Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 
et seq.).’’. 
(h) PAYMENTS FOR CONSERVATION PRACTICES RE-
LATED TO ANTIBIOTIC USE.—Section 1240B of the Food 
Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(j) PAYMENTS FOR CONSERVATION PRACTICES RE-
LATED TO ANTIBIOTIC USE.— 
‘‘(1) PAYMENTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary 
shall provide payments under this chapter to live-
stock producers for three years, to assist in a transi-
tion to modified animal management and production 
systems, for practices leading to the reduction in the 
need for antibiotics, including modification of sys-
tems and spaces to— 
‘‘(A) improve sanitation; 
‘‘(B) improve ventilation; or 
‘‘(C) support the implementation of im-
proved animal management techniques at the 
operation. 
‘‘(2) DUTY OF PRODUCER.—The Secretary shall 
not make payments under this chapter for practices 
related to antibiotic use unless the producer agrees 
to provide information to the Secretary documenting 
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the resulting reduction in antibiotic use in the oper-
ation of the producer.’’. 
(i) PAYMENTS FOR CONSERVATION PRACTICES RE-
LATED
TO PASTURE-BASED PRODUCTION SYSTEMS.— 
Section 1240B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3839aa–2), as amended by subsection (h), is fur-
ther amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(k) PAYMENTS FOR CONSERVATION PRACTICES RE-
LATED TO PASTURE-BASED PRODUCTION SYSTEMS.— 
‘‘(1) PAYMENTS AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary 
shall provide payments under this subsection for 
conservation practices, on some or all of the oper-
ations of a producer, related— 
‘‘(A) to pasture-based, production systems; 
or 
‘‘(B) to the transition to pasture-based 
production systems managed under an approved 
prescribed grazing plan 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) maximize the quality of soil fer-
tility and tilth; 
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‘‘(iii) improve manure distribution and 
nutrient cycling; 
‘‘(iv) increase the sequestration of car-
bon dioxide; 
‘‘(v) improve the quality and quantity 
of cover for wildlife and pollinators; 
‘‘(vi) provide permanent cover to pro-
tect the soil from erosion; and 
‘‘(vii) improve water quality and infil-
tration. 
‘‘(2) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.—As a condi-
tion for receiving payments under this subsection, a 
producer shall agree to implement at least 3 prac-
tices and either— 
‘‘(A) develops and carries out a grazing 
management plan that includes intensive man-
agement rotational grazing; or 
‘‘(B) develops and implements conservation 
practices that are consistent with intensive rota-
tional grazing practices for pasture-based sys-
tems. 
‘‘(3) PAYMENT
PRIORITIES.—In determining 
the amount and rate of payments under paragraph 
(2)(B), the Secretary may accord great significance 
to practices that— 
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‘‘(A) improve the quality of soil fertility 
and tilth; 
‘‘(B) protect water quality; 
‘‘(C) increase the sequestration of carbon 
dioxide; 
‘‘(D) accelerate water infiltration; and 
‘‘(E) and expand pollinator habitat and 
protection.’’. 
(j) COMPREHENSIVE CONSERVATION PLANNING.— 
Section 1240B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3839aa–2), as amended by subsection (i), is fur-
ther amended by adding at the end the following new sub-
section: 
‘‘(l) COMPREHENSIVE CONSERVATION PLANNING.— 
The Secretary shall provide technical and financial assist-
ance to producers under the program to develop a com-
prehensive conservation plan for the agricultural operation 
of the producer.’’. 
SEC. 214. EVALUATION OF APPLICATIONS. 
(a) EVALUATION CRITERIA.—Section 1240C(a) of 
the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–3(a)) 
is amended by striking ‘‘national, State, and local con-
servation priorities’’ and inserting ‘‘priority resource con-
cerns identified under subsection (d)’’. 
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(b) PRIORITIZATION
OF
APPLICATIONS.—Section 
1240C(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 
3839aa–3(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘achieving the 
anticipated conservation benefits of the project’’ and 
inserting ‘‘addressing priority resource concerns 
identified under subsection (d)’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘designated 
resource concern or resource concerns’’ and inserting 
‘‘priority resource concerns identified under sub-
section (d), including, in the case of applications 
from nutrient-impacted watersheds, the degree to 
which nutrient loadings would be reduced as a result 
of the proposed project’’. 
(c) GROUPING OF APPLICATIONS.—Section 1240C(c) 
of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–3(c)) 
is amended by striking ‘‘for evaluation purposes or other-
wise evaluate applications relative to other applications for 
similar farming operations’’ and inserting ‘‘proposing to 
address the same priority resource concerns for evaluation 
purposes’’. 
(d) 
PRIORITY
RESOURCE
CONCERNS.—Section 
1240C of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 
3839aa–3) is amended by adding at the end the following 
new subsection: 
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‘‘(d) PRIORITY RESOURCE CONCERNS.—For the pur-
poses of this section, the Secretary shall identify priority 
resource concerns in a particular watershed or other ap-
propriate region or area within a State.’’. 
SEC. 215. ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY INCENTIVES PRO-
GRAM PLAN. 
Section 1240E(a) of the Food Security Act of 1985 
(16 U.S.C. 3839aa–5(a)) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) PLAN OF OPERATIONS.—To be eligible to re-
ceive payments under the program, a producer shall sub-
mit to the Secretary for approval a plan of operations 
that— 
‘‘(1) specifies the priority resource concerns to 
be addressed; 
‘‘(2) specifies the type, number, and sequencing 
of conservation systems, practices, or activities to be 
implemented to address the priority resource con-
cerns; 
‘‘(3) includes such terms and conditions as the 
Secretary considers necessary to carry out the pro-
gram, including a description of the purposes to be 
met by the implementation of the plan and a state-
ment of how the plan will achieve or take significant 
steps toward achieving the relevant resource man-
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agement system quality criteria, as determined by 
the Secretary; 
‘‘(4) in the case of a confined livestock feeding 
operation, provides for development and implementa-
tion of a comprehensive nutrient management plan, 
if applicable; 
‘‘(5) in the case of a producer located within a 
nutrient-impacted watershed, identifies methods by 
which the producer will limit nutrient loss; and 
‘‘(6) in the case of forest land, is consistent 
with the provisions of a forest management plan 
that is approved by the Secretary, which may in-
clude— 
‘‘(A) a forest stewardship plan described in 
section 5 of the Cooperative Forestry Assist-
ance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2103a); 
‘‘(B) another practice plan approved by the 
State forester; or 
‘‘(C) another plan determined appropriate 
by the Secretary.’’. 
SEC. 216. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY. 
Section 1240F(2) of the Food Security Act of 1985 
(16 U.S.C. 3839aa–6(2)) is amended by striking ‘‘infor-
mation’’ and inserting ‘‘technical assistance, informa-
tion,’’. 
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SEC. 217. LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS. 
Section 1240G of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3839aa–7) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 1240G. LIMITATION ON PAYMENTS. 
‘‘(a) LIMITATION ON TOTAL PAYMENTS.—Subject to 
subsection (b), a person or legal entity may not receive, 
directly or indirectly, cost-share or incentive payments 
under this chapter, in the aggregate, for all contracts en-
tered into under this chapter by the person or entity (ex-
cluding funding arrangements with Indian tribes under 
this chapter), regardless of the number of contracts en-
tered into under this chapter by the person or entity, 
that— 
‘‘(1) during any fiscal year exceed $30,000; and 
‘‘(2) 
during 
any 
five-year 
period 
exceed 
$150,000. 
‘‘(b) WAIVER AUTHORITY.—In the case of contracts 
under this chapter for projects of special environmental 
significance, as determined by the Secretary, the Secretary 
may waive the limitation otherwise applicable under sub-
section (a)(1). 
‘‘(c) PREVENTION OF DUPLICATION.—The Secretary 
shall not approve a contract or provide payments to any 
individual for a practice that has already been paid for 
as part of a previously approved and completed contract 
for any particular parcel of land.’’. 
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Subtitle C—Reforming the Con-
servation Stewardship Program 
SEC. 221. DEFINITIONS. 
Section 1238D of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3838d) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (2)(B)— 
(A) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause 
(iii); 
(B) by striking clause (i) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(i) vegetative measures, and land 
management measures, including inte-
grated pest, nutrient, crop residue, crop 
rotation, and managed rotational grazing 
management measures, as determined by 
the Secretary; 
‘‘(ii) structural measures that are in-
tegrated with and essential to the success-
ful implementation of such vegetative and 
land management measures; and’’; and 
(C) in clause (iii), as so redesignated by 
subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘designated’’ 
before ‘‘priority’’; 
(2) in paragraph (3)— 
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(A) in subparagraph (A), by inserting 
‘‘designated’’ before ‘‘priority’’; and 
(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘new 
and existing conservation activities’’ and insert-
ing ‘‘conservation activities needed to com-
prehensively address the designated priority re-
source concerns’’; 
(3) by amending paragraph (5) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(5) 
PRIORITY
RESOURCE
CONCERN.—The 
term ‘priority resource concern’ means the cause of 
a specific impairment that— 
‘‘(A) threatens— 
‘‘(i) public health or quality of life 
through degradation of air or water qual-
ity; or 
‘‘(ii) natural resources, including soil, 
fish, and wildlife; and 
‘‘(B) is identified at the national, State, or 
local level as a priority for a particular area of 
a State.’’; 
(4) by redesignating paragraphs (6) and (7) as 
paragraphs (7) and (8), respectively; 
(5) by inserting after paragraph (5) the fol-
lowing: 
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‘‘(6) DESIGNATED
PRIORITY
RESOURCE
CON-
CERN.—The term ‘designated priority resource con-
cern’ means 1 to 5 priority resource concerns identi-
fied by the Secretary that must be addressed by the 
program within a local watershed or specific natural 
resource boundary.’’; and 
(6) by amending paragraph (8), as redesignated 
by paragraph (4), to read as follows: 
‘‘(8) STEWARDSHIP
THRESHOLD.—The term 
‘stewardship threshold’ means the conservation ac-
tivities, as determined by the Secretary, to com-
prehensively address a priority resource concern 
using— 
‘‘(A) conservation measurement tools; 
‘‘(B) the resource management system 
quality criteria for the particular priority re-
source concerns; 
‘‘(C) data from past and current program 
enrollments; and 
‘‘(D) other similar means to measure im-
provement and conservation of the priority re-
source concern.’’. 
SEC. 222. CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PROGRAM. 
Section 1238E of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3838e) is amended— 
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(1) in subsection (a)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘fiscal years 2014 through 
2018’’ and inserting ‘‘fiscal years 2019 through 
2023’’; 
(B) by striking ‘‘to address priority’’ and 
inserting ‘‘to comprehensively address des-
ignated priority’’; and 
(C) by striking ‘‘comprehensive manner— 
’’ and all that follows through ‘‘managing exist-
ing conservation activities’’ and inserting ‘‘com-
prehensive manner’’; and 
(2) in subsection (b)(2), in the matter pre-
ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘the date of 
enactment of the Agricultural Act of 2014’’ and in-
serting ‘‘October 1, 2018’’. 
SEC. 223. STEWARDSHIP CONTRACTS. 
Section 1238F of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3838f) is amended— 
(1) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF CONTRACT OFFERS.—To be eli-
gible to participate in the conservation stewardship pro-
gram, a producer shall submit to the Secretary a contract 
offer for the agricultural operation that demonstrates to 
the satisfaction of the Secretary that the producer will 
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‘‘(E) the extent to which priority resource 
concerns will be addressed when transitioning 
from the conservation reserve program to agri-
cultural production. 
‘‘(2) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary may not as-
sign a higher priority to any application because the 
applicant is willing to accept a lower payment than 
the applicant would otherwise be eligible to receive. 
‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL
CRITERIA.—The Secretary 
may develop and use such additional criteria that 
the Secretary determines are necessary to ensure 
that designated priority resource concerns are effec-
tively and efficiently treated to meet or exceed the 
stewardship threshold.’’; 
(3) by amending subsection (c) to read as fol-
lows: 
‘‘(c) ENTERING INTO CONTRACTS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After a determination that 
a producer is eligible for the program under sub-
section (a), and a determination that the contract 
offer ranks sufficiently high under the evaluation 
criteria under subsection (b), the Secretary shall 
enter into a conservation stewardship contract with 
the producer to enroll the eligible land to be covered 
by the contract. 
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‘‘(2) FINANCIAL OBLIGATION.—Consistent with 
section 1238G(c)(4), a contract entered into under 
paragraph (1) shall not create an obligation for fi-
nancial assistance until the first October 1 after the 
contract is entered into.’’; 
(4) in subsection (d)— 
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘5 
years’’ and inserting ‘‘10 years’’; and 
(B) in paragraph (2)(B)(i), by inserting 
‘‘that comprehensively address a designated pri-
ority resource concern’’ after ‘‘conservation ac-
tivities’’; and 
(5) in subsection (e)— 
(A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 
by striking ‘‘5-year’’ and inserting ‘‘10-year’’; 
and 
(B) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 
follows: 
‘‘(3) has met or exceeded, or agrees to meet or 
exceed, the stewardship threshold of all designated 
priority resource concerns identified for the region 
or area in which the land that is subject to the con-
tract is located.’’. 
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SEC. 224. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY. 
Section 1238G of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 
U.S.C. 3838g) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 1238G. DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To achieve the conservation 
goals of a contract under the conservation stewardship 
program, the Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) make the program available to eligible pro-
ducers on a continuous enrollment basis with one or 
more ranking periods, of which shall occur in the 
first quarter of each fiscal year; 
‘‘(2) identify not more than 5 designated pri-
ority resource concerns in a particular watershed or 
other appropriate region or area within a State; 
‘‘(3) for any region or area that includes any 
part of a nutrient-impacted watershed (as deter-
mined by the Secretary), ensure that one of the pri-
ority resource concerns identified under paragraph 
(2) is water pollution caused by excess nutrient 
loads; 
‘‘(4) develop reliable conservation measurement 
tools for purposes of carrying out the program; and 
‘‘(5) ensure that conservation measurement 
tools are transparent and available to producers 
by— 
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‘‘(A) making interactive, user-friendly con-
servation measurement tools publically available 
online; 
‘‘(B) making conservation activity natural 
resource and environmental benefit scores avail-
able in an easy to understand format for study 
both before and during application; and 
‘‘(C) taking other steps, as determined by 
the Secretary. 
‘‘(b) ALLOCATION TO STATES.—The Secretary shall 
allocate acres to States for enrollment, based on each 
State’s proportion of eligible land to the total acreage of 
eligible land in all States as follows: 
‘‘(1) SOURCE
WATER
PROTECTION.—At least 
20 percent of the funds made available for financial 
and technical assistance under the program shall be 
for contracts addressing designated priority resource 
concerns related to enhancing the quality and quan-
tity of source water (as that term is used in the Safe 
Drinking Water Act). 
‘‘(2) PEST MANAGEMENT.—At least 20 percent 
of the funds made available for financial and tech-
nical assistance under the program shall be for con-
tracts addressing designated priority resource con-
cerns related to reducing the need for pesticides in 
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agricultural production including organic farming 
systems and intensive integrated pest management. 
‘‘(3) SOIL CONSERVATION.—At least 20 percent 
of the funds made available for financial and tech-
nical assistance under the program shall be for con-
tracts addressing designated priority resource con-
cerns related to reducing soil erosion and improving 
soil fertility and tilth. 
‘‘(c) CONSERVATION STEWARDSHIP PAYMENTS.— 
‘‘(1) AVAILABILITY OF PAYMENTS.—The Sec-
retary shall provide annual payments under the pro-
gram to compensate the producer for— 
‘‘(A) installing and adopting additional 
conservation activities that will meet or exceed 
the stewardship threshold for a designated pri-
ority resource concern; and 
‘‘(B) improving, maintaining, and man-
aging conservation activities in place on the ag-
ricultural operation of the producer at the time 
the contract offer is accepted by the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) PAYMENT AMOUNT.—The amount of the 
annual payment shall be determined by the Sec-
retary and based, to the maximum extent prac-
ticable, on the following factors: 
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