HR 5951 IH1S 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Soil Conservation And 
Regeneration Education Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘Soil CARE 
Act of 2023’’. 
SEC. 2. TRAINING FOR REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE IN 
NRCS PROGRAMS. 
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF TRAINING PROGRAM.—Sec-
tion 1242 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 
3842) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 
(2) as paragraphs (3) and (5), respectively; 
(B) by inserting before paragraph (3) (as 
so redesignated) the following: 
‘‘(1) BIOLOGICAL
SOIL
HEALTH
MANAGE-
MENT.—The term ‘biological soil health manage-
ment’ means land management methods that are 
employed to increase and balance soil biology, such 
as microbial biomass and macrofauna, for the pur-
pose of improving biological functions, including 
forming and stabilizing soil structure, cycling nutri-
ents, controlling pests and disease, and degrading or 
detoxifying contaminants. 
‘‘(2) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘Department’ 
means the Department of Agriculture.’’; and 
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HR 5951 IH1S 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (3) (as so 
redesignated) the following: 
‘‘(4) SOIL BIOLOGY.—The term ‘soil biology’ in-
cludes the collective biomass and activities of soil- 
dwelling organisms from an array of trophic levels.’’; 
and 
(2) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(j) TRAINING FOR BIOLOGICAL SOIL HEALTH MAN-
AGEMENT IN NRCS PROGRAMS.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT
OF
TRAINING
PRO-
GRAM.—Not later than 1 year after the date of en-
actment of the Soil CARE Act of 2023, the Sec-
retary shall establish a training program (referred to 
in this subsection as the ‘training program’)— 
‘‘(A) to provide education, resources, and 
technical support to Department personnel and 
third-party providers on the rapidly evolving 
methodologies, science, and practices for im-
proving soil health; and 
‘‘(B) to assist Department personnel and 
third-party providers in supporting agricultural 
producers in understanding and implementing 
biological soil health management systems that 
regenerate farmland. 
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HR 5951 IH1S 
‘‘(2) PROGRAM
DEVELOPMENT
AND
DELIV-
ERY.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The training program 
shall— 
‘‘(i) be made available in each Natural 
Resources Conservation Service region 
twice every 2 years; and 
‘‘(ii) include— 
‘‘(I) a nationally available online 
curriculum on biological soil health 
management systems that is— 
‘‘(aa) developed through co-
operative agreements with enti-
ties described in subparagraph 
(B); and 
‘‘(bb) delivered by the Nat-
ural 
Resources 
Conservation 
Service; and 
‘‘(II) in-person training work-
shops on biological soil health man-
agement 
systems 
that 
regenerate 
farmland, that— 
‘‘(aa) 
include 
coverage 
across regions and geography 
types; 
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HR 5951 IH1S 
‘‘(bb) are developed through 
cooperative agreements with enti-
ties described in subparagraph 
(B); and 
‘‘(cc) are delivered by the 
Natural Resources Conservation 
Service. 
‘‘(B) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The training pro-
gram shall be developed and delivered 
through cooperative agreements with enti-
ties with biological soil health management 
systems expertise and experience working 
with and training producers, including— 
‘‘(I) farming consultants, includ-
ing producers and producer coopera-
tives; 
‘‘(II) 
nonprofit 
organizations 
serving organic, agroecological, and 
other regenerative producers; 
‘‘(III) conservation districts; 
‘‘(IV) land-grant colleges and 
universities (as defined in section 
1404 of the National Agricultural Re-
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HR 5951 IH1S 
search, Extension, and Teaching Pol-
icy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103)); 
‘‘(V) Long-Term Agroecosystem 
Research sites; and 
‘‘(VI) other entities with ade-
quate expertise in biological soil 
health management systems, as deter-
mined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(ii) 
INITIAL
AGREEMENTS.—Not 
later than 1 year after the date of enact-
ment of the Soil CARE Act of 2023, the 
Secretary shall enter into cooperative 
agreements under clause (i) for the initial 
development and delivery of the training 
program. 
‘‘(C) PARTICIPATION.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary 
shall encourage relevant Department per-
sonnel and third-party providers— 
‘‘(I) to complete the online cur-
riculum described in subparagraph 
(A)(ii)(I); and 
‘‘(II) to the extent practicable, to 
attend at least 1 in-person training 
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workshop described in subparagraph 
(A)(ii)(II). 
‘‘(ii) RELEVANT
DEPARTMENT
PER-
SONNEL.—For purposes of clause (i), rel-
evant Department personnel shall include, 
at a minimum, Department personnel in-
volved in conservation planning activities 
with, and the delivery of technical assist-
ance to, producers, including field office 
staff of the Natural Resources Conserva-
tion Service. 
‘‘(iii) COMPLETION
SCHEDULES
FOR 
THIRD-PARTY PROVIDERS.— 
‘‘(I) ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHED-
ULES.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish— 
‘‘(aa) a schedule for the 
completion by third-party pro-
viders of the online curriculum 
described 
in 
subparagraph 
(A)(ii)(I); and 
‘‘(bb) a schedule of in-per-
son training workshops that will 
be provided in accordance with 
subparagraph (A)(ii)(II). 
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