 

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

18 provide payments under this subsection for con19 servation activities relating to— 

20 ‘‘(i) organic production; and 

21 ‘‘(ii) transitioning to organic produc22 tion. 

23 ‘‘(B) CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES.—Con24 servation activities described in subparagraph 

25 (A) may include— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
70 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(i) generally available and specifically 

2 tailored conservation activities; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) individual conservation activities 

4 and bundles of conservation activities. 

5 ‘‘(7) MINIMUM PAYMENT.—The amount of an 

6 annual payment under the program shall be not less 

7 than $2,000.’’. 

8 (3) SUPPLEMENTAL PAYMENTS.—Section 

9 1240L(d) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

10 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(d)) is amended— 

11 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

12 ‘‘, PERENNIAL PRODUCTION SYSTEMS,’’ after 

13 ‘‘ROTATIONS’’; 

14 (B) in paragraph (1)— 

15 (i) by redesignating subparagraph (C) 

16 as subparagraph (D); and 

17 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

18 (B) the following: 

19 ‘‘(C) PERENNIAL PRODUCTION SYSTEM.— 

20 The term ‘perennial production system’ 

21 means— 

22 ‘‘(i) the use of cropland for agro23 forestry, including alley cropping, 

24 silvopasture, and related production prac25 tices, as determined by the Secretary; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
71 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) the use of woodland for agro2 forestry, including forest farming, multi3 story cropping, and related production 

4 practices, as determined by the Secretary; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(iii) the use of cropland for perennial 

7 forages or perennial grain crops.’’; 

8 (C) in paragraph (2)— 

9 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

10 ‘‘or’’ at the end; 

11 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

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

13 and 

14 (iii) by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(C) a perennial production system.’’; and 

17 (D) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘or ad18 vanced grazing management’’ and inserting ‘‘, 

19 advanced grazing management, or a perennial 

20 production system’’. 

21 (4) PAYMENT FOR COMPREHENSIVE CONSERVA22 TION PLAN.—Section 1240L(e)(1) of the Food Secu23 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(e)(1)) is 

24 amended— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
72 

•S 1016 IS

1 (A) by striking the period at the end and 

2 inserting the following: ‘‘; and 

3 ‘‘(B) with respect to an organic production 

4 system— 

5 ‘‘(i) is integrated with an organic sys6 tem plan approved under the national or7 ganic program established under the Or8 ganic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 

9 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.); or 

10 ‘‘(ii) allows a producer to transition to 

11 organic production systems and pursue 

12 certification under that Act.’’; and 

13 (B) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

14 (B) (as added by subparagraph (A)), by strik15 ing ‘‘plan that meets’’ and inserting the fol16 lowing: ‘‘plan that— 

17 ‘‘(A) meets’’. 

18 (5) PAYMENT LIMITATIONS.—Section 1240L(f) 

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

20 3839aa–24(f)) is amended— 

21 (A) by inserting ‘‘(including a joint venture 

22 and a general partnership)’’ after ‘‘A person or 

23 legal entity’’; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
73 

•S 1016 IS

1 (B) by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2019 through 

2 2023’’ and inserting ‘‘any consecutive 5-fiscal3 year period’’. 

4 (6) SPECIALTY CROP AND ORGANIC PRO5 DUCERS.—Section 1240L(g) of the Food Security 

6 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(g)) is amended 

7 by inserting ‘‘, and producers transitioning to or8 ganic production systems,’’ after ‘‘organic pro9 ducers’’. 

10 (7) SOIL HEALTH.—Section 1240L(k) of the 

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

12 24(k)) is amended by striking the period at the end 

13 and inserting the following: ‘‘, including by— 

14 ‘‘(1) conducting outreach to encourage the use 

15 of contracts to improve soil health and sequester 

16 carbon in the soil; and 

17 ‘‘(2) offering payments for soil testing to pro18 vide producers and the Secretary with information 

19 on the soil health and carbon sequestration impacts 

20 of conservation activities.’’. 

21 (e) ON-FARM CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP INNO22 VATION GRANTS.—Subchapter B of chapter 4 of subtitle 

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

24 3839aa–21 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 

25 following: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
74 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 1240L–2. ON-FARM CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP IN2 NOVATION GRANTS. 

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF AGRICULTURAL PROFES4 SIONAL.—In this section, the term ‘agricultural profes5 sional’ means a university researcher or educator, includ6 ing an extension agent or specialist, Federal agency field 

7 staff, an agricultural consultant, State and local agency 

8 staff, Tribal agency staff, a Federally-Recognized Tribes 

9 Extension Program agent, and nonprofit organization 

10 staff assisting farmers and ranchers at the local level. 

11 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—Using funds made available to carry 

12 out this subchapter, the Secretary shall provide competi13 tive grants to carry out on-farm conservation innovation 

14 projects on eligible land of program participants for the 

15 purpose of stimulating innovative approaches on farms 

16 and ranches to leverage Federal investment in conserva17 tion stewardship, in conjunction with agricultural produc18 tion or forest resource management, through the program. 

19 ‘‘(c) PARTICIPANTS.—The Secretary shall provide 

20 grants under this section— 

21 ‘‘(1) directly to agricultural operations, or 

22 groups of agricultural operations, participating in 

23 the program; or 

24 ‘‘(2) through partnerships between agricultural 

25 professionals and small groups of agricultural oper26 ations participating in the program. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
75 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(d) USE.—An entity that receives a grant under this 

2 section directly or through a partnership in accordance 

3 with subsection (c) shall carry out an on-farm conserva4 tion innovation project that— 

5 ‘‘(1) facilitates on-farm research and dem6 onstration or pilot testing of new technologies or in7 novative conservation systems and practices that aim 

8 to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonize 

9 agriculture; 

10 ‘‘(2) facilitates on-farm research and dem11 onstration or pilot testing of practices and systems 

12 with a proven high impact for greenhouse gas emis13 sions reduction and decarbonization and low national 

14 or regional adoption rates; or 

15 ‘‘(3) helps to prepare program participants for 

16 participation in environmental services markets that 

17 have as a primary goal greenhouse gas emissions re18 duction or decarbonization of agriculture. 

19 ‘‘(e) INCENTIVE PAYMENTS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) AGREEMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out this 

22 section, the Secretary shall enter into agree23 ments with agricultural operations (directly or 

24 through governmental or nongovernmental or25 ganizations involved in a partnership with 1 or 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
76 

•S 1016 IS

1 more agricultural operations) on whose land an 

2 on-farm conservation innovation project is being 

3 carried out under this section to provide pay4 ments to the agricultural operations to assist 

5 with adopting and evaluating new or innovative 

6 conservation approaches to achieve conservation 

7 benefits. 

8 ‘‘(B) AMOUNT.—Payments provided under 

9 subparagraph (A) shall reflect the direct costs 

10 of the research and demonstration and com11 pensation for foregone income, as appropriate 

12 to address the increased economic risk or lower 

13 economic return potentially associated with the 

14 applicable innovative conservation approach. 

15 ‘‘(2) ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME REQUIRE16 MENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Adjusted gross income 

18 requirements under section 1001D(b)(1) 

19 shall— 

20 ‘‘(i) apply to producers receiving pay21 ments under this subsection; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) be enforced by the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(B) REPORTING.—A governmental or 

24 nongovernmental organization participating in 

25 an on-farm conservation innovation project 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
77 

•S 1016 IS

1 under this subsection shall submit to the Sec2 retary an annual report describing the amount 

3 of payments that the organization made to each 

4 agricultural operation under this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(3) RESEARCH, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND

6 ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—The Secretary may 

7 provide to a partnership described in paragraph 

8 (1)(A) not more than $50,000 for each on-farm con9 servation innovation project for research, technical 

10 assistance, and administrative expenses. 

11 ‘‘(4) LENGTH OF AGREEMENTS.—An agreement 

12 entered into under paragraph (1)(A) shall be for a 

13 period determined by the Secretary that is— 

14 ‘‘(A) not less than 2 years; and 

15 ‘‘(B) if appropriate, more than 2 years, in16 cluding if the longer period is appropriate to 

17 support— 

18 ‘‘(i) adaptive management over mul19 tiple crop years; and 

20 ‘‘(ii) adequate data collection and 

21 analysis by an agricultural operation or 

22 partnership to report the natural resource 

23 and agricultural production benefits of the 

24 new or innovative conservation approaches 

25 to the Secretary.’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
78 

•S 1016 IS

1 SEC. 304. STATE ASSISTANCE FOR SOIL HEALTH. 

2 Chapter 5 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Secu3 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb et seq.) is amended 

4 by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 1240S. STATE ASSISTANCE FOR SOIL HEALTH. 

6 ‘‘(a) AVAILABILITY AND PURPOSE OF GRANTS.— 

7 Using funds made available under subsection (k), the Sec8 retary shall make grants to States or Tribal governments 

9 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028 to be used by 

10 State departments of agriculture or appropriate Tribal au11 thorities to develop and implement plans to improve soil 

12 health on agricultural land. 

13 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State department of ag15 riculture or Tribal government requesting a grant 

16 under this section shall prepare and submit for ap17 proval by the Secretary an application at such time, 

18 in such a manner, and containing such information 

19 as the Secretary shall require, including an assur20 ance that grant funds received under this section 

21 shall supplement the expenditure of State or Tribal 

22 funds in support of soil health, rather than replace 

23 State or Tribal funds for those purposes. 

24 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—A State or Tribal gov25 ernment may request funds under this section— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
79 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(A) to develop or modify a State or Tribal 

2 soil health plan; or 

3 ‘‘(B) to implement a State or Tribal soil 

4 health plan approved by the Secretary under 

5 this section, including through— 

6 ‘‘(i) technical assistance; 

7 ‘‘(ii) financial assistance; 

8 ‘‘(iii) on-farm research and dem9 onstration; 

10 ‘‘(iv) education, outreach, and train11 ing; 

12 ‘‘(v) monitoring and evaluation; or 

13 ‘‘(vi) such other activities as the Sec14 retary determines to be appropriate. 

15 ‘‘(3) PLAN COMPONENTS.—Prior to approving a 

16 State or Tribal soil health plan, the Secretary shall 

17 ensure that the plan, at a minimum— 

18 ‘‘(A) is broadly consistent with the soil 

19 health principles of the Natural Resources Con20 servation Service; and 

21 ‘‘(B) identifies effective strategies for in22 creasing adoption of regionally appropriate soil 

23 health practices and systems on privately owned 

24 agricultural land under the jurisdiction of the 

25 applicable State or Tribal government. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
80 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(4) ELIGIBILITY.—A State or Tribal govern2 ment may— 

3 ‘‘(A) apply for a grant for the purposes de4 scribed in paragraph (2)(A) at any time; and 

5 ‘‘(B) apply for a grant for the purposes de6 scribed in paragraph (2)(B) on approval by the 

7 Secretary of a soil health plan for the State or 

8 Tribal government. 

9 ‘‘(c) TRIBAL OPTION.—At the sole discretion of a 

10 Tribal government, an Indian Tribe or Tribal organization 

11 shall have the option of being incorporated into a State 

12 application rather than submitting an application for the 

13 Indian Tribe or Tribal organization. 

14 ‘‘(d) GRANT AMOUNT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) MAXIMUM.—The maximum grant any 1 

16 State or Tribal government may receive under this 

17 section for a fiscal year shall be— 

18 ‘‘(A) in the case of a grant for the pur19 poses described in subsection (b)(2)(A), 

20 $1,000,000; and 

21 ‘‘(B) in the case of a grant for the pur22 poses described in subsection (b)(2)(B), 

23 $5,000,000. 

24 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL SHARE.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
81 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(A) GRANTS TO STATES.—The amount of 

2 a grant to a State under this section shall not 

3 exceed— 

4 ‘‘(i) 75 percent of the cost of devel5 oping or modifying a soil health plan; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) 50 percent of the cost of imple7 menting the soil health plan. 

8 ‘‘(B) GRANTS TO TRIBES.—The amount of 

9 a grant to a Tribal government under this sec10 tion shall not exceed— 

11 ‘‘(i) 90 percent of the cost of devel12 oping or modifying a soil health plan; or 

13 ‘‘(ii) 75 percent of the cost of imple14 menting the soil health plan. 

15 ‘‘(3) NON-FEDERAL FUNDS.—A grant made 

16 under this section shall be made on the condition 

17 that the non-Federal share of expenditures under 

18 paragraph (2) be provided by non-Federal sources. 

19 ‘‘(e) GRANT TERM.—A grant under this section shall 

20 be for 1 year and may be renewed annually, at the discre21 tion of the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(f) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority to 

23 States or Tribal governments with a climate action plan 

24 that includes soil health, as determined by the Secretary. 

25 ‘‘(g) PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND EVALUATION.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
82 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(1) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—Each applica2 tion under subsection (b) shall include performance 

3 measures to be used to evaluate the results of the 

4 assistance received under this section. 

5 ‘‘(2) REVIEW.—Each applicable State depart6 ment of agriculture or Tribal authority shall submit 

7 to the Secretary a review and evaluation of the 

8 progress of the State department of agriculture or 

9 Tribal authority, using the performance measures 

10 under paragraph (1), at such intervals as the Sec11 retary shall establish. 

12 ‘‘(h) EFFECT OF NONCOMPLIANCE.—If the Sec13 retary, after reasonable notice to a State or Tribal govern14 ment, determines that there has been a failure by the 

15 State or Tribal government to comply with the terms of 

16 a grant made under this section, the Secretary may dis17 qualify, for 1 or more years, the State or Tribal govern18 ment from receipt of future grants under this section. 

19 ‘‘(i) AUDIT REQUIREMENT.—For each year that a 

20 State or Tribal government receives a grant under this 

21 section, the State or Tribal government shall— 

22 ‘‘(1) conduct an audit of the expenditures of 

23 grant funds by the State or Tribal government; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
83 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(2) not later than 30 days after the completion 

2 of the audit under paragraph (1), submit to the Sec3 retary a copy of the audit. 

4 ‘‘(j) ADMINISTRATION.— 

5 ‘‘(1) DEPARTMENT.—The Secretary may not 

6 use more than 3 percent of the funds made available 

7 to carry out this section for a fiscal year for admin8 istrative expenses. 

9 ‘‘(2) STATES AND TRIBES.—A State or Tribal 

10 government receiving a grant under this section may 

11 not use more than 7 percent of the funds received 

12 under the grant for a fiscal year for administrative 

13 expenses. 

14 ‘‘(k) FUNDING.—Of the funds of the Commodity 

15 Credit Corporation, the Secretary shall use to make grants 

16 under this section— 

17 ‘‘(1) $60,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 

18 and 2025; 

19 ‘‘(2) $80,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2026 

20 and 2027; and 

21 ‘‘(3) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2028 and 

22 each fiscal year thereafter.’’. 

23 SEC. 305. FUNDING AND ADMINISTRATION. 

24 (a) COMMODITY CREDIT CORPORATION.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
84 

•S 1016 IS

1 (1) ANNUAL FUNDING.—Section 1241(a) of the 

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

3 amended— 

4 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

5 (i) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 

6 ‘‘, and $17,000,000 for the period of fiscal 

7 years 2024 through 2028,’’ after ‘‘2023’’; 

8 and 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (B), by inserting 

10 ‘‘and $70,000,000 for the period of fiscal 

11 years 2024 through 2028, including not 

12 more than $5,000,000 to provide outreach 

13 and technical assistance,’’ after ‘‘technical 

14 assistance,’’; 

15 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

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

17 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

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

19 ‘‘2031.’’ and inserting ‘‘2023; and’’; and 

20 (iii) by adding at the end the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(G) $700,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

23 2024 through 2031.’’; and 

24 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

25 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
85 

•S 1016 IS

1 (I) in clause (iv), by striking 

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

3 (II) in clause (v), by striking 

4 ‘‘each of fiscal years 2023 through 

5 2031’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal year 

6 2023’’; and 

7 (III) by adding at the end the 

8 following: 

9 ‘‘(vi) $3,000,000,000 for each of fiscal 

10 years 2024 through 2031; and’’; and 

11 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 

12 (I) in clause (iv), by striking 

13 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

14 (II) in clause (v), by striking 

15 ‘‘each of fiscal years 2023 through 

16 2031.’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal year 

17 2023; and’’; and 

18 (III) by adding at the end the 

19 following: 

20 ‘‘(vi) $4,000,000,000 for each of fiscal 

21 years 2024 through 2031.’’. 

22 (2) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 1241(c) 

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

24 3841(c)) is amended by adding at the end the fol25 lowing: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
86 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(5) SPECIAL INITIATIVE.— 

2 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning in fiscal 

3 year 2022, and each year thereafter through 

4 fiscal year 2028, the Secretary shall use for a 

5 special technical assistance initiative to assist 

6 producers in mitigating and adapting to climate 

7 change, of the funds of the Commodity Credit 

8 Corporation, an amount equal to not less than 

9 1 percent of Commodity Credit Corporation 

10 funds made available for the applicable fiscal 

11 year for each of the programs described in sub12 section (a). 

13 ‘‘(B) PROVISION OF TECHNICAL ASSIST14 ANCE.—The Secretary shall provide technical 

15 assistance under the special initiative under this 

16 paragraph to producers— 

17 ‘‘(i) directly; 

18 ‘‘(ii)(I) through an agreement with a 

19 third-party provider (as defined in section 

20 1242(a)); or 

21 ‘‘(II) at the option of the producer, 

22 through a payment, as determined by the 

23 Secretary, to the producer for a third-party 

24 provider approved under section 1242, if 

25 available; or 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
87 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) through a cooperative agreement 

2 or contract with— 

3 ‘‘(I) a cooperative extension; 

4 ‘‘(II) a nongovernmental organi5 zation; or 

6 ‘‘(III) a State, Tribal, or Federal 

7 agency. 

8 ‘‘(C) UNDERSERVED PRODUCERS.—In pro9 viding technical assistance under this para10 graph, the Secretary shall give priority to pro11 ducers who are persons described in section 

12 1244(a)(2).’’. 

13 (3) ASSISTANCE TO CERTAIN FARMERS OR

14 RANCHERS FOR CONSERVATION ACCESS.—Section 

15 1241(h) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

16 U.S.C. 3841(h)) is amended— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking 

18 ‘‘practicable—’’ in the matter preceding clause 

19 (i) and all that follows through the period at 

20 the end of clause (ii) and inserting ‘‘practicable, 

21 30 percent to assist beginning farmers or 

22 ranchers and socially disadvantaged farmers or 

23 ranchers.’’; and 

24 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘section 

25 2501(e)’’ and all that follows through the peVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00087 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1016.IS S1016

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
88 

•S 1016 IS

1 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘section 2501(a) 

2 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and 

3 Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a))) that 

4 qualifies under paragraph (1)(B).’’. 

5 (b) DELIVERY OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 

6 1242 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3842) 

7 is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a)(2)— 

9 (A) by inserting ‘‘an individual,’’ before ‘‘a 

10 commercial entity’’; 

11 (B) by striking ‘‘State or local’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘State, local, or Tribal’’; and 

13 (C) by striking ‘‘nutrient management 

14 planning,’’ and inserting ‘‘soil health planning, 

15 greenhouse gas emissions reduction planning, 

16 nutrient management planning, integrated pest 

17 management planning, agroforestry planning, 

18 organic transition planning,’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (e)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (3)(A)— 

21 (i) by inserting ‘‘individuals,’’ before 

22 ‘‘commercial entities,’’; and 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘State or local’’ and 

24 inserting ‘‘State, local, or Tribal’’; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
89 

•S 1016 IS

1 (B) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘or or2 ganic’’ after ‘‘sustainability’’; and 

3 (3) in subsection (i)— 

4 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

5 ‘‘PERENNIAL AGRICULTURE SYSTEM,’’ after 

6 ‘‘ORGANIC,’’; and 

7 (B) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘a pe8 rennial agriculture system,’’ after ‘‘production,’’ 

9 each place it appears. 

10 (c) ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR CON11 SERVATION PROGRAMS.— 

12 (1) INCENTIVES FOR CERTAIN FARMERS AND

13 RANCHERS AND INDIAN TRIBES.—Section 

14 1244(a)(1) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

15 U.S.C. 3844(a)(1)) is amended— 

16 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

17 (A), by striking ‘‘incentives’’ and inserting ‘‘in18 centives, including higher payment rates, ad19 vance payments, transition payments, and farm 

20 infrastructure assistance,’’; 

21 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

22 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

23 (C) by striking subparagraph (B) and in24 serting the following: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
90 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(B) to establish a new generation of pro2 ducers who use the full array of climate-friendly 

3 conservation activities that reduce greenhouse 

4 gas emissions, increase soil carbon, and improve 

5 resilience to weather extremes; and 

6 ‘‘(C) to enhance other long-term environ7 mental goals.’’. 

8 (2) REVIEW AND GUIDANCE FOR PRACTICE

9 COSTS AND PAYMENT RATES.—Section 

10 1244(j)(1)(B) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

11 U.S.C. 3844(j)(1)(B)) is amended— 

12 (A) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

13 end; 

14 (B) in clause (iii), by striking the period at 

15 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(iv) accelerates progress in meeting 

18 the goals established under title I of the 

19 Agriculture Resilience Act of 2023.’’. 

20 (3) ADVANCED GRAZING MANAGEMENT.—Sec21 tion 1244 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

22 U.S.C. 3844) is amended by adding at the end the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(q) ADVANCED GRAZING MANAGEMENT.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
91 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out any con2 servation program administered by the Secretary, 

3 the Secretary shall encourage advanced grazing 

4 management, including management-intensive rota5 tional grazing (as those terms are defined in section 

6 1240L(d)(1)). 

7 ‘‘(2) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—In each of fis8 cal years 2024 through 2028, the Secretary shall use 

to carry out this subsection not less than 2 9 ⁄3 of any 

10 funds available for activities relating to livestock 

11 production under conservation programs adminis12 tered by the Secretary under this title (other than 

13 the conservation reserve program established under 

14 subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D, except for 

15 acres enrolled in that program under section 

16 1231(d)(2)).’’. 

17 (d) ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES MARKETS.—Section 

18 1245 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3845) 

19 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(f) GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND CARBON SE21 QUESTRATION MONITORING AND MEASUREMENT FED22 ERAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

23 ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 180 

24 days after the date of enactment of this subsection, 

25 the Secretary shall establish an advisory committee, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
92 

•S 1016 IS

1 to be known as the ‘Greenhouse Gas Emissions and 

2 Carbon Sequestration Monitoring and Measurement 

3 Federal Advisory Committee’ (referred to in this 

4 subsection as the ‘advisory committee’). 

5 ‘‘(2) MEMBERSHIP.—In carrying out paragraph 

6 (1), the Secretary shall appoint members to the ad7 visory committee that— 

8 ‘‘(A) reflect diversity in gender, age, race, 

9 and geography; and 

10 ‘‘(B) include— 

11 ‘‘(i) farmers and ranchers, including 

12 farmers and ranchers operating small and 

13 mid-sized farms; 

14 ‘‘(ii) organizations representing farm15 ers and ranchers, including organizations 

16 representing farmers and ranchers oper17 ating small and mid-sized farms; 

18 ‘‘(iii) scientists; 

19 ‘‘(iv) environmental nonprofit organi20 zations; 

21 ‘‘(v) existing private sector carbon and 

22 ecosystem services market development ini23 tiatives; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
93 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(vi) businesses working to reduce 

2 greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture 

3 in the supply chains of the businesses; 

4 ‘‘(vii) relevant Federal agencies; 

5 ‘‘(viii) Tribal communities; and 

6 ‘‘(ix) State agriculture agencies. 

7 ‘‘(3) TERMS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) TERM LENGTH.—The term of a 

9 member of the advisory committee shall be 3 

10 years. 

11 ‘‘(B) REAPPOINTMENT.—The Secretary 

12 may reappoint a member of the advisory com13 mittee for not more than 2 consecutive terms. 

14 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS.—The advisory committee shall 

15 meet— 

16 ‘‘(A) not fewer than 4 times in the first 

17 year after the advisory committee is established; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(B) not less frequently than twice annu20 ally thereafter. 

21 ‘‘(5) RECOMMENDATIONS.—Not later than 1 

22 year after the date on which the advisory committee 

23 is established, and periodically thereafter, the advi24 sory committee shall submit to the Secretary rec25 ommendations on— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
94 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(A) the feasibility of establishing reliable 

2 outcomes-based measurement systems, as de3 scribed in subsection (g); 

4 ‘‘(B) existing technology that provides reli5 able measurement data; 

6 ‘‘(C) with respect to parameters for which 

7 existing technology does not provide reliable 

8 measurement data, research and technical 

9 needs and, as appropriate, goals and plans for 

10 that research; 

11 ‘‘(D) standards for data collection and dis12 semination; 

13 ‘‘(E) farmer data management and pri14 vacy; 

15 ‘‘(F) greenhouse gas emissions and soil 

16 health inventories and databases, as described 

17 in subsection (h); and 

18 ‘‘(G) criteria for soil health and green19 house gas emissions reductions incentives, as 

20 described in subsection (i). 

21 ‘‘(g) MEASUREMENT SYSTEM.— 

22 ‘‘(1) PURPOSE.—The Secretary shall evaluate 

23 existing outcomes-based measurement systems for 

24 recordkeeping, modeling, and measurement of farm25 level greenhouse gas emissions and soil carbon seVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00094 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1016.IS S1016

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
95 

•S 1016 IS

1 questration, including measures of soil disturbance, 

2 plant diversity, continual living cover, residue man3 agement, advanced grazing management, and crop4 livestock integration, to determine which of those 

5 systems— 

6 ‘‘(A) can be implemented quickly; 

7 ‘‘(B) can improve in accuracy and ease 

8 over time; 

9 ‘‘(C) use the best available science and 

10 technology; 

11 ‘‘(D) estimate uncertainty; and 

12 ‘‘(E) are cost-effective. 

13 ‘‘(2) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 18 months 

14 after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 

15 Secretary shall issue guidance on the outcomes16 based measurement systems evaluated under para17 graph (1), based on— 

18 ‘‘(A) recommendations from the advisory 

19 committee established under subsection (f); and 

20 ‘‘(B) information from— 

21 ‘‘(i) existing and emerging 

22 agroecosystem models; 

23 ‘‘(ii) remote sensing data and anal24 ysis; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
96 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) soil health demonstration trials 

2 carried out under section 1240H(c)(7); 

3 ‘‘(iv) existing and emerging public en4 vironmental services protocols, measure5 ment systems, and benchmarks, including 

6 uncertainty predictions and measurements; 

7 ‘‘(v) field-level measurement, including 

8 field-based data collected under section 

9 21002(a)(2) of Public Law 117–169 (7 

10 U.S.C. 6936 note; 136 Stat. 2018); 

11 ‘‘(vi) the Conservation Evaluation and 

12 Monitoring Activity for the Carbon Seques13 tration and Greenhouse Gas Mitigation As14 sessment; and 

15 ‘‘(vii) such other sources as the Sec16 retary determines to be appropriate. 

17 ‘‘(3) REVIEW.—The Secretary, based on rec18 ommendations from the advisory committee estab19 lished under subsection (f), shall— 

20 ‘‘(A) establish and maintain an outcomes21 based measurement system in accordance with 

22 the guidance issued under paragraph (2) when 

23 feasible; 

24 ‘‘(B) conduct a periodic review of that sys25 tem; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
97 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(C) periodically make any necessary up2 dates to that system; and 

3 ‘‘(D) establish research and development 

4 goals and plans, as necessary. 

5 ‘‘(h) INVENTORY.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

7 after the date of enactment of this subsection, and 

8 every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary, in consulta9 tion with the advisory committee established under 

10 subsection (f) and the Administrator of the Environ11 mental Protection Agency, shall conduct a nation12 wide soil health and agricultural greenhouse gas 

13 emissions inventory that uses the best available 

14 science and data to establish expected average per15 formance for soil carbon drawdown and storage and 

16 greenhouse gas emissions reduction by primary pro17 duction type and production region. 

18 ‘‘(2) DATABASE.—Drawing on the field-based 

19 data collected under section 21002(a)(2) of Public 

20 Law 117–169 (7 U.S.C. 6936 note; 136 Stat. 2018), 

21 the Secretary shall— 

22 ‘‘(A) establish an accessible and interoper23 able database for the information collected 

24 through the inventory conducted under para25 graph (1); and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
98 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(B) improve and update that database 

2 not less frequently than once every 2 years as 

3 new data is collected. 

4 ‘‘(i) CRITERIA.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta6 tion with the advisory committee established under 

7 subsection (f), shall establish criteria for payments, 

8 credits, or other forms of incentives to inform policy 

9 established to promote soil carbon sequestration or 

10 greenhouse gas emissions reductions. 

11 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The criteria established 

12 under paragraph (1) shall— 

13 ‘‘(A) have a documented likelihood to lead 

14 to long-term net increases in soil carbon seques15 tration and net reductions in greenhouse gas 

16 emissions, according to the best available 

17 science; 

18 ‘‘(B) be based in part on environmental 

19 impact modeling of the changes of shifting from 

20 baseline agricultural practices to new or im21 proved agricultural practices; and 

22 ‘‘(C) be designed to prevent the degrada23 tion of other natural resource or environmental 

24 conditions. 

25 ‘‘(j) DEMONSTRATION TRIALS.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
99 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall peri2 odically review the results from soil health dem3 onstration trials carried out under section 

4 1240H(c)(7), and other similar public and private 

5 demonstration trials that the Secretary determines 

6 to be appropriate, to inform the activities under sub7 sections (g), (h), and (i). 

8 ‘‘(2) RECOMMENDATIONS.—In submitting re9 ports pursuant to section 1240H(c)(7)(C)(ii), the 

10 Secretary shall include any recommendations to Con11 gress for changes or additions to the conservation 

12 programs under this Act that the Secretary deter13 mines to be appropriate to accelerate net increases 

14 in soil carbon sequestration and other improvements 

15 in soil health.’’. 

16 SEC. 306. CONSERVATION COMPLIANCE. 

17 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1201(a) of the Food Se18 curity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3801(a)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (3)— 

20 (A) by striking ‘‘highly erodible’’ each 

21 place it appears; and 

22 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and 

23 conservation treatment measures’’ and inserting 

24 ‘‘crop rotation and cover crop systems, and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
100 

•S 1016 IS

1 other relevant soil conservation and soil health 

2 management treatment measures’’; 

3 (2) in paragraph (4)— 

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

5 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

6 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

7 (i) by striking ‘‘or a substantial im8 provement in soil conditions on a field or 

9 group of fields containing highly erodible 

10 cropland’’ and inserting ‘‘and a substantial 

11 improvement in soil health conditions (in12 cluding soil carbon levels) on a field or 

13 group of fields containing cropland’’; and 

14 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

15 and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

17 ‘‘(C) are designed to achieve, within 5 

18 years of actively applying a conservation plan, 

19 a level of erosion not to exceed twice the soil 

20 loss tolerance level; and 

21 ‘‘(D) are designed to effectively prevent the 

22 formation of new, or treat all existing, ephem23 eral gullies.’’; and 

24 (3) in paragraph (11)(A)(ii), by striking ‘‘exces25 sive average annual rate of erosion in relation to’’ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
101 

•S 1016 IS

1 and inserting ‘‘average annual rate of erosion ex2 ceeding twice’’. 

3 (b) CROPLAND CONSERVATION.— 

4 (1) PROGRAM INELIGIBILITY.—Section 1211 of 

5 the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3811) is 

6 amended— 

7 (A) in subsection (a)— 

8 (i) in the matter preceding paragraph 

9 (1), by striking ‘‘produces an agricultural 

10 commodity’’ and all that follows through 

11 ‘‘as determined by the Secretary’’ and in12 serting ‘‘carries out an activity described in 

13 subsection (b), as determined by the Sec14 retary,’’; and 

15 (ii) in paragraph (1)(D), by inserting 

16 ‘‘cropland or’’ before ‘‘highly erodible 

17 land’’; 

18 (B) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub19 section (c); 

20 (C) by inserting after subsection (a) the 

21 following: 

22 ‘‘(b) ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED.—Activities referred to 

23 in subsection (a) are— 

24 ‘‘(1) the production of an agricultural com25 modity on a field on which cropland is predominant; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
102 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(2) the designation of land on which cropland 

2 is predominant to be set aside, diverted, devoted to 

3 conservation uses, or otherwise not cultivated under 

4 a program administered by the Secretary to reduce 

5 production of an agricultural commodity; and 

6 ‘‘(3) the production of an agricultural com7 modity without having in place a conservation 

8 plan.’’; and 

9 (D) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated), 

10 by striking the heading and inserting ‘‘AU11 THORITY OF SECRETARY.—’’. 

12 (2) EXEMPTIONS.—Section 1212 of the Food 

13 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3812) is amend14 ed— 

15 (A) in subsection (a)(3)— 

16 (i) in the first sentence, by striking 

17 ‘‘highly erodible land’’ and inserting ‘‘crop18 land’’; and 

19 (ii) in the first and second sentences, 

20 by striking ‘‘only be required to apply a 

21 conservation plan established under this 

22 subtitle. The person shall not be required 

23 to meet a higher conservation standard 

24 than the standard applied to other highly 

25 erodible’’ and inserting ‘‘be required to 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
103 

•S 1016 IS

1 apply a conservation plan established 

2 under this subtitle consistent with the 

3 standard applied to other’’; 

4 (B) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘high5 ly erodible land’’ each place it appears and in6 serting ‘‘cropland’’; and 

7 (C) in subsection (f)(4)(A)— 

8 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘highly 

9 erodible’’; and 

10 (ii) in clause (ii)(II), by inserting 

11 ‘‘and soil health’’ after ‘‘erosion control’’. 

12 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Subtitle B of 

13 title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

14 U.S.C. 3811 et seq.) is amended in the subtitle 

15 heading by striking ‘‘Highly Erodible Land’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘Cropland’’. 

17 SEC. 307. NATIONAL AND REGIONAL AGROFORESTRY CEN18 TERS. 

19 Section 1243 of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, 

20 and Trade Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 1642 note; Public Law 

21 101–624) is amended— 

22 (1) by striking the section heading and insert23 ing ‘‘NATIONAL AND REGIONAL AGRO24 FORESTRY CENTERS’’; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
104 

•S 1016 IS

1 (2) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), and 

2 (d) as subsections (c), (d), and (f), respectively; 

3 (3) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF AGROFORESTRY.—In this sec6 tion, the term ‘agroforestry’ means a management system 

7 that intentionally integrates trees and shrubs into crop 

8 and animal farming systems to build more profitable and 

9 weather-resilient farms, ranches, and communities, ad10 dress natural resource concerns and conservation needs, 

11 and establish productive and sustainable land use prac12 tices, including— 

13 ‘‘(1) riparian forest buffers and managed 

14 waterbreaks; 

15 ‘‘(2) alley cropping; 

16 ‘‘(3) silvopasture; 

17 ‘‘(4) forest farming and multistory cropping; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(5) windbreaks, shelterbelts, hedgerows, field 

20 borders, and living snow fences. 

21 ‘‘(b) NATIONAL AND REGIONAL AGROFORESTRY

22 CENTERS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agri24 culture (referred to in this section as the ‘Sec25 retary’)— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
105 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(A) shall establish at the Forestry 

2 Sciences Laboratory of the Forest Service, in 

3 Lincoln, Nebraska, a National Agroforestry Re4 search, Development, and Demonstration Cen5 ter; and 

6 ‘‘(B) acting through the Chief of the For7 est Service and in cooperation with the Natural 

8 Resources Conservation Service, shall establish 

9 not fewer than 3 additional regional agro10 forestry centers at other locations, as deter11 mined by the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(2) NATIONAL AND REGIONAL DIRECTORS.— 

13 The Secretary shall appoint a National Director and 

14 Regional Directors to manage and coordinate the 

15 program established under subsection (c).’’; 

16 (4) in subsection (c) (as so redesignated)— 

17 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph 

18 (1)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘Center’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘Centers established under subparagraphs 

21 (A) and (B) of subsection (b)(1) (referred 

22 to in this section as the ‘Centers’)’’; and 

23 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and organizations’’ 

24 after ‘‘nonprofit foundations’’; 

25 (B) in paragraph (1)— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
106 

•S 1016 IS

1 (i) by striking ‘‘on semiarid lands 

2 that’’ and inserting ‘‘that build soil health 

3 and’’; and 

4 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, including agro5 forestry systems on semiarid land and 

6 other fragile agroecosystems in which res7 toration of permanent woody perennial 

8 plant communities will enhance carbon se9 questration and reduce greenhouse gas 

10 emissions’’ before the semicolon; 

11 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘forestry 

12 products for commercial sale from semiarid 

13 land’’ and inserting ‘‘agroforestry products for 

14 commercial sale’’; 

15 (D) in paragraph (4)— 

16 (i) by striking ‘‘in semiarid regions’’; 

17 and 

18 (ii) by striking ‘‘the Great Plains re19 gion’’ and inserting ‘‘particular regions’’; 

20 (E) in paragraph (5), by inserting ‘‘tech21 nical assistance and’’ before ‘‘technology’’; 

22 (F) by striking paragraph (6) and insert23 ing the following: 

24 ‘‘(6) develop improved silvopasture, alley crop25 ping, forest farming, multistory cropping, riparian 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
107 

•S 1016 IS

1 buffer, windbreak and shelterbelt, and other peren2 nial production and conservation systems and tech3 nologies to improve soil health, carbon sequestration, 

4 drought preparedness, soil and water conservation, 

5 environmental quality, and biological diversity;’’; 

6 (G) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘on 

7 semiarid lands’’; 

8 (H) in paragraph (8), by striking ‘‘on 

9 semiarid lands worldwide’’ and inserting 

10 ‘‘worldwide, including on semiarid land’’; and 

11 (I) in paragraph (9)— 

12 (i) by striking ‘‘on semiarid lands’’; 

13 and 

14 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and climate change’’ 

15 after ‘‘pollution’’; 

16 (5) in subsection (d) (as so redesignated)— 

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

18 by striking ‘‘Center’’ and inserting ‘‘Centers’’; 

19 (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

20 the end; 

21 (C) in paragraph (2), by striking the pe22 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

23 (D) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(3) facilitate agroforestry adoption by dissemi25 nating comprehensive information on Federal, State, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
108 

•S 1016 IS

1 local, and Tribal programs that provide support for 

2 agroforestry.’’; 

3 (6) by inserting after subsection (d) (as so re4 designated) the following: 

5 ‘‘(e) GRANTS.—The Secretary may establish regional 

6 grant programs at each of the Centers to support agro7 forestry projects, including demonstration farms.’’; and 

8 (7) in subsection (f) (as so redesignated), by in9 serting ‘‘and $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

10 2024 through 2028’’ after ‘‘through 2023’’. 

11 TITLE IV—FARMLAND PRESER12 VATION AND FARM VIABILITY 

13 SEC. 401. LOCAL AGRICULTURE MARKET PROGRAM. 

14 Section 210A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 

15 1946 (7 U.S.C. 1627c) is amended— 

16 (1) in subsection (a)(12)(A)— 

17 (A) by redesignating clauses (iv) and (v) as 

18 clauses (vi) and (vii), respectively; and 

19 (B) by inserting after clause (iii) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(iv) is produced and marketed in a 

22 manner that significantly improves soil 

23 health and carbon sequestration or signifi24 cantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
109 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(v) when added to the crop or graz2 ing rotation on a farm, will significantly 

3 improve soil health and carbon sequestra4 tion or significantly reduce greenhouse gas 

5 emissions;’’; 

6 (2) in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

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

9 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

10 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

11 the semicolon at the end and inserting ‘‘, 

12 including value-added agricultural products 

13 from crops or animals that, when added 

14 into crop or grazing rotations on a farm, 

15 will significantly improve soil health and 

16 carbon sequestration or significantly re17 duce greenhouse gas emissions; and’’; and 

18 (iii) by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(D) markets for agricultural commodities 

21 and products produced in a manner that signifi22 cantly improve soil health and carbon seques23 tration or significantly reduce greenhouse gas 

24 emissions;’’; 

25 (B) in paragraph (3)— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
110 

•S 1016 IS

1 (i) by striking ‘‘and local’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘, local’’; and 

3 (ii) by inserting ‘‘, and production and 

4 marketing approaches to significantly im5 prove soil health and carbon sequestration 

6 or significantly reduce greenhouse gas 

7 emissions’’ before the semicolon at the end; 

8 (C) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

9 the end; 

10 (D) by redesignating paragraph (6) as 

11 paragraph (7); and 

12 (E) by inserting after paragraph (5) the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘(6) enhances the economic viability of pro15 ducers and related agricultural enterprises; and’’; 

16 (3) in subsection (d)— 

17 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

18 (i) by striking ‘‘subsection (i)’’ and in19 serting ‘‘subsection (j)’’; and 

20 (ii) by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

21 ‘‘2028’’; 

22 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

23 (i) in subparagraph (C)— 

24 (I) in clause (i), by striking 

25 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
111 

•S 1016 IS

1 (II) in clause (ii), by adding 

2 ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

3 (III) by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(iii) agricultural commodities and 

6 products that are produced and marketed 

7 in a manner that— 

8 ‘‘(I) significantly improves soil 

9 health and carbon sequestration or 

10 significantly reduces greenhouse gas 

11 emissions; or 

12 ‘‘(II) when added to a crop or 

13 grazing rotation on a farm will signifi14 cantly improve soil health and carbon 

15 sequestration or significantly reduce 

16 greenhouse gas emissions;’’; and 

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

18 ‘‘producers of local food products and 

19 value-added agricultural products in new 

20 and existing markets’’ and inserting the 

21 following: ‘‘producers of— 

22 ‘‘(i) local food products; 

23 ‘‘(ii) value-added agricultural products 

24 in new and existing markets; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
112 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) agricultural commodities and 

2 products that are produced in a manner 

3 that— 

4 ‘‘(I) enhances soil health and car5 bon sequestration or significantly re6 duces greenhouse gas emissions; or 

7 ‘‘(II) when added to a crop or 

8 grazing rotation on a farm, will sig9 nificantly improve soil health and car10 bon sequestration or significantly re11 duce greenhouse gas emissions;’’; and 

12 (C) in paragraph (5)(A), by inserting ‘‘and 

13 the Chief of the Natural Resources Conserva14 tion Service’’ before the period at the end; 

15 (4) in subsection (e)(2)(A)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘subsection (i)’’ and insert17 ing ‘‘subsection (j)’’; and 

18 (B) by striking ‘‘2023’’ and inserting 

19 ‘‘2028’’; 

20 (5) by redesignating subsections (f), (g), (h), 

21 and (i) as subsections (g), (h), (i), and (j), respec22 tively; 

23 (6) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol24 lowing: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
113 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(f) FARM VIABILITY AND LOCAL CLIMATE RESIL2 IENCY CENTERS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

4 through the Administrator of the Agricultural Mar5 keting Service and in coordination with the Adminis6 trator of the Rural Business-Cooperative Service and 

7 the Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation 

8 Service, shall provide grants to eligible entities de9 scribed in paragraph (2) to serve as farm viability 

10 and local climate resiliency centers (referred to in 

11 this section as ‘centers’) to support— 

12 ‘‘(A) efforts to enhance farm viability; and 

13 ‘‘(B) the development, coordination, and 

14 expansion of markets for commodities and farm 

15 products that significantly improve soil health 

16 and carbon sequestration or significantly reduce 

17 greenhouse gas emissions. 

18 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—An entity is eligible 

19 to receive a grant under this subsection if the entity 

20 is— 

21 ‘‘(A) an agricultural cooperative or other 

22 agricultural business entity or a producer net23 work or association; 

24 ‘‘(B) a local, State, or Tribal government; 

25 ‘‘(C) a nonprofit corporation; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
114 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(D) a public benefit corporation; 

2 ‘‘(E) an economic development corporation; 

3 ‘‘(F) an institution of higher education; or 

4 ‘‘(G) such other entity as the Secretary 

5 may designate. 

6 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity receiv7 ing a grant under this subsection shall use grant 

8 funds to provide to entities described in subsection 

9 (d)(5)(B)— 

10 ‘‘(A) assistance for the development of 

11 business plans and feasibility studies; 

12 ‘‘(B) assistance in developing marketing 

13 strategies for— 

14 ‘‘(i) local products; and 

15 ‘‘(ii) value-added agricultural products 

16 in new and existing markets; 

17 ‘‘(C) assistance in enterprise development 

18 for the processing, aggregation, distribution, 

19 and storage of— 

20 ‘‘(i) local and regional food products 

21 that are marketed locally or regionally; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) value-added agricultural prod23 ucts; 

24 ‘‘(D) assistance relating to finances and 

25 recordkeeping; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
115 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(E) assistance relating to enterprise and 

2 business management; 

3 ‘‘(F) assistance relating to ownership suc4 cession planning; 

5 ‘‘(G) outreach and assistance in the adop6 tion of farming practices that enhance soil 

7 health and carbon sequestration or significantly 

8 reduce greenhouse gas emissions; 

9 ‘‘(H) outreach regarding assistance avail10 able under subsection (d); 

11 ‘‘(I) outreach regarding assistance avail12 able through other programs administered by 

13 any other Federal agency that supports the 

14 adoption of farming practices that enhance soil 

15 health and carbon sequestration or significantly 

16 reduce greenhouse gas emissions; or 

17 ‘‘(J) at the request of the entity described 

18 in subsection (d)(5)(B), assistance in applying 

19 for a grant under subsection (d), including act20 ing on behalf of the entity in applying for the 

21 grant. 

22 ‘‘(4) GEOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY.—To the max23 imum extent practicable, the Secretary shall ensure 

24 geographic diversity in selecting eligible entities to 

25 receive a grant under this subsection. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
116 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(5) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—An entity receiv2 ing a grant under this subsection shall provide fund3 ing in an amount equal to not less than 25 percent 

4 of the total amount of the Federal portion of the 

5 grant. 

6 ‘‘(6) APPLICATIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to re8 ceive a grant under this subsection, an eligible 

9 entity shall submit to the Secretary an applica10 tion at such time, in such manner, and con11 taining such information as the Secretary con12 siders necessary to evaluate and select applica13 tions. 

14 ‘‘(B) COMPETITIVE PROCESS.—The Sec15 retary— 

16 ‘‘(i) shall conduct a competitive proc17 ess to select applications submitted under 

18 subparagraph (A); 

19 ‘‘(ii) may assess and rank applications 

20 with similar proposals as a group; and 

21 ‘‘(iii) shall, prior to accepting applica22 tions under that subparagraph, make pub23 lic the criteria to be used in evaluating the 

24 applications. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
117 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(7) PRIORITY.—The Secretary may give pri2 ority to applications submitted under paragraph 

3 (6)(A) that include— 

4 ‘‘(A) plans to use funds for 3 or more of 

5 purposes described in paragraph (3); or 

6 ‘‘(B) activities relating to improving the 

7 use and expanded adoption of farming practices 

8 that enhance soil health and carbon sequestra9 tion or significantly reduce greenhouse gas 

10 emissions while simultaneously improving farm 

11 viability. 

12 ‘‘(8) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—An entity 

13 receiving a grant under this subsection may use not 

14 more than 4 percent of the funds received through 

15 the grant for administrative expenses.’’; 

16 (7) in subsection (i)(1) (as so redesignated), in 

17 the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking 

18 ‘‘subsection (i)(3)(E)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

19 (j)(3)(E)’’; and 

20 (8) in subsection (j) (as so redesignated)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘fiscal 

22 year 2019’’ and inserting ‘‘each of fiscal years 

23 2019 through 2023 and $150,000,000 for fiscal 

24 year 2024’’; 

25 (B) in paragraph (3)— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
118 

•S 1016 IS

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

2 ‘‘35’’ and inserting ‘‘36’’; and 

3 (ii) by striking subparagraph (B) and 

4 inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(B) FARMERS’ MARKET AND LOCAL FOOD

6 PROMOTION GRANTS.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Of the funds 

8 made available to carry out this section for 

9 a fiscal year, 36 percent shall be used for 

10 grants under subsection (d)(6). 

11 ‘‘(ii) ALLOCATION AMONG SUBPRO12 GRAMS.—Of the funds made available for 

13 grants under subsection (d)(6) for a fiscal 

14 year— 

15 ‘‘(I) 40 percent shall be made 

16 available for farmers’ market pro17 motion grants; and 

18 ‘‘(II) 60 percent shall be made 

19 available for local food promotion 

20 grants.’’; 

21 (C) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) 

22 and (E) as subparagraphs (E) and (F), respec23 tively; 

24 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 

25 the following: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
119 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(D) FARM VIABILITY AND LOCAL CLI2 MATE RESILIENCY.—Of the funds made avail3 able to carry out this section for a fiscal year, 

4 10 percent shall be used to provide grants 

5 under subsection (f).’’; and 

6 (E) in subparagraph (E) (as so redesig7 nated), in the matter preceding clause (i), by 

8 striking ‘‘or (C)’’ and inserting ‘‘(C), or (D)’’. 

9 SEC. 402. NATIONAL ORGANIC CERTIFICATION COST-SHARE 

10 PROGRAM. 

11 (a) FEDERAL SHARE.—Section 10606(b)(2) of the 

12 Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 

13 U.S.C. 6523(b)(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘$750’’ and 

14 inserting ‘‘$1,500’’. 

15 (b) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Section 10606(d)(1) of 

16 the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (7 

17 U.S.C. 6523(d)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘shall make 

18 available’’ in the matter preceding subparagraph (A) and 

19 all that follows through the period at the end of subpara20 graph (C) and inserting ‘‘shall use such sums as are nec21 essary to carry out this section.’’. 

22 SEC. 403. FARMLAND PROTECTION POLICY ACT. 

23 (a) FINDINGS, PURPOSE, AND DEFINITIONS.—Sec24 tion 1540 of the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 (7 

25 U.S.C. 4201) is amended— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
120 

•S 1016 IS

1 (1) in subsection (a)— 

2 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (4) 

3 through (7) as paragraphs (5) through (8), re4 spectively; and 

5 (B) by inserting after paragraph (3) the 

6 following: 

7 ‘‘(4) the Nation’s farmland is a vital source of 

8 environmental services, such as carbon sequestra9 tion;’’; 

10 (2) in subsection (b), by inserting ‘‘Tribal,’’ 

11 after ‘‘State,’’; and 

12 (3) in subsection (c)— 

13 (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), 

14 (3), and (5) as paragraphs (2), (7), (8), and 

15 (6), respectively, and moving the paragraphs so 

16 as to appear in numerical order; 

17 (B) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as 

18 so redesignated) the following: 

19 ‘‘(1) the term ‘conversion’ means— 

20 ‘‘(A) the physical conversion of farmland 

21 to a nonagricultural use; 

22 ‘‘(B) the effective conversion of farmland 

23 as a consequence of physical conversion of adja24 cent farmland, which threatens the continued 

25 viability of the land for agricultural use; or 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
121 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(C) a change in management of federally 

2 owned land historically used for agriculture to 

3 a nonagricultural use;’’; 

4 (C) in paragraph (2) (as so redesig5 nated)— 

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

7 ‘‘that is used for’’ and inserting ‘‘that is 

8 suitable for’’; and 

9 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting 

10 ‘‘and is suitable’’ after ‘‘local importance’’; 

11 (D) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as so 

12 redesignated) the following: 

13 ‘‘(3) the term ‘farmland of national signifi14 cance’ means farmland that is the most suitable for 

15 intensive crop and food production, as determined by 

16 the Secretary, taking into consideration, among 

17 other factors, the physical and chemical characteris18 tics of the farmland;’’; 

19 (E) in paragraph (4), in the second sen20 tence, by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

21 (F) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(5) the term ‘permanently protected farmland’ 

24 means farmland encumbered by a conservation ease25 ment— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
122 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(A) held by the Federal Government, a 

2 State, Tribal, or local unit of government, or a 

3 land conservation organization; and 

4 ‘‘(B) that is perpetual or the maximum 

5 number of years allowed by State law;’’; 

6 (G) in paragraph (6) (as so redesignated), 

7 by striking the period at the end and inserting 

8 a semicolon; 

9 (H) in paragraph (7) (as so redesignated), 

10 by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

11 (I) in paragraph (8) (as so redesignated), 

12 by striking the semicolon at the end and insert13 ing a period. 

14 (b) FARMLAND PROTECTION POLICY.—Section 1541 

15 of the Agriculture and Food Act of 1981 (7 U.S.C. 4202) 

16 is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘SEC. 1541. FARMLAND PROTECTION POLICY. 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—It is the policy of the United 

19 States that Federal programs— 

20 ‘‘(1) shall minimize the conversion of farmland 

21 to nonagricultural uses; and 

22 ‘‘(2) subject to subsection (d), shall not convert 

23 to nonagricultural uses farmland— 

24 ‘‘(A) that is permanently protected farm25 land; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
123 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(B) that has been defined and delineated 

2 by the Secretary under subsection (b)(1) as 

3 farmland of national significance; or 

4 ‘‘(C) that has been defined and delineated 

5 by a State as significant to the State or a pri6 ority for inclusion in a State farmland protec7 tion program and for which the State has sub8 mitted a definition and delineation under sub9 section (b)(2). 

10 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION AND DELINEATION OF LAND.— 

11 ‘‘(1) NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE.— 

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

13 define and delineate farmland of national sig14 nificance. 

15 ‘‘(B) EXPERTS.—The Secretary shall con16 vene a group of experts, including agronomists 

17 and soil scientists, to assist the Secretary in 

18 carrying out subparagraph (A). 

19 ‘‘(2) STATE SIGNIFICANCE.—Any State wishing 

20 to have farmland recognized under subsection 

21 (a)(2)(C) shall provide to the Secretary a definition 

22 and delineation of the farmland. 

23 ‘‘(c) PROCESS AND CRITERIA.— 

24 ‘‘(1) PROCESS AND CRITERIA.—The Secretary 

25 shall develop a process, including criteria— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
124 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(A) to determine the potential conversion 

2 of farmland as a consequence of any action or 

3 activity conducted through a Federal program; 

4 ‘‘(B)(i) to minimize the conversion of 

5 farmland to nonagricultural uses; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) in the case of farmland identified 

7 under subsection (a)(2), to avoid conversion of 

8 the farmland to nonagricultural uses; 

9 ‘‘(C) to provide to the Secretary notice re10 garding actions described in subparagraphs (A) 

11 and (B); and 

12 ‘‘(D) that the Secretary shall use to make 

13 determinations under subsection (d). 

14 ‘‘(2) USE REQUIRED.—Each department, agen15 cy, independent commission, and other unit of the 

16 Federal Government shall use the process and cri17 teria developed under paragraph (1) in carrying out 

18 a Federal program. 

19 ‘‘(d) EXEMPTION.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a)(2) shall not 

21 apply if the Secretary determines, based on the proc22 ess and criteria developed under subsection (c)(1), 

23 that converting farmland to nonagricultural uses 

24 cannot be avoided. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
125 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(2) MINIMIZATION OF CONVERSION.—In a 

2 case in which the Secretary makes a determination 

3 under paragraph (1), the Federal program shall 

4 minimize the conversion of farmland described in 

5 subsection (a)(2) to the maximum extent practicable. 

6 ‘‘(e) INFORMATION.—The Secretary may make avail7 able to States, units of local government, individuals, orga8 nizations, and other units of the Federal Government in9 formation— 

10 ‘‘(1) useful in restoring, maintaining, and im11 proving the quantity and quality of farmland; and 

12 ‘‘(2) concerning the location of permanently 

13 protected farmland. 

14 ‘‘(f) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall provide as15 sistance to departments, agencies, independent commis16 sions, and other units of the Federal Government, on re17 quest, in using the process and criteria developed under 

18 subsection (c)(1).’’. 

19 SEC. 404. AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATION EASEMENT PRO20 GRAM. 

21 Section 1265B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

22 U.S.C. 3865b) is amended— 

23 (1) in subsection (b)— 

24 (A) in paragraph (4)(C)(iv), by striking 

25 ‘‘only’’; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
126 

•S 1016 IS

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

2 ‘‘(6) CONDITION OF ASSISTANCE.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of re4 ceiving cost-share assistance under this section, 

5 the owner of eligible land shall agree to have in 

6 place a conservation plan that addresses appli7 cable resource concerns for the land subject to 

8 the easement, including soil health and green9 house gas emissions reduction, not later than 3 

10 years after the date on which the easement is 

11 granted. 

12 ‘‘(B) BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS.—Sub13 paragraph (A) may be satisfied by having in 

14 place a conservation plan developed or recog15 nized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.’’; and 

16 (2) by striking subsection (d) and inserting the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(d) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary may 

19 provide technical assistance, if requested, to assist in— 

20 ‘‘(1) compliance with the terms and conditions 

21 of an easement; and 

22 ‘‘(2) development and implementation of a con23 servation plan required under subsection (b)(6), in24 cluding, as applicable— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
127 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(A) a conservation plan for highly erod2 ible land required under subsection 

3 (b)(4)(C)(iv); and 

4 ‘‘(B) a comprehensive conservation plan 

5 developed pursuant to subsection (e)(1). 

6 ‘‘(e) FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

8 ‘‘(A) ENROLLMENT IN CSP.—At the sole 

9 option of the owner of the eligible land subject 

10 to an easement, the Secretary shall provide for 

11 the automatic enrollment of the eligible land 

12 subject to the easement in the conservation 

13 stewardship program established by subchapter 

14 B of chapter 4 of subtitle D, including financial 

15 assistance for the development of a comprehen16 sive conservation plan under section 1240L(e), 

17 if the person or entity farming the eligible land 

18 is otherwise eligible for the conservation stew19 ardship program, as determined by the Sec20 retary. 

21 ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION OF COMPLIANCE.— 

22 In the case of eligible land enrolled in the con23 servation stewardship program pursuant to sub24 paragraph (A), the Secretary shall have the sole 

25 responsibility of determining compliance with 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
128 

•S 1016 IS

1 the terms of the conservation stewardship pro2 gram contract. 

3 ‘‘(C) FUNDING.—Funding received by an 

4 eligible entity pursuant to this paragraph shall 

5 not be considered in the calculation of costs 

6 under subsection (b). 

7 ‘‘(2) TIMING.—The owner of the eligible land 

8 subject to an easement may exercise the option 

9 under paragraph (1)(A) during the 3-year period be10 ginning on the date on which the easement is grant11 ed.’’. 

12 TITLE V—PASTURE-BASED 

13 LIVESTOCK 

14 SEC. 501. ANIMAL RAISING CLAIMS. 

15 The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 (7 U.S.C. 

16 1621 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘Subtitle H—Animal Raising 

19 Claims 

20 ‘‘SEC. 298A. DEFINITIONS. 

21 ‘‘In this subtitle: 

22 ‘‘(1) ANIMAL RAISING CLAIM.—The term ‘ani23 mal raising claim’ means a statement on the labeling 

24 of a meat food product or poultry product used in 

25 interstate commerce that references— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
129 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(A) the manner in which the source ani2 mal for the meat food product or poultry prod3 uct was raised, including— 

4 ‘‘(i) production practices that were 

5 used, such as living or raising conditions; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(ii) the location or source where the 

8 source animal was born, raised, and proc9 essed; or 

10 ‘‘(B) the breed of the source animal. 

11 ‘‘(2) MEAT FOOD PRODUCT.—The term ‘meat 

12 food product’ has the meaning given the term in sec13 tion 1 of the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 

14 U.S.C. 601). 

15 ‘‘(3) POULTRY PRODUCT.—The term ‘poultry 

16 product’ has the meaning given the term in section 

17 4 of the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 

18 453). 

19 ‘‘(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

20 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Ad21 ministrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service, in 

22 coordination with the Administrator of the Food 

23 Safety and Inspection Service. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
130 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 298B. REQUIRED VERIFICATION PROCESS FOR ANI2 MAL RAISING CLAIMS. 

3 ‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this section is to fa4 cilitate marketing, truth in labeling, and new economic op5 portunities for producers and businesses using animal 

6 raising claims. 

7 ‘‘(b) STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

9 after the date of enactment of this subtitle, after 

10 providing notice and an opportunity to comment, 

11 and in a manner consistent with United States obli12 gations under international agreements, the Sec13 retary shall establish— 

14 ‘‘(A) mandatory standards with respect to 

15 animal raising claims, including the standards 

16 described in paragraph (2); 

17 ‘‘(B) procedures— 

18 ‘‘(i) to verify an animal raising claim 

19 prior to the use in commerce of any meat 

20 food product or poultry product bearing 

21 that claim; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) that are incorporated seamlessly 

23 with the labeling requirements under the 

24 Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 

25 601 et seq.) and the Poultry Products In26 spection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.); and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
131 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(C) on-farm and supply chain auditing 

2 and verification procedures to ensure the truth3 fulness of animal raising claims. 

4 ‘‘(2) STANDARDS.—In developing and approv5 ing animal raising claim standards under paragraph 

6 (1)(A), the Secretary shall include standards relat7 ing to— 

8 ‘‘(A) diet claims, including claims that the 

9 source animal was grass fed, vegetarian fed, or 

10 fed no animal byproducts; 

11 ‘‘(B) living and raising condition claims, 

12 including claims that the source animal was 

13 cage free, free range, or pasture raised; 

14 ‘‘(C) antibiotic and hormone claims, in15 cluding claims that the source animal was 

16 raised without antibiotics, had no hormones 

17 added, or was raised without growth 

18 promotants; 

19 ‘‘(D) source claims that the source animal 

20 can be traced back to its farm of origin from 

21 birth to slaughter; 

22 ‘‘(E) age claims; 

23 ‘‘(F) animal welfare claims; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
132 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(G) environmental stewardship claims, in2 cluding greenhouse gas reduction and carbon 

3 sequestration claims; 

4 ‘‘(H) breed claims; and 

5 ‘‘(I) any other claim that the Secretary de6 termines appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(3) CONSISTENCY WITH OTHER LAWS.—The 

8 Secretary shall ensure consistency between the ani9 mal raising claim standards established under this 

10 subsection and the Organic Foods Production Act of 

11 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) and any rules or regu12 lations implementing that Act. 

13 ‘‘(c) THIRD-PARTY CERTIFICATION.—A producer of 

14 a meat food product or a poultry product may use an ani15 mal raising claim that is verified by a third party if— 

16 ‘‘(1) the claim is consistent with standards es17 tablished by the Secretary under subsection (b); and 

18 ‘‘(2) the procedures used by the third party to 

19 verify the claim, and for any subsequent auditing, 

20 are equivalent to the verification and auditing proce21 dures established under subsection (b)(1)(C), as de22 termined by the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(d) APPROVAL PROCESS.—To the maximum extent 

24 practicable, the Secretary shall require that a producer 

25 seeking to make an animal raising claim shall submit to 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
133 

•S 1016 IS

1 the Secretary, prior to using the label on the meat food 

2 product or poultry product that is the subject of the ani3 mal raising claim, the following documentation to support 

4 the animal raising claim: 

5 ‘‘(1) A detailed written description explaining 

6 the controls used for ensuring that the animal rais7 ing claim is valid, as applicable— 

8 ‘‘(A) from birth to harvest; or 

9 ‘‘(B) for the period of raising referenced in 

10 the animal raising claim. 

11 ‘‘(2) A signed and dated document describing 

12 the manner in which the source animals were raised. 

13 ‘‘(3) A written description of the product trac14 ing and segregation mechanism used with respect to 

15 the applicable meat food product or poultry product 

16 from the time of slaughter of the source animal or 

17 further processing through the packaging and dis18 tribution of the meat food product or poultry prod19 uct. 

20 ‘‘(4) A written description of the identification, 

21 control, and segregation of nonconforming animals 

22 or products. 

23 ‘‘(5) In the case of a meat food product or 

24 poultry product certified by a third party, a current 

25 copy of the third-party certificate. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
134 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(e) COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS.—Beginning on 

2 the date that is 3 years after the date of enactment of 

3 this subtitle— 

4 ‘‘(1) a person may sell or label a domestic meat 

5 food product or poultry product with an animal rais6 ing claim only if the animal raising claim and the 

7 meat food product or poultry product is in compli8 ance with the standards established under subsection 

9 (b); and 

10 ‘‘(2) an imported meat food product or poultry 

11 product may be sold or labeled with an animal rais12 ing claim if, as determined by the Secretary, the ani13 mal raising claim and the meat food product or 

14 poultry product is in compliance with a verification 

15 program that provides safeguards and guidelines 

16 that are at least equivalent to the standards estab17 lished under subsection (b). 

18 ‘‘(f) VIOLATIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(1) MISUSE OF LABEL.—Any person who, 

20 after notice and an opportunity to be heard, is found 

21 by the Secretary to have knowingly sold or labeled 

22 any meat food product or poultry product with an 

23 animal raising claim in violation of this subtitle, in24 cluding the standards and procedures established 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
135 

•S 1016 IS

1 under subsection (b), shall be assessed a civil pen2 alty of not more than $10,000. 

3 ‘‘(2) FALSE STATEMENT.—Any person who, 

4 after notice and an opportunity to be heard, is found 

5 by the Secretary to have made to the Secretary, a 

6 Federal or State official, or a third-party certifier a 

7 false, fraudulent, or fictitious statement, or to have 

8 concealed to, hidden from, falsified to, or deceived 

9 the Secretary, official, or certifier regarding a mate10 rial fact, with respect to an animal raising claim 

11 subject to the requirements of this subtitle, shall be 

12 subject to a penalty described in section 1001 of title 

13 18, United States Code. 

14 ‘‘(g) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this sec15 tion alters the authority of the Secretary under the Fed16 eral Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or the 

17 Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et seq.). 

18 ‘‘SEC. 298C. APPLICABILITY. 

19 ‘‘This subtitle shall only apply to meat food products 

20 and poultry products that are subject to labeling require21 ments under the Federal Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 

22 601 et seq.) or the Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 

23 U.S.C. 451 et seq.). 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
136 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘SEC. 298D. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

2 ‘‘There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec3 retary such sums as are necessary to carry out this sub4 title.’’. 

5 SEC. 502. PROCESSING RESILIENCE GRANT PROGRAM. 

6 Subtitle A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 

7 (7 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 210B. PROCESSING RESILIENCE GRANT PROGRAM. 

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) BUSINESS ENTERPRISE OWNED AND CON12 TROLLED BY SOCIALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DIS13 ADVANTAGED INDIVIDUALS.—The term ‘business en14 terprise owned and controlled by socially and eco15 nomically disadvantaged individuals’ has the mean16 ing given the term in section 3002 of the State 

17 Small Business Credit Initiative Act of 2010 (12 

18 U.S.C. 5701). 

19 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en20 tity’ means— 

21 ‘‘(A) a smaller establishment or very small 

22 establishment (as those terms are defined in the 

23 final rule entitled ‘Pathogen Reduction; Hazard 

24 Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) 

25 Systems’ (61 Fed. Reg. 33806 (July 25, 

26 1996))); 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
137 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(B) a slaughtering or processing estab2 lishment subject to— 

3 ‘‘(i) a State meat inspection program 

4 pursuant to section 301 of the Federal 

5 Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 661); or 

6 ‘‘(ii) a State poultry product inspec7 tion program pursuant to section 5 of the 

8 Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 

9 U.S.C. 454); 

10 ‘‘(C) a person engaging in custom oper11 ations that is exempt from inspection under— 

12 ‘‘(i) section 23 of the Federal Meat 

13 Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 623); or 

14 ‘‘(ii) section 15 of the Poultry Prod15 ucts Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 464); and 

16 ‘‘(D) a person seeking— 

17 ‘‘(i) to establish and operate an estab18 lishment described in subparagraph (A) or 

19 (B); or 

20 ‘‘(ii) to engage in custom operations 

21 described in subparagraph (C). 

22 ‘‘(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

23 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Ad24 ministrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service. 

25 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
138 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

2 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec3 retary shall award competitive grants to eligible enti4 ties for activities to increase resiliency and diver5 sification of the meat processing system, including 

6 activities that— 

7 ‘‘(A) support the health and safety of meat 

8 and poultry plant employees, suppliers, and cus9 tomers; 

10 ‘‘(B) support increased processing capac11 ity; and 

12 ‘‘(C) otherwise support the resilience of the 

13 small meat and poultry processing sector. 

14 ‘‘(2) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The maximum 

15 amount of a grant awarded under this section shall 

16 not exceed $500,000. 

17 ‘‘(3) DURATION.—The term of a grant awarded 

18 under this section shall not exceed 3 years. 

19 ‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible entity desiring a 

21 grant under this section shall submit to the Sec22 retary an application at such time, in such manner, 

23 and containing such information as the Secretary 

24 may require. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
139 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS FOR SMALL GRANTS.—The 

2 Secretary shall establish a separate, simplified appli3 cation process for eligible entities applying for a 

4 grant under this section of not more than $100,000. 

5 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall en6 sure that any application for a grant under this sec7 tion is— 

8 ‘‘(A) simple and practicable; 

9 ‘‘(B) accessible online; and 

10 ‘‘(C) available through local staff of the 

11 Department of Agriculture. 

12 ‘‘(4) NOTICE.—Not later than 14 days before 

13 the date on which the Secretary begins to accept ap14 plications under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

15 publish a notice of funding opportunity with respect 

16 to the grants available under this section. 

17 ‘‘(5) REAPPLICATION.—If an application of an 

18 eligible entity under this subsection is denied by the 

19 Secretary, the eligible entity may submit a revised 

20 application. 

21 ‘‘(6) PRIORITY.—In reviewing applications sub22 mitted under this subsection, the Secretary shall 

23 give priority to proposals that will— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
140 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(A) increase farmer and rancher access to 

2 animal slaughter options within a 200-mile ra3 dius of the location of the farmer or rancher; 

4 ‘‘(B) support an eligible entity described in 

5 subsection (a)(2)(A); or 

6 ‘‘(C) support an eligible entity that is a 

7 business enterprise owned and controlled by so8 cially and economically disadvantaged individ9 uals. 

10 ‘‘(d) USE OF GRANT.—An eligible entity that receives 

11 a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to 

12 carry out activities in support of the purposes described 

13 in subsection (b)(1), including through— 

14 ‘‘(1) the development and issuance of a Hazard 

15 Analysis and Critical Control Points plan for the eli16 gible entity, which may be developed by a consultant; 

17 ‘‘(2) the purchase or establishment, as applica18 ble, of facilities, equipment, processes, and oper19 ations necessary for the eligible entity to comply 

20 with applicable requirements under the Federal 

21 Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) or the 

22 Poultry Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 451 et 

23 seq.); 

24 ‘‘(3) the purchase of cold storage, equipment, or 

25 transportation services; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
141 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(4) the purchase of temperature screening 

2 supplies, testing for communicable diseases, dis3 infectant, sanitation systems, hand washing stations, 

4 and other sanitizing supplies; 

5 ‘‘(5) the purchase and decontamination of per6 sonal protective equipment; 

7 ‘‘(6) the construction or purchase of humane 

8 handling infrastructure, including holding space for 

9 livestock prior to slaughter, shade structures, and 

10 knock box structures; 

11 ‘‘(7)(A) the purchase of software and computer 

12 equipment for record keeping, production data, Haz13 ard Analysis and Critical Control Points record re14 view, and facilitation of marketing and sales of prod15 ucts in a manner consistent with the social 

16 distancing guidelines of the Centers for Disease Con17 trol and Prevention; and 

18 ‘‘(B) the provision of guidelines and training re19 lating to that software and computer equipment; 

20 ‘‘(8) the provision of staff time and training for 

21 implementing and monitoring health and safety pro22 cedures; 

23 ‘‘(9) the development of a feasibility study or 

24 business plan for, or the carrying out of any other 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
142 

•S 1016 IS

1 activity associated with, establishing or expanding a 

2 small meat or poultry processing facility; 

3 ‘‘(10) the purchase of equipment that enables 

4 the further use or value-added sale of coproducts or 

5 byproducts, such as organs, hides, and other rel6 evant products; and 

7 ‘‘(11) other activities associated with expanding 

8 or establishing an eligible entity described in sub9 section (a)(2)(A), as determined by the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(e) OUTREACH.—During the period beginning on 

11 the date on which the Secretary publishes the notice under 

12 subsection (c)(4) and ending on the date on which the Sec13 retary begins to accept applications under subsection 

14 (c)(1), the Secretary shall perform outreach to States and 

15 eligible entities relating to grants under this section. 

16 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), 

18 the Federal share of the activities carried out using 

19 a grant awarded under this section shall not ex20 ceed— 

21 ‘‘(A) 90 percent in the case of a grant in 

22 the amount of $100,000 or less; or 

23 ‘‘(B) 75 percent in the case of a grant in 

24 an amount greater than $100,000. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
143 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(2) FISCAL YEARS 2023 AND 2024.—An eligible 

2 entity awarded a grant under this section during fis3 cal year 2023 or 2024 shall not be required to pro4 vide non-Federal matching funds with respect to the 

5 grant. 

6 ‘‘(g) ADMINISTRATION.—The promulgation of regula7 tions under, and administration of, this section shall be 

8 made without regard to— 

9 ‘‘(1) the notice and comment provisions of sec10 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code; and 

11 ‘‘(2) chapter 35 of title 44, United States Code 

12 (commonly known as the ‘Paperwork Reduction 

13 Act’). 

14 ‘‘(h) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agri16 culture to carry out this section $20,000,000 for each of 

17 fiscal years 2023 through 2028.’’. 

18 SEC. 503. CONSERVATION OF PRIVATE GRAZING LAND. 

19 (a) PURPOSE.—Section 1240M(a) of the Food Secu20 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb(a)) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (6), by inserting ‘‘conserving 

22 water and’’ before ‘‘improving’’; 

23 (2) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

24 end; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
144 

•S 1016 IS

1 (3) in paragraph (8), by striking the period at 

2 the end and inserting a semicolon; and 

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

4 ‘‘(9) conserving and improving soil health and 

5 improving grazing system resilience in the face of 

6 climate change through advanced grazing manage7 ment practices; and 

8 ‘‘(10) providing support for producers 

9 transitioning from confinement and feedlot systems 

10 or continuous grazing to managed grazing-based sys11 tems, including support for pasture development and 

12 management.’’. 

13 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 1240M(b)(2) of the Food 

14 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb(b)(2)) is amend15 ed by striking ‘‘hay land’’ and inserting ‘‘perennial hay 

16 land, including silvopasture’’. 

17 (c) PRIVATE GRAZING LAND CONSERVATION ASSIST18 ANCE.—Section 1240M(c) of the Food Security Act of 

19 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb(c)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

21 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

22 (A), by inserting ‘‘and partnerships described in 

23 paragraph (2)(B)’’ after ‘‘local conservation dis24 tricts’’; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
145 

•S 1016 IS

1 (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in2 serting the following: 

3 ‘‘(B) planning and implementing regionally 

4 appropriate, advanced grazing land manage5 ment technologies to improve soil health and 

6 maximize carbon sequestration;’’; 

7 (C) in subparagraph (C)(iv), by inserting 

8 ‘‘through integrated strategies that include ro9 tational and multispecies grazing, integrated 

10 pest management, and other ecological prac11 tices’’ after ‘‘brush encroachment problems’’; 

12 (D) in subparagraph (H), by striking 

13 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

14 (E) in subparagraph (I), by striking the 

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

16 (F) by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(J) assisting producers in transitioning 

18 from confinement or feedlot systems or contin19 uous grazing to managed grazing-based sys20 tems, including assistance in pasture develop21 ment and management.’’; and 

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

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(2) PROGRAM ELEMENTS.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
146 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(A) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND EDU2 CATION.—Personnel of the Department trained 

3 in pasture and range management shall be 

4 made available under the program to deliver 

5 and coordinate technical assistance and edu6 cation to owners and managers of private graz7 ing land, including owners and managers inter8 ested in developing new or improved pasture or 

9 grazing-based systems on the land of the own10 ers and managers, at the request of the owners 

11 and managers. 

12 ‘‘(B) PARTNERSHIPS.—In carrying out the 

13 program under this section, the Secretary shall 

14 provide research, demonstration, education (in15 cluding conferences, workshops, field days, and 

16 trainings), workforce training, planning, and 

17 outreach activities through partnerships with— 

18 ‘‘(i) land-grant colleges and univer19 sities (as defined in section 1404 of the 

20 National Agricultural Research, Extension, 

21 and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 

22 3103)); 

23 ‘‘(ii) nongovernmental organizations; 

24 and 

25 ‘‘(iii) Tribal organizations. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
147 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(C) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

2 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out 

3 the program under this section, the Sec4 retary shall provide funds on a competitive 

5 basis for cooperative agreements to re6 gional, State, or local partnerships to use 

7 to conduct grazing land research, dem8 onstration, education, workforce training, 

9 planning, and outreach projects. 

10 ‘‘(ii) DURATION.—Grants made by 

11 partnerships under this subparagraph shall 

12 be for a period not to exceed 3 years. 

13 ‘‘(iii) LIMITATION ON INDIRECT

14 COSTS.—A partnership that receives fund15 ing under this subparagraph may not use 

16 more than 15 percent of the total cost of 

17 the project for the indirect costs of car18 rying out the project. 

19 ‘‘(iv) PRIORITY.—A partnership that 

20 receives funding under this subparagraph 

21 shall give priority to projects that— 

22 ‘‘(I) focus on sustainable grazing 

23 management systems and techniques 

24 that assist producers with multiple 

25 ecosystem services, including climate 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
148 

•S 1016 IS

1 change adaptation and mitigation; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(II) involve beginning farmers 

4 and ranchers, socially disadvantaged 

5 farmers and ranchers, Tribal pro6 ducers, or new graziers (including 

7 State or federally registered appren8 ticeships).’’. 

9 (d) GRAZING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TRAINING.— 

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

11 U.S.C. 3839bb) is amended by striking subsection (d) and 

12 inserting the following: 

13 ‘‘(d) GRAZING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TRAINING.— 

14 In carrying out the program under this section, the Sec15 retary shall provide funds to establish training programs 

16 to foster a new generation of technical assistance providers 

17 to support advanced grazing management.’’. 

18 (e) FUNDING.—Section 1240M of the Food Security 

19 Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb) is amended by striking 

20 subsection (e) and inserting the following: 

21 ‘‘(e) FUNDING.— 

22 ‘‘(1) MANDATORY FUNDING.—Of the funds of 

23 the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Secretary 

24 shall use to carry out this section $50,000,000 for 

25 each of fiscal years 2024 through 2028. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
149 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

3 this section $60,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

4 2024 through 2028. 

5 ‘‘(3) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Of the 

6 funds made available under paragraphs (1) and (2), 

7 the Secretary shall use not less than 80 percent to 

8 carry out subsection (c)(2)(C). 

9 ‘‘(4) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TRAINING.—Of 

10 the funds made available under paragraphs (1) and 

11 (2), the Secretary shall use not more than 10 per12 cent to carry out subsection (d).’’. 

13 SEC. 504. CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM. 

14 (a) CONSERVATION RESERVE.—Section 1231 of the 

15 Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831) is amend16 ed— 

17 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘2023’’ and 

18 inserting ‘‘2028’’; 

19 (2) in subsection (d)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking subpara21 graphs (A) through (E) and inserting the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(A) fiscal year 2024, not more than 

24 28,000,000 acres; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
150 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(B) fiscal year 2025, not more than 

2 29,000,000 acres; 

3 ‘‘(C) fiscal year 2026, not more than 

4 30,000,000 acres; 

5 ‘‘(D) fiscal year 2027, not more than 

6 31,000,000 acres; and 

7 ‘‘(E) fiscal year 2028, not more than 

8 32,000,000 acres.’’; and 

9 (B) in paragraph (2)(A)— 

10 (i) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

11 the end; 

12 (ii) in clause (ii)(III), by striking the 

13 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; 

14 and 

15 (iii) by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(iii) the Secretary shall enroll and 

18 maintain in the conservation reserve not 

19 fewer than 7,000,000 acres of land de20 scribed in subsection (b)(3) by September 

21 30, 2028, of which not fewer than 

22 5,000,000 acres shall be reserved for the 

23 pilot program established under section 

24 1231C(c).’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
151 

•S 1016 IS

1 (b) PILOT PROGRAMS.—Section 1231C of the Food 

2 Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831c) is amended by 

3 adding at the end the following: 

4 ‘‘(c) GRASSLAND 30.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

6 ‘‘(A) ENROLLMENT.—The Secretary shall 

7 establish a pilot program to enroll land in the 

8 conservation reserve program through a 30-year 

9 conservation reserve contract (referred to in 

10 this subsection as a ‘Grassland 30 contract’) in 

11 accordance with this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION OF ACREAGE LIMITA13 TION.—For purposes of applying the limitations 

14 in section 1231(d)(1), the Secretary shall in15 clude acres of land enrolled under this sub16 section. 

17 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE LAND.—Eligible land for enroll18 ment through a Grassland 30 contract— 

19 ‘‘(A) is land that is eligible to be enrolled 

20 in the conservation reserve program under the 

21 grasslands initiative described in section 

22 1231(d)(2); and 

23 ‘‘(B) shall not be limited to land that is 

24 subject to a covered contract (as defined in 

25 paragraph (3)(A)). 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
152 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(3) CONSERVATION CONTRACT ELECTION.— 

2 ‘‘(A) DEFINITION OF COVERED CON3 TRACT.—In this paragraph, the term ‘covered 

4 contract’ means a contract entered into under 

5 this subchapter that— 

6 ‘‘(i) expires on or after the date of en7 actment of this subsection; and 

8 ‘‘(ii) covers land enrolled in the con9 servation reserve program under the grass10 lands initiative described in section 

11 1231(d)(2). 

12 ‘‘(B) EXPIRING CONTRACTS.—On the expi13 ration of a covered contract, an owner or oper14 ator party to the covered contract shall elect— 

15 ‘‘(i) not to reenroll the land under the 

16 contract; 

17 ‘‘(ii) to offer to reenroll the land 

18 under the contract if the land remains eli19 gible under the terms in effect as of the 

20 date of expiration; or 

21 ‘‘(iii) not to reenroll the land under 

22 the contract and to enroll that land 

23 through a Grassland 30 contract under 

24 this subsection. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
153 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(C) UNEXPIRED CONTRACTS.—Prior to 

2 the expiration of a covered contract, an owner 

3 or operator party to the covered contract may 

4 elect to terminate the contract and to enroll 

5 that land through a Grassland 30 contract 

6 under this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(4) TERM.—The term of a Grassland 30 con8 tract shall be 30 years. 

9 ‘‘(5) AGREEMENTS.—To be eligible to enroll 

10 land in the conservation reserve program through a 

11 Grassland 30 contract, the owner of the land shall 

12 enter into an agreement with the Secretary— 

13 ‘‘(A) to implement a conservation reserve 

14 plan developed for the land; 

15 ‘‘(B) to comply with the terms and condi16 tions of the contract and any related agree17 ments; and 

18 ‘‘(C) to temporarily suspend the base his19 tory for the land covered by the contract. 

20 ‘‘(6) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF GRASSLAND

21 30 CONTRACTS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A Grassland 30 con23 tract— 

24 ‘‘(i) shall include terms and conditions 

25 that promote sustainable grazing systems, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
154 

•S 1016 IS

1 protect and enhance soil carbon levels, and 

2 are compatible with wildlife habitat con3 servation, as determined by the Secretary; 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(ii) may include any additional provi6 sion that the Secretary determines is ap7 propriate to carry out this subsection or 

8 facilitate the practical administration of 

9 this subsection. 

10 ‘‘(B) VIOLATION.—On the violation of a 

11 term or condition of a Grassland 30 contract, 

12 the Secretary may require the owner to refund 

13 all or part of any payments received by the 

14 owner under the conservation reserve program, 

15 with interest on the payments, as determined 

16 appropriate by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(C) COMPATIBLE USES.—Land subject to 

18 a Grassland 30 contract may be used for com19 patible economic uses, including hunting and 

20 fishing, if the use— 

21 ‘‘(i) is specifically permitted by the 

22 conservation reserve plan developed for the 

23 land; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) is consistent with the long-term 

25 protection and enhancement of the conVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00154 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1016.IS S1016

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
155 

•S 1016 IS

1 servation resources for which the contract 

2 was established. 

3 ‘‘(7) COMPENSATION.— 

4 ‘‘(A) AMOUNT OF PAYMENTS.—The Sec5 retary shall provide payment under this sub6 section to an owner of land enrolled through a 

7 Grassland 30 contract using 30 annual pay8 ments in an amount equal to the amount that 

9 would be used if the land were to be enrolled 

10 in the conservation reserve program under sec11 tion 1231(d)(2). 

12 ‘‘(B) FORM OF PAYMENT.—Compensation 

13 for a Grassland 30 contract shall be provided 

14 by the Secretary in the form of a cash payment 

15 in an amount determined under subparagraph 

16 (A). 

17 ‘‘(C) TIMING.—The Secretary shall provide 

18 any annual payment obligation under subpara19 graph (A) as early as practicable in each fiscal 

20 year. 

21 ‘‘(D) PAYMENTS TO OTHERS.—The Sec22 retary shall make a payment, in accordance 

23 with regulations prescribed by the Secretary, in 

24 a manner as the Secretary determines is fair 

25 and reasonable under the circumstances, if an 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
156 

•S 1016 IS

1 owner who is entitled to a payment under this 

2 section— 

3 ‘‘(i) dies; 

4 ‘‘(ii) becomes incompetent; 

5 ‘‘(iii) is succeeded by another person 

6 or entity who renders or completes the re7 quired performance; or 

8 ‘‘(iv) is otherwise unable to receive the 

9 payment. 

10 ‘‘(8) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

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

12 assist owners in complying with the terms and 

13 conditions of a Grassland 30 contract. 

14 ‘‘(B) CONTRACTS OR AGREEMENTS.—The 

15 Secretary may enter into 1 or more contracts 

16 with private entities or agreements with a 

17 State, nongovernmental organization, or Indian 

18 Tribe to carry out necessary maintenance of a 

19 Grassland 30 contract if the Secretary deter20 mines that the contract or agreement will ad21 vance the purposes of the conservation reserve 

22 program. 

23 ‘‘(9) ADMINISTRATION.— 

24 ‘‘(A) CONSERVATION RESERVE PLAN.— 

25 The Secretary shall develop a conservation reVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00156 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1016.IS S1016

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
157 

•S 1016 IS

1 serve plan for any land subject to a Grassland 

2 30 contract, which shall include practices and 

3 activities necessary to maintain, protect, and 

4 enhance the conservation value of the enrolled 

5 land, including the protection and enhancement 

6 of soil carbon levels. 

7 ‘‘(B) DELEGATION OF CONTRACT ADMINIS8 TRATION.— 

9 ‘‘(i) FEDERAL, STATE, TRIBAL, OR

10 LOCAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES.—The Sec11 retary may delegate any of the manage12 ment, monitoring, and enforcement respon13 sibilities of the Secretary under this sub14 section to other Federal, State, Tribal, or 

15 local government agencies that have the 

16 appropriate authority, expertise, and re17 sources necessary to carry out those dele18 gated responsibilities. 

19 ‘‘(ii) CONSERVATION ORGANIZA20 TIONS.—The Secretary may delegate any 

21 management responsibilities of the Sec22 retary under this subsection to conserva23 tion organizations if the Secretary deter24 mines the conservation organization has 

25 similar expertise and resources.’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
158 

•S 1016 IS

1 SEC. 505. ALTERNATIVE MANURE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. 

2 Chapter 5 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Secu3 rity Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839bb et seq.) (as amended 

4 by section 304) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 1240T. ALTERNATIVE MANURE MANAGEMENT PRO7 GRAM. 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) ALTERNATIVE MANURE MANAGEMENT

10 PROGRAM.—The term ‘alternative manure manage11 ment program’ means the program established under 

12 subsection (b). 

13 ‘‘(2) COVERED MANAGEMENT MEASURE.—The 

14 term ‘covered management measure’ means a dairy 

15 or livestock operation method that is used by an eli16 gible producer to reduce baseline methane emissions 

17 and, where applicable, improve carbon sequestration 

18 on the operation of that eligible producer, including 

19 the measures described in subparagraphs (A) 

20 through (D) of subsection (f)(2). 

21 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE PRODUCER.—The term ‘eligible 

22 producer’ means a dairy or livestock producer who 

23 agrees to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by adopt24 ing at least 1 covered management measure as an 

25 alternative or complement to anaerobic systems that 

26 capture methane emissions. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
159 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(4) PASTURE-BASED MANAGEMENT.—The 

2 term ‘pasture-based management’ means a dairy or 

3 livestock production system— 

4 ‘‘(A) that eliminates or reduces the quan5 tity of manure stored in anaerobic conditions; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(B) in which the animals spend all or a 

8 substantial portion of their time grazing on 

9 fields in which some or all of the manure is de10 posited and left in the field and decomposes 

11 aerobically. 

12 ‘‘(5) SOLID SEPARATION SYSTEM.—The term 

13 ‘solid separation system’ means a system designed to 

14 separate liquid components of manure from mineral 

15 and organic solid components of that manure. 

16 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab17 lish an alternative manure management program to award 

18 contracts to eligible producers to support carbon seques19 tration and greenhouse gas emissions reductions by imple20 menting covered management measures. 

21 ‘‘(c) SUBMISSION OF CONTRACT OFFERS.—To be eli22 gible to participate in the alternative manure management 

23 program, an eligible producer shall submit to the Sec24 retary a contract offer that details any management meas25 ure to be used on the operation of the eligible producer. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
160 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(d) CLUSTER CONTRACT OFFERS.—The Secretary 

2 shall establish procedures under which— 

3 ‘‘(1) groups of eligible producers may submit a 

4 joint contract offer for a shared composting facility; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(2) the Secretary shall allocate payments to 

7 each eligible producer associated with a joint con8 tract described in paragraph (1). 

9 ‘‘(e) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.— 

10 ‘‘(1) EVALUATION CRITERIA.—The Secretary 

11 shall develop criteria for evaluating applications that 

12 will maximize— 

13 ‘‘(A) carbon sequestration; 

14 ‘‘(B) greenhouse gas emissions reductions; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(C) the overall environmental and public 

17 health benefits. 

18 ‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding contracts under 

19 this section, the Secretary, using criteria developed 

20 under paragraph (1), shall give priority to contract 

21 offers that address air quality, water quality, or 

22 other public health concerns associated with dairy 

23 and livestock operations located near low-income or 

24 underserved communities. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
161 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(3) GROUPING OF APPLICATIONS.—The Sec2 retary may group and evaluate contract offers rel3 ative to other contract offers for similar farming op4 erations. 

5 ‘‘(4) GEOGRAPHICAL DIVERSITY.—In awarding 

6 contracts under this section, the Secretary shall en7 sure geographical diversity. 

8 ‘‘(f) CONTRACT PROVISIONS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) TERM.—A contract awarded under this 

10 section shall have a term that does not exceed 3 

11 years. 

12 ‘‘(2) COVERED MANAGEMENT MEASURES.— 

13 Each eligible producer requesting funding for a 

14 project under the alternative manure management 

15 program shall implement at least 1 of the following 

16 management measures: 

17 ‘‘(A) With respect to pasture-based man18 agement— 

19 ‘‘(i) adopting pasture-based manage20 ment; 

21 ‘‘(ii) converting a non-pasture dairy or 

22 livestock operation to pasture-based man23 agement; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
162 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(iii) increasing the amount of time 

2 livestock spend at pasture at an existing 

3 pasture operation; or 

4 ‘‘(iv) improving pasture-based man5 agement, including transitioning to man6 agement-intensive rotational grazing (as 

7 defined in section 1240L(d)(1)). 

8 ‘‘(B) Adopting alternative manure treat9 ment and storage practices, including— 

10 ‘‘(i) the installation of a compost-bed11 ded pack barn that composts manure; 

12 ‘‘(ii) the installation of slatted floor 

13 pit storage manure collection that is 

14 cleaned out at least once a month; or 

15 ‘‘(iii) other similar practices, as deter16 mined by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(C)(i) Adopting a solid separation system, 

18 installing a new solid separation system that 

19 has a significantly higher separation efficiency 

20 than any existing solid separation system, or 

21 developing or retrofitting a manure manage22 ment system that primarily avoids wet handling 

23 infrastructure; and 

24 ‘‘(ii) in conjunction with 1 or more of the 

25 following management measures: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
163 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(I) Open solar drying or composting 

2 of manure onsite. 

3 ‘‘(II) Solar drying in an enclosed envi4 ronment. 

5 ‘‘(III) Forced evaporation with nat6 ural-gas fueled dryers. 

7 ‘‘(IV) Storage of manure in 

8 unconfined piles or stacks. 

9 ‘‘(V) Composting in an enclosed ves10 sel, with forced aeration and continuous 

11 mixing. 

12 ‘‘(VI) Composting in piles with forced 

13 aeration without mixing. 

14 ‘‘(VII) Composting in intensive wind15 rows with regular turning for mixing and 

16 aeration. 

17 ‘‘(VIII) Composting in passive wind18 rows with infrequent turning for mixing 

19 and aeration. 

20 ‘‘(IX) Vermiculture or vermifiltration. 

21 ‘‘(X) Other similar activities, as deter22 mined by the Secretary. 

23 ‘‘(D) Adopting scrape technologies, in con24 junction with 1 of the management measures 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
164 

•S 1016 IS

1 described in subclauses (I) through (X) of sub2 paragraph (C)(ii). 

3 ‘‘(3) DUTIES OF ELIGIBLE PRODUCERS UNDER

4 CONTRACT.—To receive payments under the alter5 native manure management program, an eligible 

6 producer shall— 

7 ‘‘(A) implement 1 or more management 

8 measures; 

9 ‘‘(B) supply information as required by the 

10 Secretary to determine compliance with the re11 quirements of the alternative manure manage12 ment program; and 

13 ‘‘(C) comply with such additional provi14 sions as the Secretary determines are necessary 

15 to carry out the alternative manure manage16 ment program. 

17 ‘‘(g) PAYMENTS TO ELIGIBLE PRODUCERS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During each of fiscal years 

19 2024 through 2028, the Secretary shall provide pay20 ments to eligible producers that enter into contracts 

21 with the Secretary under the alternative manure 

22 management program. 

23 ‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF PAYMENTS.—Payments 

24 provided to an eligible producer under this section 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
165 

•S 1016 IS

1 may be used to implement 1 or more covered man2 agement measures. 

3 ‘‘(3) PAYMENT AMOUNTS.—The Secretary may 

4 provide a payment to an eligible producer under the 

5 alternative manure management program for an 

6 amount that is up to 100 percent of the costs associ7 ated with planning, design, materials, equipment, in8 stallation, labor, management, maintenance, and 

9 training relating to implementing a covered manage10 ment measure. 

11 ‘‘(4) LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS.—A person or 

12 legal entity (including a joint venture and a general 

13 partnership) may not receive, directly or indirectly, 

14 payments under the program that exceed $825,000 

15 during any 5-year period. 

16 ‘‘(5) ADVANCED PAYMENTS.—The Secretary 

17 shall provide not less than 50 percent of the amount 

18 of total payments to an eligible producer in advance 

19 for all costs relating to— 

20 ‘‘(A) purchasing or contracting materials 

21 and equipment; or 

22 ‘‘(B) any technical assistance provided by 

23 the Secretary. 

24 ‘‘(h) MODIFICATION OR TERMINATION OF CON25 TRACTS.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
166 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(1) VOLUNTARY MODIFICATION OR TERMI2 NATION.—The Secretary may modify or terminate a 

3 contract entered into with an eligible producer under 

4 the alternative manure management program if— 

5 ‘‘(A) the producer agrees to the modifica6 tion or termination; and 

7 ‘‘(B) the Secretary determines that the 

8 modification or termination is in the public in9 terest. 

10 ‘‘(2) INVOLUNTARY TERMINATION.—The Sec11 retary may terminate a contract under the alter12 native manure management program if the Sec13 retary determines that the eligible producer violated 

14 the contract. 

15 ‘‘(i) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary 

16 shall— 

17 ‘‘(1) determine and publish factors for esti18 mating the carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas 

19 emissions reductions for each covered management 

20 measure described in subclauses (I) through (X) of 

21 subsection (f)(2)(C)(ii); 

22 ‘‘(2) assist an eligible producer in achieving the 

23 carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions re24 duction, and other environmental and public health 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
167 

•S 1016 IS

1 goals of the alternative manure management pro2 gram plan by— 

3 ‘‘(A) providing payments for developing 

4 and implementing 1 or more covered manage5 ment measures, as appropriate; and 

6 ‘‘(B) providing that eligible producer with 

7 information, technical assistance, and training 

8 to aid in implementation of the covered man9 agement measures; and 

10 ‘‘(3) review the adequacy of existing conserva11 tion practice standards for supporting the covered 

12 management measures and, if necessary— 

13 ‘‘(A) revise existing conservation practice 

14 standards; and 

15 ‘‘(B) develop new conservation practice 

16 standards. 

17 ‘‘(j) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—In providing tech18 nical assistance under the alternative manure manage19 ment program, the Secretary shall apply sections 1241(c) 

20 and 1242, except that the Secretary shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) apportion not more than 15 percent of the 

22 total funding available for the alternative manure 

23 management program for the provision of technical 

24 assistance; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
168 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(2) enter into cooperative agreements with 

2 third-party providers with relevant expertise in the 

3 covered management measures to ensure adequate 

4 technical services are available to alternative manure 

5 management program applicants. 

6 ‘‘(k) FUNDING.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall use the 

8 funds, facilities, and authorities of the Commodity 

9 Credit Corporation to carry out the alternative ma10 nure management program (including the provision 

11 of technical assistance described in subsection (j)) 

12 using $1,500,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 

13 2024 through 2028. 

14 ‘‘(2) RESERVATIONS OF FUNDS.—The Sec15 retary shall, to the maximum extent practicable, use 

16 a majority of the funds made available by paragraph 

17 (1) for contract offers from small and mid-sized 

18 dairy and livestock operations, including— 

19 ‘‘(A) beginning farmers or ranchers; 

20 ‘‘(B) limited resource farmers and ranch21 ers; and 

22 ‘‘(C) socially disadvantaged farmers and 

23 ranchers.’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
169 

•S 1016 IS

1 TITLE VI—ON-FARM 

2 RENEWABLE ENERGY 

3 SEC. 601. RURAL ENERGY FOR AMERICA PROGRAM. 

4 Section 9007 of the Farm Security and Rural Invest5 ment Act of 2002 (7 U.S.C. 8107) is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

8 by striking ‘‘and renewable energy develop9 ment’’ and inserting ‘‘, renewable energy devel10 opment, and the reduction of greenhouse gas 

11 emissions’’; and 

12 (B) in paragraph (2), by adding ‘‘that re13 duce greenhouse gas emissions’’ before the pe14 riod at the end; 

15 (2) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (2)— 

17 (i) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

18 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

19 (ii) by redesignating subparagraph 

20 (E) as subparagraph (G); and 

21 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

22 (D) the following: 

23 ‘‘(E) a nonprofit corporation; 

24 ‘‘(F) an agricultural cooperative or pro25 ducer group; and’’; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
170 

•S 1016 IS

1 (B) in paragraph (3)(D), by inserting be2 fore the semicolon at the end the following: ‘‘, 

3 including greenhouse gas emissions reductions’’; 

4 and 

5 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

6 (i) in the matter preceding subpara7 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘, agricultural 

8 processors,’’ after ‘‘agricultural pro9 ducers’’; 

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

11 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

12 (iii) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by strik13 ing the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; 

14 and’’; and 

15 (iv) by adding at the end the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(C) assisting in the development of feasi18 bility studies and plans for implementing rec19 ommendations provided under subparagraph 

20 (B).’’; 

21 (3) in subsection (c)— 

22 (A) in paragraph (1)(A)(i), by inserting ‘‘, 

23 agricultural processors,’’ after ‘‘agricultural 

24 producers’’; 

25 (B) in paragraph (2)— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
171 

•S 1016 IS

1 (i) by redesignating subparagraphs 

2 (F) and (G) as subparagraphs (G) and 

3 (H), respectively; and 

4 (ii) by inserting after subparagraph 

5 (E) the following: 

6 ‘‘(F) carbon accounting assessments devel7 oped under subsection (d) with respect to the 

8 renewable energy system to be installed or the 

9 energy efficiency upgrade to be undertaken;’’; 

10 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

11 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

12 ‘‘The amount’’ and all that follows through 

13 ‘‘25 percent’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as 

14 provided in subparagraph (F), the amount 

15 of a grant under this subsection shall not 

16 exceed 50 percent’’; 

17 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

18 (C) and (D) as subparagraphs (D) and 

19 (E), respectively; 

20 (iii) by inserting after subparagraph 

21 (B) the following: 

22 ‘‘(C) MAXIMUM PERCENTAGE OF LOAN

23 GUARANTEE.—The portion of a loan that the 

24 Secretary may guarantee under this section 

25 shall be— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
172 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(i) in the case of a loan in the 

2 amount of not less than $1,000,000, 80 

3 percent of the principal amount of the 

4 loan; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a loan in an 

6 amount less than $1,000,000, 90 percent 

7 of the principal amount of the loan.’’; 

8 (iv) in subparagraph (E) (as so redes9 ignated), by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ and 

10 inserting ‘‘subsection (h)’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(F) UNDERSERVED PRODUCERS.—The 

13 amount of a grant provided under this sub14 section to an agricultural producer who is a be15 ginning farmer or rancher, a socially disadvan16 taged farmer or rancher, or a veteran farmer or 

17 rancher (as those terms are defined in section 

18 2501(a) of the Food, Agriculture, Conservation 

19 and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 2279(a))) 

20 shall not exceed 75 percent of the cost of the 

21 activity funded by the grant.’’; 

22 (D) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end 

23 the following: 

24 ‘‘(F) PRE-APPROVED TECHNOLOGIES.—In 

25 order to streamline the adoption of renewable 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
173 

•S 1016 IS

1 energy systems and energy efficiency improve2 ments, the Secretary shall develop a stream3 lined application process for projects utilizing 

4 pre-approved products and technologies in5 cluded on the list described in paragraph (5).’’; 

6 and 

7 (E) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(5) PRE-APPROVED LIST.—The Secretary 

9 shall, beginning in fiscal year 2024— 

10 ‘‘(A) develop a list of pre-approved tech11 nologies and products for purposes of para12 graph (4)(F); and 

13 ‘‘(B) update that list every 2 fiscal years. 

14 ‘‘(6) PRIORITY.—In making grants or loan 

15 guarantees under this subsection, the Secretary shall 

16 give priority to proposed projects that utilize tech17 nologies— 

18 ‘‘(A) with a substantially low carbon foot19 print; or 

20 ‘‘(B) that would result in significant net 

21 decreases of greenhouse gas emissions, as deter22 mined by the Secretary using the carbon ac23 counting assessments developed under sub24 section (d).’’; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
174 

•S 1016 IS

1 (4) by redesignating subsections (d), (e), and 

2 (f) as subsections (f), (g), and (h), respectively; 

3 (5) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(d) CARBON ACCOUNTING.— 

6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 

7 after the date of enactment of the Agriculture Resil8 ience Act of 2023, the Secretary, in collaboration 

9 with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 

10 shall develop carbon accounting assessments for re11 newable energy systems and energy efficiency up12 grades (including technologies on the list described 

13 in subsection (c)(5)(A) and technologies described in 

14 subsection (h)(5)(A)) supported by assistance pro15 vided under this section. 

16 ‘‘(2) METHODOLOGIES.—In developing the car17 bon accounting assessments under paragraph (1), 

18 the Secretary shall, to the maximum extent prac19 ticable, create accurate methodologies for assigning 

20 greenhouse gas emission values, including land use 

21 change. 

22 ‘‘(3) PROGRAM GUIDANCE.—The Secretary 

23 shall, to the maximum extent practicable, use the 

24 carbon accounting assessments developed under 

25 paragraph (1) as guides in carrying out this section. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
175 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(e) REGIONAL DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry 

3 out regional demonstration projects that incentivize 

4 agricultural producers to reduce their carbon foot5 print or overall carbon equivalent emissions to the 

6 maximum extent practicable through the use of en7 ergy efficiency improvements and renewable energy 

8 systems. 

9 ‘‘(2) PUBLICIZATION.—The Secretary shall 

10 publicize the results of the regional demonstration 

11 projects carried out under paragraph (1).’’; 

12 (6) in subsection (f) (as so redesignated)— 

13 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

14 ‘‘AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE’’ after ‘‘OUT15 REACH’’; 

16 (B) by striking ‘‘The Secretary shall’’ and 

17 inserting ‘‘Using funds made available under 

18 subsection (h)(4), the Secretary shall’’; 

19 (C) by inserting ‘‘and technical assistance’’ 

20 after ‘‘outreach’’; and 

21 (D) by inserting ‘‘or provided, as applica22 ble,’’ after ‘‘conducted’’; 

23 (7) in subsection (g) (as so redesignated), by 

24 striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ each place it appears and 

25 inserting ‘‘subsection (h)’’; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
176 

•S 1016 IS

1 (8) in subsection (h) (as so redesignated)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking subpara3 graphs (A) through (E) and inserting the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(A) $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

6 2014 through 2023; 

7 ‘‘(B) $100,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 

8 ‘‘(C) $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; 

9 ‘‘(D) $300,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(E) $400,000,000 for fiscal year 2027 

12 and each fiscal year thereafter.’’; 

13 (B) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘be14 come available’’ and inserting ‘‘be used’’; and 

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

16 ‘‘(4) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the 

17 funds made available to carry out this section for a 

18 fiscal year, the Secretary shall use not more than 8 

19 percent for administrative expenses. 

20 ‘‘(5) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—Of the funds 

21 made available to carry out this section for a fiscal 

22 year, the Secretary may reserve— 

23 ‘‘(A) not more than 15 percent to provide 

24 grants under subsection (c) to support the 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
177 

•S 1016 IS

1 adoption of underutilized but proven commer2 cial technologies; and 

3 ‘‘(B) not more than 5 percent to carry out 

4 subsection (e).’’. 

5 SEC. 602. AGRIVOLTAIC SYSTEMS. 

6 (a) DEFINITION OF AGRIVOLTAIC SYSTEM.—In this 

7 section, the term ‘‘agrivoltaic system’’ means a system 

8 under which solar energy production and agricultural pro9 duction, including crop or animal production or apiculture, 

10 occurs in an integrated manner on the same piece of land. 

11 (b) STUDY.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct 

13 a study on agrivoltaic systems that shall include— 

14 (A) an assessment of the compatibility of 

15 different species of livestock with different 

16 agrivoltaic system designs, including— 

17 (i) the optimal height of and distance 

18 between solar panels for— 

19 (I) livestock grazing; and 

20 (II) shade for livestock; 

21 (ii) manure management consider22 ations; 

23 (iii) fencing requirements; and 

24 (iv) other animal handling consider25 ations; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
178 

•S 1016 IS

1 (B) an assessment of animal breeding re2 search needs with respect to beneficial and com3 patible characteristics and behaviors of different 

4 species of grazing animals in agrivoltaic sys5 tems; 

6 (C) an assessment of the compatibility of 

7 different crop types with different agrivoltaic 

8 system designs, including— 

9 (i) the optimal height of and distance 

10 between solar panels for— 

11 (I) plant shading; and 

12 (II) farm equipment use; 

13 (ii) the impact on crop yield; and 

14 (iii) market opportunities to sell crops 

15 at a premium price; 

16 (D) an assessment of plant breeding re17 search needs with respect to beneficial and com18 patible characteristics of different crops, includ19 ing specialty and perennial crops, in agrivoltaic 

20 systems; 

21 (E) a risk-benefit analysis of agrivoltaic 

22 systems in different regions of the United 

23 States, including a comparison between the 

24 total greenhouse gas impact of agrivoltaic sysVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00178 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1016.IS S1016

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
179 

•S 1016 IS

1 tems and solar energy systems that displace ag2 ricultural production; 

3 (F) an assessment of the types of agricul4 tural land best suited and worst suited for 

5 agrivoltaic systems; 

6 (G) an assessment of how to best develop 

7 agrivoltaic systems on a national and local scale 

8 consistent with— 

9 (i) maintaining or increasing agricul10 tural production; 

11 (ii) increasing agricultural resilience; 

12 (iii) retaining prime farmland; 

13 (iv) increasing economic opportunities 

14 in farming and rural communities; 

15 (v) reducing nonfarmer ownership of 

16 farmland; and 

17 (vi) enhancing biodiversity; 

18 (H) an assessment of the unique risk man19 agement and crop insurance needs of agrivoltaic 

20 systems; 

21 (I) an assessment of how Federal procure22 ment of agricultural products could help build 

23 a market for agricultural products from farms 

24 with agrivoltaic systems; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
180 

•S 1016 IS

1 (J) an assessment of how Federal agricul2 tural conservation programs, renewable energy 

3 programs, and investment tax credits can better 

4 support agrivoltaic systems. 

5 (2) 5-YEAR PLAN.—Based on the study under 

6 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall develop a 5-year 

7 plan for using the research, extension, outreach, con8 servation, and renewable energy activities of the De9 partment of Agriculture to better support agrivoltaic 

10 systems that do not displace agricultural production. 

11 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

13 submit to the Committee on Agriculture of the 

14 House of Representatives and the Committee on Ag15 riculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate a 

16 report containing the results of the study conducted 

17 under paragraph (1). 

18 (c) AGRIVOLTAIC SYSTEM RESEARCH AND DEM19 ONSTRATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting 

21 through the Administrator of the Agricultural Re22 search Service and in coordination with the relevant 

23 research programs of the Department of Energy, 

24 shall establish and maintain a network of research 

25 and demonstration sites operated by the Agricultural 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
181 

•S 1016 IS

1 Research Service to investigate and demonstrate 

2 agrivoltaic systems in multiple regions of the United 

3 States, including arid, semi-arid, and wet agricul4 tural zones, that— 

5 (A) increase agricultural productivity and 

6 profitability; 

7 (B) enhance agricultural resilience and the 

8 capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate 

9 change; 

10 (C) protect biodiversity; and 

11 (D) increase economic opportunities in 

12 farming and rural communities. 

13 (2) COORDINATION.—In establishing and main14 taining the network described in paragraph (1), the 

15 Secretary shall collaborate with USDA Climate 

16 Hubs to share research findings and translate re17 search findings into educational, outreach, and tech18 nical assistance materials for agricultural producers. 

19 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

20 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

21 this subsection $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2024 and 

22 each fiscal year thereafter. 

23 SEC. 603. AGSTAR PROGRAM. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall maintain the 

25 program known as the ‘‘AgSTAR program’’ within the 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
182 

•S 1016 IS

1 Department of Agriculture, under which the Secretary 

2 shall— 

3 (1) support the use of anaerobic digestion in 

4 the agricultural sector to reduce methane emissions 

5 from livestock waste; 

6 (2) conduct outreach, education, and training 

7 on anaerobic digestion of livestock waste; 

8 (3) provide technical and regulatory assistance 

9 on anaerobic digestion of livestock waste to stake10 holders, including farmers and ranchers, on issues 

11 including— 

12 (A) permitting; 

13 (B) codigestion of multiple organic wastes 

14 in one digester; and 

15 (C) interconnection to physically link a di16 gester to the electrical power grid; 

17 (4) promote centralized, multifarm digesters 

18 that use livestock waste from more than 1 farm or 

19 ranch; 

20 (5) collect and report data on anaerobic diges21 tion of livestock waste; and 

22 (6) maintain a database of on-farm anaerobic 

23 digester projects in the United States. 

24 (b) TRANSITION FROM EPA.— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
183 

•S 1016 IS

1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the 

2 Environmental Protection Agency shall take such 

3 steps as are necessary to provide for an orderly tran4 sition for the activities carried out under the 

5 AgSTAR program by the Environmental Protection 

6 Agency to be carried out by the Secretary, in accord7 ance with subsection (c). 

8 (2) DEADLINE.—The Administrator of the En9 vironmental Protection Agency shall finish carrying 

10 out paragraph (1) by not later than 1 year after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, such that the Sec12 retary has sole jurisdiction of the AgSTAR program 

13 by that date. 

14 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall carry out 

15 the AgSTAR program through the Chief of the Natural 

16 Resources Conservation Service— 

17 (1) in coordination with the Administrator of 

18 the Environmental Protection Agency and other 

19 Federal agencies as necessary; and 

20 (2) in partnership with the climate hubs, coop21 erative extension services, and agencies of the De22 partment of Agriculture. 

23 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

24 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
184 

•S 1016 IS

1 out the AgSTAR program not more than $5,000,000 for 

2 each fiscal year. 

3 TITLE VII—FOOD LOSS AND 

4 WASTE 

5 Subtitle A—Food Date Labeling 

6 SEC. 701. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this subtitle: 

8 (1) ADMINISTERING SECRETARIES.—The term 

9 ‘‘administering Secretaries’’ means— 

10 (A) the Secretary, with respect to any 

11 product that is— 

12 (i) under the jurisdiction of the Sec13 retary; and 

14 (ii)(I) a poultry product (as defined in 

15 section 4 of the Poultry Products Inspec16 tion Act (21 U.S.C. 453)); 

17 (II) a meat food product (as defined 

18 in section 1 of the Federal Meat Inspection 

19 Act (21 U.S.C. 601)); or 

20 (III) an egg product (as defined in 

21 section 4 of the Egg Products Inspection 

22 Act (21 U.S.C. 1033)); and 

23 (B) the Secretary of Health and Human 

24 Services, with respect to any product that is— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
185 

•S 1016 IS

1 (i) under the jurisdiction of the Sec2 retary of Health and Human Services; and 

3 (ii) a food (as defined in section 201 

4 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic 

5 Act (21 U.S.C. 321)). 

6 (2) DISCARD DATE.—The term ‘‘discard date’’ 

7 means a date voluntarily printed on food packaging 

8 that signifies the end of the estimated period of shelf 

9 life under any stated storage conditions, after which 

10 the food labeler advises the product not be con11 sumed. 

12 (3) FOOD LABELER.—The term ‘‘food labeler’’ 

13 means the producer, manufacturer, distributor, or 

14 retailer that places a date label on food packaging 

15 of a product. 

16 (4) QUALITY DATE.—The term ‘‘quality date’’ 

17 means a date voluntarily printed on food packaging 

18 that is intended to communicate to consumers the 

19 date after which— 

20 (A) the quality of the product may begin 

21 to deteriorate; but 

22 (B) the product remains apparently whole23 some food (as defined in subsection (b) of the 

24 Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation 

25 Act (42 U.S.C. 1791(b))). 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
186 

•S 1016 IS

1 SEC. 702. QUALITY DATES AND DISCARD DATES. 

2 (a) QUALITY DATES.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a food labeler includes a 

4 quality date on food packaging, the label shall use 

5 the uniform quality date label phrase under para6 graph (2). 

7 (2) UNIFORM PHRASE.—The uniform quality 

8 date label phrase under this paragraph shall be 

9 ‘‘BEST If Used By’’ or, if permissible under sub10 section (c)(3), the standard abbreviation of ‘‘BB’’, 

11 unless and until the administering Secretaries, act12 ing jointly, specify through rulemaking another uni13 form phrase to be used for purposes of complying 

14 with paragraph (1). 

15 (3) OPTION OF THE LABELER.—The decisions 

16 on whether to include a quality date on food pack17 aging and which foods should be so labeled shall be 

18 at the discretion of the food labeler. 

19 (b) DISCARD DATES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a food labeler includes a 

21 discard date on food packaging, the label shall use 

22 the uniform discard date label phrase under para23 graph (2). 

24 (2) UNIFORM PHRASE.—The uniform discard 

25 date label phrase under this paragraph shall be 

26 ‘‘USE By’’ or, if permissible under subsection 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
187 

•S 1016 IS

1 (c)(3), the standard abbreviation of ‘‘UB’’, unless 

2 and until the administering Secretaries, acting joint3 ly, specify through rulemaking another uniform 

4 phrase to be used for purposes of complying with 

5 paragraph (1). 

6 (3) OPTION OF THE LABELER.—The decisions 

7 on whether to include a discard date on food pack8 aging and which foods should be so labeled shall be 

9 at the discretion of the food labeler. 

10 (c) QUALITY DATE AND DISCARD DATE LABEL11 ING.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The quality date or discard 

13 date, as applicable, and immediately adjacent uni14 form quality date label phrase or discard date label 

15 phrase— 

16 (A) shall be— 

17 (i) in single easy-to-read type style; 

18 and 

19 (ii) located in a conspicuous place on 

20 the package of the food; and 

21 (B) may be on the label or, at the discre22 tion of the food labeler, elsewhere on the pack23 age. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
188 

•S 1016 IS

1 (2) DATE FORMAT.—Each quality date and dis2 card date shall be stated in terms of day and month 

3 and, as appropriate, year. 

4 (3) ABBREVIATIONS.—A food labeler may use a 

5 standard abbreviation of ‘‘BB’’ and ‘‘UB’’ for the 

6 quality date and discard date, respectively, only if 

7 the food packaging is too small to include the uni8 form phrase described in subsection (a)(2) or (b)(2), 

9 as applicable. 

10 (4) FREEZE BY.—A food labeler may add ‘‘or 

11 Freeze By’’ following a quality date or discard date 

12 uniform phrase. 

13 (d) EDUCATION.—Not later than 1 year after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the administering Secre15 taries, acting jointly, shall provide consumer education 

16 and outreach on the meaning of quality date and discard 

17 date food labels. 

18 (e) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION; PREEMPTION.— 

19 (1) INFANT FORMULA.—This title and the 

20 amendments made by this title shall not— 

21 (A) apply to infant formula (as defined in 

22 section 201 of the Federal Food, Drug, and 

23 Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 321)); and 

24 (B) affect the requirements relating to in25 fant formula established under section 412 of 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
189 

•S 1016 IS

1 the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 

2 U.S.C. 350a) or other applicable provisions of 

3 law. 

4 (2) SALE OR DONATION OF FOOD BASED ON

5 DISCARD DATE.—Nothing in this title or an amend6 ment made by this title prohibits any State or polit7 ical subdivision of a State from establishing or con8 tinuing in effect any requirement that prohibits the 

9 sale or donation of foods based on passage of the 

10 discard date. 

11 (3) TIME TEMPERATURE INDICATOR LABELS.— 

12 Nothing in this title or an amendment made by this 

13 title prohibits or restricts the use of time-tempera14 ture indicator labels or similar technology that is in 

15 addition to or in lieu of any uniform quality date 

16 label phrase under subsection (a)(2) or uniform dis17 card date label phrase under subsection (b)(2). 

18 (4) PREEMPTION.—No State or political sub19 division of a State may establish or continue in ef20 fect any requirement that— 

21 (A) relates to the inclusion in food labeling 

22 of a quality date or a discard date that is dif23 ferent from or in addition to, or that is other24 wise not identical with, the requirements of this 

25 Act and the amendments made by this Act; or 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
190 

•S 1016 IS

1 (B) prohibits the sale or donation of foods 

2 based on passage of the quality date. 

3 (5) ENFORCEMENT.—The administering Secre4 taries, acting jointly and in coordination with the 

5 Federal Trade Commission, shall ensure that the 

6 uniform quality date label phrase and uniform dis7 card date label phrase are standardized across all 

8 food products. 

9 (6) SAVINGS.—Notwithstanding paragraph (4), 

10 nothing in this title, any amendment made by this 

11 title, or any standard or requirement imposed pursu12 ant to this title preempts, displaces, or supplants 

13 any State or Federal common law rights or any 

14 State or Federal statute creating a remedy for civil 

15 relief, including a remedy for civil damage, or a pen16 alty for criminal conduct. 

17 SEC. 703. MISBRANDING. 

18 (a) FDA VIOLATIONS.—Section 403 of the Federal 

19 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 343) is amend20 ed by adding at the end the following: 

21 ‘‘(z) If it is food and its labeling is in violation of 

22 section 702 of the Agriculture Resilience Act of 2023.’’. 

23 (b) POULTRY PRODUCTS.—Section 4(h) of the Poul24 try Products Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 453(h)) is amend25 ed— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
191 

•S 1016 IS

1 (1) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

2 end; 

3 (2) in paragraph (12), by striking the period at 

4 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

6 ‘‘(13) if its labeling is in violation of section 

7 702 of the Agriculture Resilience Act of 2023.’’. 

8 (c) MEAT PRODUCTS.—Section 1(n) of the Federal 

9 Meat Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 601(n)) is amended— 

10 (1) in paragraph (11), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the 

11 end; 

12 (2) in paragraph (12), by striking the period at 

13 the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

15 ‘‘(13) if its labeling is in violation of section 

16 702 of the Agriculture Resilience Act of 2023.’’. 

17 (d) EGG PRODUCTS.—Section 7(b) of the Egg Prod18 ucts Inspection Act (21 U.S.C. 1036(b)) is amended in 

19 the first sentence by inserting ‘‘or if its labeling is in viola20 tion of section 702 of the Agriculture Resilience Act of 

21 2023’’ before the period at the end. 

22 SEC. 704. REGULATIONS. 

23 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the administering Secretaries, acting jointly, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
192 

•S 1016 IS

1 shall promulgate final regulations for carrying out this 

2 title and the amendments made by this title. 

3 SEC. 705. DELAYED APPLICABILITY. 

4 This title and the amendments made by this title 

5 shall apply only with respect to food products that are la6 beled on or after the date that is 2 years after the date 

7 of promulgation of final regulations under section 704. 

8 Subtitle B—Other Provisions 

9 SEC. 711. COMPOSTING AS CONSERVATION PRACTICE. 

10 (a) CONSERVATION STANDARDS AND REQUIRE11 MENTS.—Section 1241(j) of the Food Security Act of 

12 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3841(j)) is amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para14 graph (3); and 

15 (2) by inserting after paragraph (1) the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(2) COMPOSTING AS CONSERVATION PRACTICE

18 AND ACTIVITY.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, 

20 by regulation, provide that composting is a con21 servation practice and a conservation activity 

22 for the purposes of this title. 

23 ‘‘(B) DEFINITION OF COMPOSTING.— 

24 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—In this paragraph, 

25 the term ‘composting’ means— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
193 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(I) an activity (including an ac2 tivity that does not require the use of 

3 a composting facility) to produce com4 post from organic waste that is— 

5 ‘‘(aa) generated on a farm; 

6 or 

7 ‘‘(bb) brought to a farm 

8 from a nearby community and 

9 used to produce compost on that 

10 farm; and 

11 ‘‘(II) the use and active manage12 ment of compost on a farm, in accord13 ance with any applicable Federal, 

14 State, or local law, to improve water 

15 retention and soil health. 

16 ‘‘(ii) DETERMINATION OF NEARBY

17 COMMUNITIES.—The Secretary, in con18 sultation with the Administrator of the En19 vironmental Protection Agency, shall issue 

20 regulations for determining whether a com21 munity is nearby for purposes of clause 

22 (i)(I)(bb), which shall ensure that bringing 

23 organic waste from the community to the 

24 farm to produce compost results in a net 

25 reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
194 

•S 1016 IS

1 (b) CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM.—Sec2 tion 1240I(2)(B)(i) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 

3 U.S.C. 3839aa–21(2)(B)(i)) is amended by inserting ‘‘and 

4 composting (as defined in section 1241(j)(2)(B))’’ after 

5 ‘‘agriculture drainage management systems’’. 

6 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PRO7 GRAM.—Section 1240A(6)(A)(ii) of the Food Security Act 

8 of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–1(6)(A)(ii)) is amended by in9 serting ‘‘, including composting (as defined in section 

10 1241(j)(2)(B))’’ before the semicolon at the end. 

11 (d) DELIVERY OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 

12 1242(h) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 

13 3842(h)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(5) DEVELOPMENT OF COMPOSTING PRACTICE

15 STANDARD.—In addition to conducting a review 

16 under this subsection of any composting facilities 

17 practice standard established before the date of en18 actment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall de19 velop and implement a composting practice standard 

20 under the process developed under paragraph (3).’’. 

21 SEC. 712. AMENDMENTS TO FEDERAL FOOD DONATION 

22 ACT. 

23 (a) PURPOSE.—Section 2 of the Federal Food Dona24 tion Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–247; 42 U.S.C. 1792 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
195 

•S 1016 IS

1 note) is amended by striking ‘‘encourage’’ and inserting 

2 ‘‘require’’. 

3 (b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3 of the Federal Food 

4 Donation Act of 2008 (Public Law 110–247; 42 U.S.C. 

5 1792 note) is amended— 

6 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

7 paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; and 

8 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol9 lowing: 

10 ‘‘(3) EXECUTIVE AGENCY.—The term ‘executive 

11 agency’ has the meaning given the term in section 

12 133 of title 41, United States Code.’’. 

13 (c) REPORT ON FOOD WASTE BY CERTAIN FEDERAL

14 CONTRACTORS.—Section 4 of the Federal Food Donation 

15 Act of 2008 (42 U.S.C. 1792) is amended— 

16 (1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the 

17 following: 

18 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.— 

19 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT.—Not later than 180 days 

20 after the date of enactment of the Agriculture Resil21 ience Act of 2023, the Federal Acquisition Regula22 tion issued in accordance with section 1121 of title 

23 41, United States Code, shall be revised to provide 

24 that, except as provided in paragraph (2), all con25 tracts greater than $10,000 for the provision, servVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00195 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1016.IS S1016

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
196 

•S 1016 IS

1 ice, or sale of food in the United States, or for the 

2 lease or rental of Federal property to a private enti3 ty for events at which food is provided in the United 

4 States, shall include a clause that— 

5 ‘‘(A) requires the donation of excess, ap6 parently wholesome food to nonprofit organiza7 tions that provide assistance to food-insecure 

8 people in the United States; 

9 ‘‘(B) states the terms and conditions de10 scribed in subsection (b); and 

11 ‘‘(C) requires the submission of a report, 

12 annually if applicable— 

13 ‘‘(i) in a form and manner specified 

14 by the executive agency awarding the con15 tract; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) that describes, for each month of 

17 performance of the contract during the pe18 riod covered by the report, the weight of 

19 apparently wholesome food that was dis20 posed of pursuant to the contract by— 

21 ‘‘(I) donation, organized by the 

22 name of the organization receiving the 

23 food; 

24 ‘‘(II) composting or other recy25 cling; or 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
197 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(III) discarding, organized by 

2 the reason that the food was dis3 carded. 

4 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

5 apply to a contract with an executive agency that 

6 has issued a regulation in effect on the date of en7 actment of the Agriculture Resilience Act of 2023 

8 that prohibits a donation described in paragraph 

9 (1)(A).’’; and 

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

11 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION TO CONGRESS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) CONTRACTS.—This Act shall apply to the 

13 House of Representatives and the Senate, and to 

14 contracts entered into by the House of Representa15 tives and the Senate, in the same manner and to the 

16 same extent as this Act applies to an executive agen17 cy and to contracts entered into by an executive 

18 agency pursuant to this Act. 

19 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION.—For purposes of car20 rying out paragraph (1)— 

21 ‘‘(A) the Chief Administrative Officer of 

22 the House of Representatives shall be consid23 ered to be the head of the House of Representa24 tives; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
198 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(B) the Secretary of the Senate shall be 

2 considered to be the head of the Senate. 

3 ‘‘(d) REPORTS.— 

4 ‘‘(1) REPORT TO OMB.—Not later than 30 days 

5 after the date on which an executive agency receives 

6 a report described in subsection (a)(1)(C), the execu7 tive agency shall submit a copy of the report to the 

8 Director of the Office of Management and Budget. 

9 ‘‘(2) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Director of 

10 the Office of Management and Budget shall submit 

11 to Congress an annual report aggregating the infor12 mation in the reports received under paragraph (1) 

13 during the year covered by the report to Congress.’’. 

14 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—The 

15 Federal Food Donation Act of 2008 (Public Law 110– 

16 247; 122 Stat. 2314) is amended by adding at the end 

17 the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

19 ‘‘There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec20 retary of Agriculture to carry out this Act $10,000,000 

21 for fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter.’’. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
199 

•S 1016 IS

1 SEC. 713. GRANTS FOR COMPOSTING AND ANAEROBIC DI2 GESTION FOOD WASTE-TO-ENERGY 

3 PROJECTS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle G of the Solid Waste Dis5 posal Act (42 U.S.C. 6971 et seq.) is amended by adding 

6 at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 7011. GRANTS FOR COMPOSTING AND ANAEROBIC DI8 GESTION FOOD WASTE-TO-ENERGY 

9 PROJECTS. 

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF STATE.—In this section, the 

11 term ‘State’ means— 

12 ‘‘(1) each of the several States; 

13 ‘‘(2) the District of Columbia; 

14 ‘‘(3) each territory or possession of the United 

15 States; and 

16 ‘‘(4) each federally recognized Indian Tribe. 

17 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—The Administrator shall establish a 

18 grant program to award grants to States eligible to receive 

19 the grants under subsection (c)(1) to construct large-scale 

20 composting or anaerobic digestion food waste-to-energy 

21 projects. 

22 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE STATES.— 

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

24 grant under this section, a State shall— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
200 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(A) have in effect a plan to limit the 

2 quantity of food waste that may be disposed of 

3 in landfills in the State; and 

4 ‘‘(B) provide to the Administrator— 

5 ‘‘(i) a written commitment that the 

6 State has read and agrees to comply with 

7 the Food Recovery Hierarchy of the Envi8 ronmental Protection Agency, particularly 

9 as applied to apparently wholesome food 

10 (as defined in section 22(b) of the Child 

11 Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 

12 1791(b))) that may be provided to or re13 ceived by the State; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) a written end-product recycling 

15 plan that provides for the beneficial use of 

16 the material resulting from any anaerobic 

17 digestion food waste-to-energy operation 

18 with respect to which the grant is made, in 

19 a manner that meets all applicable Fed20 eral, State, and local laws that protect 

21 human health and the environment. 

22 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—A grant under subsection 

23 (b) may not be used for an anaerobic digester that 

24 uses solely manure as undigested biomass. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
201 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(3) PREFERENCE.—The Administrator shall 

2 give preference to grants under subsection (b) for 

3 anaerobic digesters that use primarily nonedible 

4 food, crop waste, or nonedible food and crop waste 

5 as undigested biomass. 

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

7 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

8 $100,000,000 for each fiscal year.’’. 

9 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

10 for the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.) 

11 is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

12 7010 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 7011. Grants for composting and anaerobic digestion food waste-to-energy projects.’’. 

13 SEC. 714. SCHOOL FOOD WASTE REDUCTION GRANT PRO14 GRAM. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 18 of the Richard B. Rus16 sell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1769) is 

17 amended by inserting before subsection (b) the following: 

18 ‘‘(a) SCHOOL FOOD WASTE REDUCTION GRANT PRO19 GRAM.— 

20 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE LOCAL EDU21 CATIONAL AGENCY.—In this subsection, the term ‘el22 igible local educational agency’ means a local edu23 cational agency that participates in the school lunch 

24 program under this Act or the school breakfast proVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00201 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1016.IS S1016

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
202 

•S 1016 IS

1 gram established under section 4 of the Child Nutri2 tion Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773). 

3 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall 

4 carry out a program to make grants, on a competi5 tive basis, to eligible local educational agencies to 

6 carry out food waste measurement, prevention, and 

7 reduction projects. 

8 ‘‘(3) REGIONAL BALANCE.—In awarding grants 

9 under this subsection, the Secretary shall, to the 

10 maximum extent practicable, ensure— 

11 ‘‘(A) that a grant is awarded to an eligible 

12 local educational agency in each region served 

13 by the Administrator of the Food and Nutrition 

14 Service; and 

15 ‘‘(B) equitable treatment of rural, urban, 

16 and tribal communities. 

17 ‘‘(4) GRANTS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to re19 ceive a grant under this subsection, an eligible 

20 local educational agency shall submit an appli21 cation to the Secretary at such time, in such 

22 manner, and containing such information as the 

23 Secretary may require. 

24 ‘‘(B) PRIORITY.—In making grants under 

25 this subsection, the Secretary shall give priority 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
203 

•S 1016 IS

1 to an eligible local educational agency that dem2 onstrates in the application submitted under 

3 subparagraph (A) that the grant will be used— 

4 ‘‘(i) to carry out experiential edu5 cation activities that encourage children 

6 enrolled in the eligible local educational 

7 agency to participate in food waste meas8 urement and education; 

9 ‘‘(ii) to prioritize the best use of food 

10 in accordance with the Food Recovery Hi11 erarchy published by the Administrator of 

12 the Environmental Protection Agency; 

13 ‘‘(iii) with respect to food waste pre14 vention and reduction, to collaborate with 

15 other eligible local educational agencies, 

16 Indian Tribes, nongovernmental and com17 munity-based organizations, and other 

18 community partners; 

19 ‘‘(iv) to establish a food waste meas20 urement, prevention, and reduction project 

21 with long-term sustainability; and 

22 ‘‘(v) to evaluate the activities de23 scribed in clauses (i) through (iv) and 

24 make evaluation plans. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
204 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(C) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible local 

2 educational agency that receives a grant under 

3 this subsection shall use the grant to carry out 

4 1 or more of the following activities: 

5 ‘‘(i) Planning a food waste measure6 ment, prevention, and reduction project. 

7 ‘‘(ii) Implementing a food waste meas8 urement, prevention, and reduction project. 

9 ‘‘(iii) Providing training to support a 

10 food waste measurement, prevention, and 

11 reduction project. 

12 ‘‘(iv) Purchasing equipment to sup13 port a food waste measurement, preven14 tion, and reduction project. 

15 ‘‘(v) Offering food waste education to 

16 students enrolled in the eligible local edu17 cational agency. 

18 ‘‘(D) COST-SHARING.— 

19 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The amount of a 

20 grant provided under this subsection shall 

21 not exceed 75 percent of the total cost of 

22 the project for which the grant is provided. 

23 ‘‘(ii) NON-FEDERAL SHARE.—An eligi24 ble local educational agency that receives a 

25 grant under this subsection shall use nonVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:24 Apr 13, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00204 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1016.IS S1016

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
205 

•S 1016 IS

1 Federal funds in the form of cash or in2 kind contributions, including facilities, 

3 equipment, or services provided by State 

4 and local governments, nonprofit organiza5 tions, and private sources, to pay for the 

6 remaining cost of the project for which the 

7 grant is provided. 

8 ‘‘(5) EVALUATION.— 

9 ‘‘(A) COOPERATION.—As a condition of re10 ceiving a grant under this subsection, each eli11 gible local educational agency shall agree to co12 operate in an evaluation by the Secretary of the 

13 project carried out by the eligible local edu14 cational agency as part of the evaluation con15 ducted by the Secretary under subparagraph 

16 (B). 

17 ‘‘(B) PERIODIC EVALUATION.—Not later 

18 than 2 years after the date of enactment of the 

19 Agriculture Resilience Act of 2023, and every 2 

20 years thereafter, the Secretary shall evaluate 

21 the grants made under this subsection, includ22 ing— 

23 ‘‘(i) the amount of Federal funds used 

24 to award those grants; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
206 

•S 1016 IS

1 ‘‘(ii) an evaluation of the outcomes of 

2 the projects carried out using those grants. 

3 ‘‘(C) REPORT.—The Secretary shall sub4 mit to Congress as a report each evaluation car5 ried out under subparagraph (B).’’. 

6 (b) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Section 21(b) of the 

7 Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 1769b–1(b)) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 

10 end; 

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

12 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

14 ‘‘(4) food waste measurement, prevention, and 

15 reduction.’’. 

16 SEC. 715. SUPPORT FOR NATIONAL MEDIA CAMPAIGNS TO 

17 DECREASE INCIDENCE OF FOOD WASTE. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall support na19 tional media campaigns to decrease the incidence of food 

20 waste. 

21 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

22 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec23 essary to carry out this section. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
207 

•S 1016 IS

1 SEC. 716. FOOD WASTE RESEARCH PROGRAM. 

2 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Food Loss and Waste 

3 Reduction Liaison of the Department of Agriculture (in 

4 this section referred to as the ‘‘Liaison’’) shall establish 

5 a partnership with 5 regional partner institutions, selected 

6 under subsection (c), to carry out a Food Waste Research 

7 Program (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Program’’). 

8 (b) FOOD WASTE RESEARCH PROGRAM REQUIRE9 MENTS.— 

10 (1) DUTIES.—In carrying out the Program, the 

11 Liaison, in partnership with the 5 regional partner 

12 institutions selected under subsection (c), shall— 

13 (A) plan, conduct, and arrange for public 

14 research, data, education, and recommendations 

15 within the areas of study specified in paragraph 

16 (2), as such areas relate to food waste reduction 

17 and food recovery issues nationwide, regionally, 

18 and locally; 

19 (B) carry out the activities of the Program 

20 within a variety of regions in the United States, 

21 which are identified and categorized by the Li22 aison based on the specific food recovery and 

23 food waste reduction issues of such regions; 

24 (C) identify areas to increase efficiency in 

25 the allocation of resources and the coordination, 

26 cooperation, and consolidation of efforts as they 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
208 

•S 1016 IS

1 relate to local, statewide, Tribal, regional, and 

2 Federal food recovery and food waste reduction 

3 efforts; 

4 (D) create a Program website, as described 

5 in paragraph (4), to disseminate information to 

6 the public; and 

7 (E) collaborate with other colleges, univer8 sities, and nonprofit organizations in the re9 gions selected by the Liaison that have dem10 onstrated capability for research, information 

11 dissemination, and professional training in 

12 order to develop regional networks that are 

13 knowledgeable in food waste reduction issues. 

14 (2) AREAS OF STUDY.—In carrying out the du15 ties listed in paragraph (1), the Liaison and the re16 gional partner institutions shall consider the fol17 lowing areas of study: 

18 (A) Reducing the volume of surplus food 

19 produced. 

20 (B) Utilizing excess food to feed individ21 uals in need, including through the use of dona22 tions of surplus food. 

23 (C) Diverting food unusable for purposes 

24 described in subparagraph (B) to feed animals. 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
209 

•S 1016 IS

1 (D) Utilizing food waste to create renew2 able energy sources. 

3 (E) Composting food waste to create nutri4 ent rich soil. 

5 (F) Diminishing the deposits of food waste 

6 in landfills and reducing the incineration of 

7 food waste. 

8 (3) USE OF FUNDS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Liaison may make 

10 funds available under this section to improve 

11 the capacities and facilities of the regional part12 ner institutions to a level that meets the re13 quirements of the role of a regional partner in14 stitution. 

15 (B) PLAN.—A regional partner institution 

16 may not receive any funding for any facility up17 grade under subparagraph (A), unless— 

18 (i) the regional partner institution 

19 submits to the Liaison a plan detailing the 

20 type of facility construction or improve21 ments to take place (including any land ac22 quisition, engineering, design, and staffing 

23 and equipment needs, in addition to other 

24 information as required by the Liaison); 

25 and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
210 

•S 1016 IS

1 (ii) the Liaison approves such plan. 

2 (C) NON-FEDERAL COST SHARE FOR FA3 CILITY IMPROVEMENT.—A regional partner in4 stitution shall be required to provide at least a 

5 20-percent non-Federal cost share for facility 

6 improvement or construction projects pursued 

7 by a regional partner institution under subpara8 graph (A). 

9 (D) MATCHING FUNDS FOR OPERATING

10 EXPENSES.—A regional partner institution shall 

11 be required to provide at least a 30-percent 

12 non-Federal cost share for all Program oper13 ating expenses related to such regional partner 

14 institution. 

15 (E) WAGE RATE REQUIREMENTS.—A con16 struction activity carried out pursuant to this 

17 subsection shall meet Federal prevailing wage 

18 requirements as determined by the Secretary of 

19 Labor in accordance with subchapter IV of 

20 chapter 31 of part A of subtitle II of title 40, 

21 United States Code (commonly referred to as 

22 the ‘‘Davis-Bacon Act’’). 

23 (4) FOOD WASTE RESEARCH PROGRAM

24 WEBSITE.—The Liaison shall establish a website 

25 that shall contain at least the following information: 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
211 

•S 1016 IS

1 (A) Key findings and best practices. 

2 (B) A list of collaborations and partner3 ships carried out pursuant to this subsection. 

4 (C) Annual reports and other pertinent in5 formation on the duties of the Program. 

6 (D) The location and contact information 

7 for regional partner institutions. 

8 (E) Federal, State, local, and regionally 

9 specific public research, data, education, and 

10 policy recommendations that shall be updated 

11 in a timely manner with new information. 

12 (F) Tools for tracking reduction efforts 

13 and measuring food waste production. 

14 (c) SELECTION OF REGIONAL PARTNER INSTITU15 TIONS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

17 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Liai18 son shall select 5 regional partner institutions to 

19 partner with to carry out the requirements of the 

20 Program under subsection (b). 

21 (2) CRITERIA FOR REGIONAL PARTNER INSTI22 TUTIONS.—In making a selection under paragraph 

23 (1), the Liaison shall select an institution of higher 

24 education that— 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
212 

•S 1016 IS

1 (A) has a focus or expertise in at least one 

2 of the areas of study described in subsection 

3 (b)(2); 

4 (B) has the ability to plan, conduct, and 

5 arrange for public research, data, education, 

6 and recommendations related to food waste re7 duction and the areas of study described in sub8 section (b)(2); 

9 (C) can assist the Liaison in fulfilling the 

10 duties listed in subsection (b)(1); 

11 (D) can contribute the required non-Fed12 eral funding to maintain a regional partner in13 stitution center; and 

14 (E) satisfies any other criteria determined 

15 by the Liaison. 

16 (3) ELIGIBLE SUB-AWARDEES.—A State, Trib17 al, or local government, local educational agency, ag18 ricultural or commodity organization, farmer, or 

19 other organization focused on food waste prevention 

20 may serve as an eligible sub-awardee of a regional 

21 partner institution if the entity meets the require22 ments of subparagraphs (A) through (C) of para23 graph (2). 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
213 

•S 1016 IS

1 (4) EMPLOYMENT STATUS.—Members of re2 gional partner institutions shall not be considered 

3 Federal employees for any purpose. 

4 (d) COLLABORATION WITH FEDERAL, REGIONAL, 

5 STATE, TRIBAL, AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS AND ORGA6 NIZATIONS.—The Liaison, in conjunction with the 5 re7 gional partner institutions selected under subsection (c), 

8 shall collaborate and share best practices on regional, 

9 State, Tribal, and locally specific food waste and food 

10 waste reduction issues with— 

11 (1) State and county governments; 

12 (2) Tribal governments; 

13 (3) units of local government; 

14 (4) local educational entities; 

15 (5) colleges and universities; 

16 (6) agricultural and commodity organizations; 

17 (7) farmers; and 

18 (8) organizations focused on food waste preven19 tion. 

20 (e) INFORMATION COLLECTION AND DISSEMINA21 TION.— 

22 (1) REPORT OF REGIONAL PARTNER INSTITU23 TIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of the 

24 enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

25 regional partnership institutions shall submit to the 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
214 

•S 1016 IS

1 Liaison a report containing the activities, partner2 ships, collaborations, Federal policy recommenda3 tions, previous and continuing budgets, findings, and 

4 any other applicable information carried out under 

5 the Program. 

6 (2) LIAISON REPORT.—Not later than 15 

7 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

8 and annually thereafter, the Liaison shall submit to 

9 the Committee on Agriculture of the House of Rep10 resentatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nu11 trition, and Forestry of the Senate and publish on 

12 the Program website an annual report containing a 

13 compilation of the activities, partnerships, collabora14 tions, Federal policy recommendations, previous and 

15 continuing budgets, findings, and any other applica16 ble information relating to the Program. 

17 (3) REVIEW OF REPORT.—The Liaison shall re18 view the annual report from the regional partner in19 stitutions to ensure that funds are being used effi20 ciently according to the duties of the Program and 

21 that the Program is producing utilizable public re22 search, data, education, and recommendations re23 lated to food waste and food waste reduction issues. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB