conservation purposes with sharply limited resources by
permitting the Secretary of Agriculture to negotiate re-
duced annual rental payments in exchange for granting
farmers increased flexibility to withdraw, enroll, or re-
enroll parts of land parcels in the conservation reserve
program and for permitting limited uses on lands en-
rolled in the conservation reserve, to permit the transfer
of crop bases among owners upon the expiration of en-
rollment; and to authorize the establishment of dem-
onstration projects.
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 Reserve
Program Reform Act of 1995’’.
SEC. 2. EXTENSION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION
ACREAGE RESERVE PROGRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The following provisions of the
Food Security Act of 1985 are each amended by striking
‘‘1995’’ and inserting ‘‘2005’’:
(1) Section 1230(a) (16 U.S.C. 3830(a)).
(2) Section 1231(a) (16 U.S.C. 3831(a)).
(3) Section 1231(b)(3) (16 U.S.C. 3831(b)(3)).
(4) The first sentence of section 1231(d) (16
U.S.C. 3831(d)).
(5) Section 1232(c) (16 U.S.C. 3832(c)).
(6) 
Section 
1238B(a)(1) 
(16 
U.S.C.
3838b(a)(1)).
(7) 
Section 
1238B(a)(2) 
(16 
U.S.C.
3838b(a)(2)).
(8) 
Section 
1238B(a)(11) 
(16 
U.S.C.
3838b(a)(2)).
(9) Section 1239(a) (16 U.S.C. 3839(a)).
(b) 
WETLANDS
RESERVE
PROGRAM.—Section
1237(c) of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3837(c)) is amended by
striking ‘‘2000’’ and inserting ‘‘2005’’.
SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO MODIFY OR EXTEND CONTRACTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter B of chapter 1 of sub-
title D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16
U.S.C. 3831–3836) is amended by inserting after section
1235A the following:
‘‘SEC. 1235B. CONVERSION OF LAND SUBJECT TO CON-
TRACT TO OTHER USES.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Prior to or upon the expiration
of a contract entered into under this subchapter with re-
spect to environmentally sensitive land (as defined by the
State conservation review committee established under
section 1261 in the State in which the land is located,
or until such committee is formed, the State technical
working group), the Secretary shall extend the duration
of the contract, or modify the terms of the contract, in
accordance with this section. The Secretary shall place a
priority on extending or modifying under this section con-
tracts entered into under this subchapter in such a way
as to enable owners and operators to comply with the ap-
plicable plan referred to in section 1232(a)(1).
‘‘(b) OPTIONS FOR OWNERS AND OPERATORS.—The
Secretary shall permit an owner or operator who has en-
tered into a contract under this subchapter that is in effect
on the date of the enactment of this section—
‘‘(1) before the expiration of the contract, to re-
move land (including partial fields) from enrollment
in the conservation reserve established under this
subchapter if—
‘‘(A) the land is not highly erodible crop-
land;
‘‘(B) the Soil Conservation Service has
classified the land as class I, II, III(s), III(w),
or III(c), and the land is covered by a conserva-
tion plan approved by the local conservation
district (or, if the land is not within a conserva-
tion district, a plan approved by the Secretary)
that limits the soil erosion to such land to not
more than the soil loss tolerance level referred
to in section 1201(a)(7)(A)(ii); or
‘‘(C) the land is replaced by land of the
same owner that, according to the local con-
servation district or the Secretary, is more envi-
ronmentally sensitive;
‘‘(2) before the expiration of the contract, to re-
enroll in the reserve for not more than 10 years por-
tions of land enrolled in the reserve if—
‘‘(A) the land will remain planted to per-
manent cover and devoted to filter strips, field
borders, waterways, terraces, wildlife corridors,
well-head protection; buffer strips adjacent to
rivers, streams, lakes, wetlands, water retention
structures, or any other conservation purpose
that the Secretary deems appropriate; and
‘‘(B) future production on the re-enrolled
land will not contribute to erosion in excess of
the soil loss tolerance level referred to in section
1201(a)(7)(A)(ii);
‘‘(3) before the expiration of the contract, to
enter into negotiations with the Secretary to receive
reduced annual rental payments in exchange for per-
mission to allow limited uses (as defined by the
State conservation review committee established
under section 1261 in the State in which the land
is located, or until such committee is formed, the
State technical working group) on enrolled land, in-
cluding haying, grazing, seed production, production
of bio-mass, timber, or such other uses as the Sec-
retary may deem appropriate; or
‘‘(4) upon expiration of the contract, to retain
or transfer cropland bases, with respect to crops for
which there is a production adjustment program, to
other lands, as long as enrolled croplands remain in
permanent cover.
‘‘(c) LIMITATION
ON ANNUAL RENTAL PAYMENT
FOR RE-ENROLLED LAND OR LAND PERMITTED TO BE
DEVOTED TO LIMITED USES.—Annual rental payments
made under this subchapter with respect to land that is
the subject of an agreement entered into pursuant to para-
graph (2) or (3) of subsection (b) shall not exceed an
amount equal to 80 percent of the annual rental payment
made under this subchapter with respect to the land for
the 12-month period ending on the date the agreement
takes effect.’’.
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 1232(a)(7)
of such Act (16 U.S.C. 3832(a)(7)) is amended by insert-
ing ‘‘except to the extent authorized under section
1235B,’’ after ‘‘(7)’’.
(c) STATE CONSERVATION REVIEW COMMITTEES.—
Subtitle G of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985
(16 U.S.C. 3861–3862) is amended—
(1) in the subtitle heading, by striking
‘‘TECHNICAL’’ and inserting ‘‘CONSERVA-
TION REVIEW’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘technical committee’’ each
place such term appears and inserting ‘‘conservation
review committee’’; and
(3) in section 1261(c)—
(A) by amending paragraph (2) to read as
follows:
‘‘(2) the State committee appointed under sec-
tion 8(b)(5)(A) of the Soil Conservation and Domes-
tic Allotment Act;’’; and
(B) by amending paragraph (5) to read as
follows:
‘‘(5) 3 agricultural producers nominated by the
State committee referred to in paragraph (2);’’.
SEC. 4. DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.
(a) GRANT AUTHORITY.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Agriculture
may make grants to producers of agricultural com-
modities to retain land in the conservation reserve
established under subchapter B of chapter 1 of sub-
title D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985,
or to enroll land in the reserve, for the purpose of
enabling the owner of the land to grow grass or raise
legumes (or do both) on such land, in rotation, as
approved by the State conservation review committee
established under section 1261 of such Act in the
State in which the land is located or until such com-
mittee is formed, the State technical working group.
(2) NUMBER
OF
SITES.—The Secretary may
not select more than 3 sites in each State with re-
spect to which grants are to be made under para-
graph (1).
(b) EVALUATION.—Not later than 3 years after the
first grant is made under subsection (a), the Secretary
shall evaluate the economic and environmental effects of
the uses to which grants under subsection (a) have been
put, and shall submit to the Congress a report that con-
tains the findings of the Secretary.
(c) LIMITATIONS
ON AUTHORIZATION
OF APPRO-
PRIATIONS.—For grants under subsection (a), there are
authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary not more
than $500,000 for each of fiscal years 1996, 1997, and
1998.
Æ