259 
fications to the plan that the Secretary finds nec-
essary to increase its effectiveness. 
‘‘(b) ACCESS PLAN.—As part of each report submitted 
under subsection (a), the Secretary shall set forth a plan 
to improve the access of producers of specialty crops to, and 
their participation in, conservation programs under sub-
title D. In developing the plan, the Secretary shall consult 
with organizations representing producers of specialty 
crops. 
‘‘(c) SPECIALTY CROP DEFINED.—In this section, the 
term ‘specialty crop’ has the meaning given such term by 
section 3(1) of the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 
2004 (Public Law 108–465; 7 U.S.C. 1621 note).’’. 
(b) INITIAL REPORT.—The first report required under 
section 1252 of the Food Security Act of 1985, as added 
by subsection (a), shall be submitted not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act. Subsection (a)(2) 
of such section shall not apply with respect to the first re-
port. 
SEC. 2407. PROMOTION OF MARKET-BASED APPROACHES TO 
CONSERVATION. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Many of the conservation and environmental 
benefits produced on farms, ranches, and private for-
est lands in the United States do not have an as-
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signed value in the market place or lack a private 
market altogether. 
(2) While private markets for environmental 
goods and services are emerging, their viability has 
been hampered by several barriers. 
(3) The Federal Government can help overcome 
these barriers and promote the establishment of mar-
kets for agricultural and forestry conservation activi-
ties. 
(4) Generating substantial private-sector demand 
for environmental goods and services hinges on the 
ability to use environmental credits generated by ag-
ricultural and forest conservation activities. 
(b) MARKET-BASED APPROACHES.—Subtitle E of title 
XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 is amended by insert-
ing after section 1244 (16 U.S.C. 3844) the following new 
section: 
‘‘SEC. 1245. MARKET-BASED APPROACHES TO CONSERVA-
TION. 
‘‘(a) IMPLEMENTATION.—To facilitate the development 
and effective operation of private sector market-based ap-
proaches for environmental goods and services produced by 
farmers, ranchers, and owners of private forest land, the 
Secretary may conduct research and analysis, enter into 
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261 
contracts and cooperative agreements, and award grants for 
the purpose of— 
‘‘(1) promoting the development of consistent 
standards and processes for quantifying environ-
mental benefits, including the creation of performance 
standards or baselines; 
‘‘(2) promoting the establishment of reporting 
and 
credit 
registries, 
including 
third-party 
verification and certification; and 
‘‘(3) promoting actions that facilitate the devel-
opment and functioning of private-sector market- 
based approaches for environmental goods and serv-
ices involving agriculture and forestry. 
‘‘(b) 
ENVIRONMENTAL
SERVICES
STANDARDS 
BOARD.— 
‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is to be estab-
lished an Environmental Services Standards Board 
to develop consistent performance standards for quan-
tifying environmental services from land management 
and agricultural activities in order to facilitate the 
development of credit markets for conservation and 
land management activities that are agriculture or 
forest based. 
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262 
‘‘(2) CHAIRPERSON.—The Secretary of Agri-
culture shall serve as chair of the Environmental 
Services Standards Board. 
‘‘(3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Environmental Serv-
ices Standards Board shall be comprised of the Sec-
retary of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, 
the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Commerce, 
the Secretary of Transportation, the Administrator of 
the Environmental Protection Agency, the Com-
mander of the Army Corps of Engineers, and such 
other representatives as determined by the President. 
‘‘(4) 
SUBCOMMITTEES.—The 
Environmental 
Services Standards Board may form subcommittees to 
address specific issues. 
‘‘(c) DISSEMINATION
OF
PERFORMANCE
STAND-
ARDS.—Federal agencies are authorized to adopt perform-
ance standards developed by the Environmental Services 
Standards Board for quantifying environmental services 
that establish credits to meet requirements of environmental 
and conservation programs. 
‘‘(d) FUNDING .—There is authorized to be appro-
priated $50,000,000 to carry out this section. Amounts so 
appropriated shall remain available until expended. 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
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263 
‘‘(1) BASELINE.—The term ‘baseline’ means a 
level of effort or performance that is expected to be 
met before an entity can generate marketable credits. 
‘‘(2) PERFORMANCE STANDARD.—The term ‘per-
formance standard’ means a defined level of environ-
mental performance, expressed as a narrative or 
measurable number, which specifies the minimum ac-
ceptable environmental performance of an operation 
or practice.’’. 
SEC. 2408. ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE TECHNICAL COMMIT-
TEES AND THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES. 
Subtitle G of title XII of the Farm Security Act of 
1985 (16 U.S.C. 3861, 3862) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘Subtitle G—State Technical 
Committees 
‘‘SEC. 1261. ESTABLISHMENT OF STATE TECHNICAL COM-
MITTEES. 
‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 
a technical committee in each State to assist the Secretary 
in the considerations relating to implementation and tech-
nical aspects of the conservation programs under this title. 
‘‘(b) COMPOSITION.—Each State technical committee 
shall be composed of agricultural producers and other pro-
fessionals that represent a variety of disciplines in the soil, 
water, wetland, and wildlife sciences. The technical com-
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