(1) in subsection (b), by amending paragraph 
(1) to read as follows: 
‘‘(1) RANKING OF APPLICATIONS.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In evaluating contract 
offers submitted under subsection (a), the Sec-
retary shall rank applications based on— 
‘‘(i) the level of natural resource and 
environmental benefits resulting from ex-
isting conservation treatment on all appli-
cable priority resource concerns at the time 
of application; and 
‘‘(ii) the degree to which the proposed 
conservation activities effectively increase 
natural resource and environmental bene-
fits. 
‘‘(B) TIE BREAKER.—In the event of a tie 
in ranking scores between two or more applica-
tions, the Secretary shall rank applications 
based on the extent to which the actual and an-
ticipated conservation natural resource and en-
vironmental benefits from the contract are pro-
vided at the least cost relative to other similarly 
beneficial contract offers.’’; and 
(2) in subsection (d)— 
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(A) in paragraph (4), by adding at the end 
the following: 
‘‘(C) NEW
ACREAGE.—If, after entering 
into a contract, a producer adds new acreage to 
the agricultural operation, the producer may 
elect to add the acreage to the stewardship con-
tract during the term of the current steward-
ship contract, if the Secretary determines the 
additional acreage and conservation treatment 
of those acres increases the natural resource 
and environmental benefits of the contract.’’; 
and 
(B) by amending paragraph (6) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(6) CONTRACT RENEWAL.—At the end of each 
5-year contract period, the Secretary may allow the 
producer to renew the contract for additional 5-year 
periods if the producer— 
‘‘(A) demonstrates compliance with the 
terms of the previous contract; 
‘‘(B) agrees to adopt new or improved con-
servation activities across the entire agricultural 
operation, demonstrating continual improve-
ment, as determined by the Secretary; and 
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‘‘(C) agrees, by the end of the contract pe-
riod— 
‘‘(i) to plan, install, maintain, and ac-
tively manage such conservation activities 
that allow the producer to meet or exceed 
the stewardship threshold of at least 2 ad-
ditional priority resource concerns; or 
‘‘(ii) to adopt or improve such con-
servation activities as the Secretary deter-
mines to be necessary to achieve higher 
levels of performance with respect to at 
least 2 existing priority resource concerns 
specified by the Secretary in the initial 
contract.’’. 
SEC. 6. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY. 
Section 1238G of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3838g) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a)(2), by striking ‘‘not less 
than 5’’; 
(2) in subsection (c)(2)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘$18’’ and inserting 
‘‘$23’’; and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘, including supplemental 
payments under subsection (e), payments for 
cover crop activities under subsection (d), and 
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payments for comprehensive conservation plan-
ning under subsection (f)’’ after ‘‘financial as-
sistance’’; 
(3) in subsection (d)— 
(A) in paragraph (2), in the matter pre-
ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘, to the 
maximum extent practicable,’’; 
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and 
(4) as paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; 
(C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 
following: 
‘‘(3) PAYMENTS
FOR
COVER
CROP
ACTIVI-
TIES.—Any annual payment provided by the Sec-
retary under this subchapter that is for a cover crop 
activity, as determined by the Secretary, shall be in 
an amount that is at least 125 percent of the 
amount that would have been paid under paragraph 
(2). 
‘‘(4) MINIMUM PAYMENT.—A payment to a pro-
ducer under this subsection shall not be less than 
$1,500 per year.’’; and 
(D) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by 
subparagraph (B), by amending subparagraph 
(A) to read as follows: 
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‘‘(A) calculate and provide payments for 
existing activities, additional activities, and sup-
plemental payments, as described under sub-
section (e);’’; 
(4) by amending subsection (e) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(e) SUPPLEMENTAL PAYMENTS
FOR RESOURCE- 
CONSERVING CROP ROTATIONS, AND MANAGED INTEN-
SIVE ROTATIONAL GRAZING.— 
‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF PAYMENTS.—The Sec-
retary shall provide additional payments to pro-
ducers that, in participating in the program, agree 
to adopt, manage, and maintain, or improve, man-
age, and maintain— 
‘‘(A) resource-conserving crop rotations; or 
‘‘(B) managed intensive rotational grazing. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a 
payment described in paragraph (1), a producer 
shall agree to adopt, manage, and maintain or im-
prove, maintain, and manage, resource-conserving 
crop rotations, or managed intensive rotational graz-
ing for the term of the contract. 
‘‘(3) MINIMUM PAYMENT.—Supplemental pay-
ments shall not be less than $20 per acre. 
‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 
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‘‘(A) MANAGED
INTENSIVE
ROTATIONAL 
GRAZING.—The term ‘managed intensive rota-
tional grazing’ means a grazing system in which 
animals are regularly and systematically moved 
to fresh pasture in such a way as to— 
‘‘(i) maximize the quantity and qual-
ity of forage growth; 
‘‘(ii) improve manure distribution and 
nutrient cycling; 
‘‘(iii) increase carbon sequestration 
from greater forage harvest; 
‘‘(iv) improve the quality and quantity 
of cover for wildlife; 
‘‘(v) provide permanent cover to pro-
tect the soil from erosion; and 
‘‘(vi) improve water quality. 
‘‘(B) RESOURCE-CONSERVING CROP ROTA-
TION.—The term ‘resource-conserving crop ro-
tation’ means a crop rotation that— 
‘‘(i) includes at least 1 resource-con-
serving crop (as defined by the Secretary); 
‘‘(ii) reduces erosion; 
‘‘(iii) improves soil fertility and tilt; 
‘‘(iv) interrupts pest cycles; 
‘‘(v) builds soil carbon; and 
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‘‘(vi) in applicable areas, reduces de-
pletion of soil moisture or otherwise re-
duces the need for irrigation.’’; 
(5) by redesignating subsections (f), (g), (h), 
and (i) as subsections (g), (h), (i), and (j), respec-
tively; 
(6) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(f) PAYMENT FOR COMPREHENSIVE CONSERVATION 
PLANNING.—In the case of a producer who develops and 
implements a comprehensive conservation plan to address 
all priority resource concerns in a manner that meets or 
exceeds the stewardship thresholds, a payment for plan-
ning shall be between $1,000 and $3,000 per year. The 
payment shall be set on a sliding scale, determined by the 
following factors: 
‘‘(1) The number of resource concerns ad-
dressed in the comprehensive conservation plan. 
‘‘(2) The number of eligible land use types in-
cluded in the operation.’’; 
(7) in subsection (g), as redesignated by para-
graph (5)— 
(A) by inserting ‘‘, including joint oper-
ations,’’ after ‘‘legal entity’’; 
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(B) by striking ‘‘in the aggregate’’ and in-
serting ‘‘when combined with payments for 
management practices under the environmental 
quality incentives program’’; and 
(C) by striking ‘‘2018’’ and inserting 
‘‘2023’’; 
(8) by amending subsection (i), as redesignated 
by paragraph (5), to read as follows: 
‘‘(i) ORGANIC CERTIFICATION.— 
‘‘(1) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall es-
tablish a coordinated, user-friendly, and transparent 
means by which producers may initiate or maintain 
organic certification under the Organic Foods Pro-
duction Act of 1900 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.) while 
participating in a contract under the program. 
‘‘(2) TRANSITION.—The Secretary shall estab-
lish suites of organic transition conservation activi-
ties to be available through the program.’’; and 
(9) in subsection (j), as redesignated by para-
graph (5)— 
(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 
(2) as paragraphs (2) and (3), respectively; 
(B) by inserting before paragraph (2), as 
redesignated by subparagraph (A), the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(1) require participants in the program to be 
actively engaged in farming or ranching;’’; and 
(C) in paragraph (2), as redesignated by 
subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘subsection (f)’’ 
and inserting ‘‘subsection (g)’’. 
SEC. 7. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PROGRAM. 
Section 1240(4) of the Food Security Act of 1985 
(16 U.S.C. 3839aa(4)) is amended by striking ‘‘livestock, 
pest or irrigation management’’ and inserting ‘‘crops and 
livestock, pest management, or irrigation management’’. 
SEC. 8. EQIP DEFINITIONS. 
Section 1240A of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3839aa–1) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 1240A. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this chapter: 
‘‘(1) PAYMENT.—The term ‘payment’ means fi-
nancial assistance provided to the producer for per-
forming practices under this chapter, including com-
pensation for— 
‘‘(A) incurred costs associated with plan-
ning, design, materials, equipment, installation, 
labor, management, maintenance, or training; 
‘‘(B) income forgone by the producer; and 
‘‘(C) expected conservation benefit. 
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‘‘(2) 
MANAGEMENT
PRACTICE.—The 
term 
‘practice’ means one or more conservation activities 
that are consistent with the purposes of the program 
under this chapter as determined by the Secretary, 
including— 
‘‘(A) improvements to eligible land of the 
producer, including— 
‘‘(i) land management practices; 
‘‘(ii) vegetative practices; 
‘‘(iii) forest management; and 
‘‘(iv) other practices that the Sec-
retary determines would further the pur-
poses of the program; and 
‘‘(B) the development of plans appropriate 
for the eligible land of the producer, includ-
ing— 
‘‘(i) comprehensive nutrient manage-
ment planning; 
‘‘(ii) comprehensive conservation plan-
ning; and 
‘‘(iii) other plans that the Secretary 
determines would further the purposes of 
the program under this chapter. 
‘‘(3) DEVELOPMENT PRACTICE.—The term ‘de-
velopment practice’ means the construction or instal-
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lation of structures, facilities, equipment, or other 
related activities that are consistent with the pur-
poses of the program under this chapter, as deter-
mined by the Secretary. 
‘‘(4) PROGRAM.—The term ‘program’ means 
the environmental quality incentives program estab-
lished by this chapter.’’. 
SEC. 9. ESTABLISHMENT AND ADMINISTRATION. 
Section 1240B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3839aa–2) is amended— 
(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘2019’’ and 
inserting ‘‘2023’’; 
(2) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ‘‘10 years’’ 
and inserting ‘‘5 years’’; 
(3) in subsection (d)— 
(A) in paragraph (2), by amending sub-
paragraph (A) to read as follows: 
‘‘(A)(i) for practices that are not develop-
ment practices, 75 percent of the costs associ-
ated with planning, design, materials, equip-
ment, installation, labor, management, mainte-
nance, or training; or 
‘‘(ii) for development practices, except as 
provided in subsection (h)(3), 50 percent of the 
costs associated with planning, design, mate-
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