I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2756 
To require a study of the barriers to conservation practice adoption on 
leased agricultural land, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 22, 2021 
Ms. BROWNLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Agriculture 
A BILL 
To require a study of the barriers to conservation practice 
adoption on leased agricultural land, 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 for Agri-
cultural Leased Land Act’’ or the ‘‘CALL Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) According to a 2016 study by the Economic 
Research Service of the Department of Agriculture, 
39 percent of agricultural land in the United States 
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is leased, including the majority (53 percent) of 
cropland. 
(2) The participation of landowners and tenants 
in Federal, State, and local conservation programs, 
and the adoption of conservation practices on land 
that they own or manage, can be limited by a wide 
range of factors that are not fully understood. 
(3) Much of the limited information that is 
known comes from the Tenure, Ownership, and 
Transition of Agricultural Land (TOTAL) Survey 
conducted by the National Agricultural Statistics 
Service, in collaboration with the Economic Research 
Service; regularly recurring data collection through 
the TOTAL Survey and other Department of Agri-
culture reports is vital to understanding land tenure 
trends, challenges, and opportunities. 
(4) Some of the potential barriers to such par-
ticipation and adoption include the structure or term 
of the lease or rental agreement, the level of inde-
pendence given to the operator, the awareness of the 
landowner of both conservation practice and pro-
gram opportunities and the costs and benefits asso-
ciated with those opportunities, and other policy or 
market factors. 
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(5) The solutions to these issues are unlikely to 
be ‘‘one size fits all’’ and must be better understood. 
SEC. 3. STUDY. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall carry out a 
study of the participation in conservation programs of, 
and the adoption of conservation practices on, leased agri-
cultural land. 
(b) COLLABORATION.—The study under this section 
shall be carried out in collaboration with the Economic 
Research Service. 
(c) CONTENTS.—The study carried out under this 
section shall include— 
(1) a review of relevant existing research lit-
erature, including— 
(A) the Tenure, Ownership, and Transition 
of Agricultural Land (TOTAL) Survey con-
ducted by the National Agricultural Statistics 
Service, in collaboration with the Economic Re-
search Service; and 
(B) the report titled ‘‘Understanding and 
Activating Non-Operating Landlords’’, pub-
lished by the American Farmland Trust in Sep-
tember, 2020; 
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(2) a review of initiatives conducted by the Co-
operative Extension System to increase the adoption 
of conservation practices on leased agricultural land; 
(3) identification and quantification of the var-
ious types and structures of current agricultural 
land leasing relationships; 
(4) research on the history, and estimation of 
future trends, of agricultural land ownership; 
(5) examination of what leasing models have 
been effective in encouraging the adoption of con-
servation practices; 
(6) consideration of regional variations; 
(7) examination of existing Federal incentives 
for adopting conservation practices, and the degree 
to which such incentives are currently utilized with 
respect to leased agricultural lands; 
(8) research on State and local incentive pro-
grams that are encouraging conservation practice 
adoption on leased agricultural land; 
(9) research on the benefits of transitioning 
from land leasing to land ownership on conservation 
practice adoption and Federal conservation program 
participation; 
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(10) examination of the effects of competition 
in cash rents on the adoption of conservation prac-
tices on leased agricultural lands; 
(11) examination of what happens to conserva-
tion practices currently underway on leased agricul-
tural land when new tenants take over such land; 
and 
(12) research on how the Department of Agri-
culture communicates regarding conservation prac-
tice adoption to farmers and ranchers who do not 
own the land they operate and to landowners who 
lease out their agricultural land. 
(d) CONSIDERATION.—The study under this section 
shall be carried out with particular consideration of farm-
ers and ranchers who are people of color, including Black 
and indigenous farmers and ranchers, and beginning 
farmers and ranchers. 
(e) REPORT.—Not later than December 31, 2022, the 
Secretary shall submit to Congress a report containing— 
(1) the results of the study conducted under 
this section; and 
(2) recommendations, based on such study, for 
addressing the barriers unique to various agricul-
tural land leasing relationships to adopting conserva-
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tion practices on leased agricultural land, includ-
ing— 
(A) recommendations that can be imple-
mented under existing statutory authorities; 
(B) recommendations that would require 
congressional authorization in order to be im-
plemented; and 
(C) recommendations for outreach. 
(f) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary may enter 
into an agreement with a non-Federal entity (such as a 
nonprofit entity or university), selected through an appli-
cation process, to carry out this section. 
(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) LEASED AGRICULTURAL LAND.—The term 
‘‘leased agricultural land’’ means agricultural land 
that is operated, under a lease or other rental agree-
ment, by a farmer or rancher who does not own the 
land. 
(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Na-
tional Agricultural Statistics Service. 
Æ 
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