I 
115TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5188 
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 with respect to land stewardship, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 6, 2018 
Mr. WALZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 with respect to 
land stewardship, 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 ‘‘Strengthening Our In-
vestment in Land Stewardship Act’’ or the ‘‘SOIL Stew-
ardship Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. COMMON PROVISIONS AND PROGRAM COORDINA-
TION. 
Subchapter A of chapter 2 of subtitle D of title XII 
of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3838 et seq.) 
is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘Subchapter A—Common Provisions and 
Program Coordination 
‘‘SEC. 1238. COMMON PROVISIONS AND PROGRAM COORDI-
NATION. 
‘‘(a) COMMON PROVISIONS.— 
‘‘(1) STREAMLINING AND COORDINATION.—To 
the maximum extent feasible, the Secretary shall 
provide for streamlined and coordinated procedures 
for the conservation stewardship program and the 
environmental quality incentives program, including 
applications, contracting, conservation planning, con-
servation practices, and related administrative proce-
dures. 
‘‘(2) SOIL HEALTH.—To the maximum extent 
feasible, the Secretary shall manage the conservation 
stewardship program and the environmental quality 
incentives program to enhance soil health and build 
soil carbon. 
‘‘(3) WILDLIFE
HABITAT.—To the maximum 
extent feasible, the Secretary shall allocate at least 
10 percent of funding for the conservation steward-
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ship program and environmental quality incentives 
program to support conservation activities benefit-
ting wildlife habitat. 
‘‘(4) ORGANIC SYSTEMS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 
provide for a funding allocation for both the 
conservation stewardship program and the envi-
ronmental quality incentives program to sup-
port organic production and transition to or-
ganic production. 
‘‘(B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining 
the funding allocation described in paragraph 
(A), the Secretary shall take into consideration 
each 
State’s 
certified 
organic 
acres 
and 
transitioning organic acres and the State trend 
line for each. 
‘‘(5) BALANCE.—To the maximum extent fea-
sible, the Secretary shall provide balanced treatment 
for crop and livestock production systems in the allo-
cation of contracts for the conservation stewardship 
program and the environmental quality incentives 
program. 
‘‘(6) ACTIVE
ENGAGEMENT.—The Secretary 
shall promulgate regulations that require partici-
pants in the conservation stewardship program and 
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the environmental quality incentives program to be 
actively engaged in farming or ranching. 
‘‘(b) PROGRAM COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall 
coordinate management of the conservation stewardship 
program and environmental quality incentives program in 
a manner to facilitate the opportunity for a participant 
enrolled in the environmental quality incentives program 
but not yet qualified to enroll in the conservation steward-
ship program to subsequently enroll in the conservation 
stewardship program once they have met the stewardship 
threshold for at least two priority resource concerns. 
‘‘SEC. 1239. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘For purposes of the conservation stewardship pro-
gram subchapter B of chapter 2 and the environmental 
quality incentives program under chapter 4: 
‘‘(1) AGRICULTURAL
OPERATION.—The term 
‘agricultural operation’ means all eligible land, 
whether or not it is contiguous, that is— 
‘‘(A) under the effective control of a pro-
ducer at the time the producer enters into a 
contract under the program; and 
‘‘(B) operated with equipment, labor, man-
agement, and production or cultivation prac-
tices that are substantially separate from other 
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agricultural operations, as determined by the 
Secretary. 
‘‘(2) COMPREHENSIVE CONSERVATION PLAN.— 
The term ‘comprehensive conservation plan’ means a 
plan that— 
‘‘(A) identifies resources of concern, inven-
tories resources, and establishes benchmark 
data and stewardship objectives; 
‘‘(B) formulates and evaluates alternative 
approaches to meeting stewardship objectives 
for all resources of concern; 
‘‘(C) selects among the alternatives and de-
tails the particular conservation systems, prac-
tices, activities, and management measures to 
be implemented, maintained, or improved that 
will enable the producer to meet stewardship 
objectives for all resources of concern; 
‘‘(D) contains a schedule for the planning, 
installing, maintaining, improving, and man-
aging the selected conservation systems, prac-
tices, activities, and management measures; and 
‘‘(E) contains a description and schedule 
for on-farm activities to assess and evaluate the 
conservation systems, practices, activities, and 
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management measures described in the com-
prehensive conservation plan. 
‘‘(3) CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘conserva-
tion activities’ means conservation practices, en-
hancements, bundles, and plans. 
‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘conserva-
tion activities’ includes— 
‘‘(i) structural measures, vegetative 
measures, and land management measures, 
as determined by the Secretary; 
‘‘(ii) planning needed to address a pri-
ority resource concern; and 
‘‘(iii) development of a comprehensive 
conservation plan. 
‘‘(4) ELIGIBLE LAND.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘eligible 
land’ means— 
‘‘(i) private or tribal land on which 
agricultural commodities, livestock, or for-
est-related products are produced; and 
‘‘(ii) lands associated with the land 
described in clause (i) on which priority re-
source 
concerns 
could 
be 
addressed 
through a contract under the program. 
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‘‘(B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘eligible 
land’ includes— 
‘‘(i) cropland; 
‘‘(ii) grassland; 
‘‘(iii) rangeland; 
‘‘(iv) pasture land; 
‘‘(v) nonindustrial private forest land; 
and 
‘‘(vi) other land in agricultural areas 
(including cropped woodland, marshes, and 
agricultural land used or capable of being 
used for the production of livestock), on 
which resource concerns related to agricul-
tural 
production 
could 
be 
addressed 
through a contract under the program, as 
determined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(5) 
PRIORITY
RESOURCE
CONCERN.—The 
term ‘priority resource concern’ means a natural re-
source concern or problem, as determined by the 
Secretary, that— 
‘‘(A) is identified at the national, State, or 
local level as a priority for a particular area of 
a State; 
‘‘(B) represents a significant concern in a 
State or region; and 
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‘‘(C) is likely to be addressed successfully 
through the implementation of conservation ac-
tivities under this program. 
‘‘(6) STEWARDSHIP
THRESHOLD.—The term 
‘stewardship threshold’ means the level of manage-
ment required, as determined by the Secretary, to 
conserve and improve the quality and condition of a 
priority resource concern using— 
‘‘(A) the resource management system 
quality criteria; 
‘‘(B) predictive tools; 
‘‘(C) data from past and current program 
enrollments; and 
‘‘(D) other similar means to measure con-
servation and improvement of the priority re-
source concern.’’. 
SEC. 3. CSP DEFINITIONS. 
Section 1238D of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3838d) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 1238D. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this subchapter: 
‘‘(1) CONSERVATION
STEWARDSHIP
PLAN.— 
The term ‘conservation stewardship plan’ means a 
plan that— 
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‘‘(A) identifies and inventories priority re-
source concerns; 
‘‘(B) establishes benchmark data and con-
servation objectives; 
‘‘(C) describes conservation activities to be 
implemented, managed, or improved; and 
‘‘(D) includes a schedule and evaluation 
plan for the planning and installation of new 
conservation activities and the active manage-
ment of new and existing conservation activi-
ties. 
‘‘(2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 
the conservation stewardship program established by 
this subchapter.’’. 
SEC. 4. CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM. 
Section 1238E of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3838e) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘2018’’ and 
inserting ‘‘2023’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘the Agri-
cultural Act of 2014’’ and inserting ‘‘the SOIL 
Stewardship Act’’. 
SEC. 5. STEWARDSHIP CONTRACTS. 
Section 1238F of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3838f) is amended— 
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