I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2719 
To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 
to establish a competitive grant program under which the Secretary 
of Agriculture provides grants to land-grant colleges and universities 
to support agricultural producers in adopting conservation and innovative 
climate practices, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 19, 2023 
Mr. NEWHOUSE (for himself and Ms. PINGREE) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade 
Act of 1990 to establish a competitive grant program 
under which the Secretary of Agriculture provides grants 
to land-grant colleges and universities to support agricul-
tural producers in adopting conservation and innovative 
climate practices, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Conservation and Inno-
vative Climate Partnership Act of 2023’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds that— 
(1) farmers and producers engage in innovative 
climate and conservation practices that may include 
a wide variety of activities, such as— 
(A) carbon retention or carbon sequestra-
tion cropping practices; 
(B) resource conserving crop rotation; 
(C) alley cropping; 
(D) integrated livestock-crop systems; 
(E) advanced grazing management; 
(F) improved forestry or agroforestry man-
agement; and 
(G) the insertion of buffers or saturated 
buffers; 
(2) the purpose of implementing innovative cli-
mate and conservation practices on farm or ranch 
land is to increase sustainability through— 
(A) improved soil health and tilth; 
(B) improved water quality, quantity, and 
management; 
(C) improved nutrient management; 
(D) reduction in tillage; or 
(E) wildlife promotion and management; 
and 
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(3) the benefits of engaging in innovative cli-
mate and conservation practices include— 
(A) a reduction of greenhouse gases emis-
sions, including carbon dioxide, methane, sulfur 
dioxide, and nitrous oxide; 
(B) carbon sequestration; 
(C) soil health improvement; and 
(D) reduced exposure to climate-related 
risk. 
SEC. 3. CONSERVATION AND INNOVATIVE CLIMATE PART-
NERSHIP COMPETITIVE GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subtitle H of title XVI of the 
Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 
is amended by inserting after section 1672 (7 U.S.C. 
5925) the following: 
‘‘SEC. 1672A. CONSERVATION AND INNOVATIVE CLIMATE 
PARTNERSHIP COMPETITIVE GRANT PRO-
GRAM. 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) 1862 INSTITUTION; 1890 INSTITUTION.— 
The terms ‘1862 Institution’ and ‘1890 Institution’ 
have the meanings given those terms in section 2 of 
the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education 
Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601). 
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‘‘(2) 1994 INSTITUTION.—The term ‘1994 In-
stitution’ has the meaning given the term in section 
532 of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Sta-
tus Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note; Public Law 
103–382). 
‘‘(3) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘eligi-
ble institution’ means— 
‘‘(A) an 1862 Institution; 
‘‘(B) an 1890 Institution; and 
‘‘(C) a 1994 Institution. 
‘‘(4) PRACTICE.—The term ‘practice’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 1240A of the 
Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–1). 
‘‘(5) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 
the competitive grant program established under 
subsection (b). 
‘‘(6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 
the Secretary of Agriculture. 
‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish a program to provide competitive grants pursuant to 
section 3(d) of the Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343(d)) to 
eligible institutions to carry out projects to increase the 
voluntary adoption of practices through public awareness 
campaigns, workshops, and specialized technical assist-
ance. 
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‘‘(c) APPLICATIONS.—To be eligible to receive a grant 
under the program, an eligible institution shall submit to 
the Secretary an application, including a demonstration 
that the applicant will— 
‘‘(1) increase interaction with local agricultural 
producers by a rate of not less than 25 percent 
above the outreach rate before the implementation of 
the project under the program, as determined by the 
Secretary; 
‘‘(2) assist agricultural producers in imple-
menting new practices on farms or edges of fields, 
improving existing practices on farms or edges of 
fields, or any combination thereof; and 
‘‘(3) assist agricultural producers in imple-
menting a combination of practices that contribute 
to— 
‘‘(A) the overall improvement of conserva-
tion; or 
‘‘(B) a decrease in, or sequestration of, 
greenhouse gas emissions. 
‘‘(d) PARTNERSHIPS.—An eligible institution shall 
carry out a project using a grant under the program in 
partnership with not fewer than 1 other entity, which may 
include— 
‘‘(1) a nonprofit organization; 
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‘‘(2) a State entity; 
‘‘(3) the Natural Resources Conservation Serv-
ice; 
‘‘(4) an 1862 Institution; 
‘‘(5) an 1890 Institution; 
‘‘(6) a 1994 Institution; or 
‘‘(7) any combination thereof. 
‘‘(e) MAXIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a grant 
under the program shall be not more than $400,000. 
‘‘(f) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible institution may use 
a grant under the program— 
‘‘(1) to support agricultural producers in imple-
menting a practice; 
‘‘(2) subject to subsection (g), for additional 
staffing at the eligible institution to assist in car-
rying out a project using the grant; 
‘‘(3) to conduct workshops for agricultural pro-
ducers, and develop and distribute digital and hard- 
copy materials directly to agricultural producers, 
that provide clear directions for accessing technical 
assistance for adopting practices; and 
‘‘(4) for soil testing and the measuring of other 
indicators of the effectiveness of practices. 
‘‘(g) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.— 
An eligible institution may use not more than 30 percent 
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of the amount of a grant under the program for adminis-
trative expenses. 
‘‘(h) DURATION.—A grant provided under the pro-
gram shall be for such period as the Secretary determines 
to be appropriate, but not less than 4 years. 
‘‘(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 
authorized to be appropriated to provide grants under the 
program pursuant to section 3(d) of the Smith-Lever Act 
(7 U.S.C. 343(d)) $13,000,000 for each fiscal year.’’. 
(b) ELIGIBILITY OF 1994 INSTITUTIONS.—Section 
3(d) of the Smith-Lever Act (7 U.S.C. 343(d)) is amend-
ed, in the third sentence— 
(1) by striking ‘‘program and’’ and inserting 
‘‘program,’’; and 
(2) by inserting ‘‘, and the conservation and in-
novative climate partnership competitive grant pro-
gram established under section 1672A of the Food, 
Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990’’ 
before the period at the end. 
Æ 
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