SECTION 1. ONE-YEAR ENROLLMENT OF LAND COVERED
BY EXPIRING CONSERVATION RESERVE PRO-
GRAM CONTRACTS.
(a) ELIGIBLE FARM LANDS.—This section applies
with respect to a farm containing land covered by a con-
servation reserve program contract expiring during fiscal
year 1997 if—
(1) the farm had a crop acreage base for wheat,
oats, or barley at the time the conservation reserve
program contract was executed;
(2) the farm is located in an area in which fall-
seeded crops are regularly planted, as determined by
the Secretary of Agriculture;
(3) the owner of the farm (or the operator with
the consent of the owner) submitted, during the en-
rollment period that ended on March 28, 1997, an
eligible bid to enroll all or part of the land covered
by the expiring contract 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
(16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.); and
(4) the land designated in the bid satisfies the
eligibility criteria in effect for enrollment of land in
the conservation reserve.
(b) ONE-YEAR ENROLLMENT AUTHORIZED.—
(1) AUTHORITY OF OWNER OR OPERATOR.—Ex-
cept as provided in subsection (g), the owner or op-
erator of a farm described in subsection (a) may en-
roll in the conservation reserve for a one-year term
to begin on October 1, 1997, the land covered by the
expiring conservation reserve program contract and
included in the owner’s or operator’s enrollment bid
(as described in subsection (a)(3)) if—
(A) the owner or operator notifies the Sec-
retary in writing, during the special notification
period required under paragraph (2), that the
owner or operator desires to enroll the land in
the conservation reserve for one year under this
section; and
(B) the Secretary does not accept, before
October 1, 1997, the owner’s or operator’s en-
rollment bid (as described in subsection (a)(3))
to enroll the land in a long-term conservation
reserve program contract.
(2) SPECIAL NOTIFICATION PERIOD.—Promptly
upon the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall
provide a special period for owners and operators of
farms described in subsection (a) to permit the own-
ers and operators to provide the notification required
under paragraph (1)(A) to enter into one-year con-
servation reserve program contracts under this sec-
tion.
(c) RENTAL RATE.—The rental rate for a one-year
conservation reserve program contract under subsection
(b) shall be equal to the amount of the bid (as described
in subsection (a)(3)) that the owner or operator submitted
with respect to the land to be covered by the one-year con-
tract.
(d) EFFECT OF ONE-YEAR CONTRACT ON SUBSE-
QUENT ENROLLMENT.—If an owner or operator who en-
rolls eligible farm land in a one-year conservation reserve
program contract under subsection (b) submits a bid to
enroll the same land in the conservation reserve under a
long-term conservation reserve program contract that
would commence on October 1, 1998, and the Secretary
accepts the bid and enters into a long-term conservation
reserve program contract with the owner or operator, then
the one-year contract shall be considered to be the first
year of that long-term conservation reserve program con-
tract.
(e) MAXIMUM ENROLLMENT.—The maximum num-
ber of acres in the conservation reserve during fiscal year
1998, including land enrolled by the Secretary under one-
year conservation reserve program contracts under sub-
section (b), may not exceed 30,000,000 acres.
(f) APPLICATION
OF
CONSERVATION
RESERVE
LAWS.—Except as specifically provided in this section, the
terms and conditions of subchapter B of chapter 1 of sub-
title D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16
U.S.C. 3831 et seq.) shall apply with respect to one-year
conservation reserve program contracts authorized by this
section.
(g) EFFECT
OF COMPLETION
OF 15TH ENROLL-
MENT.—If, as of the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary has already acted on the bids submitted dur-
ing the enrollment period that ended on March 28, 1997,
to enroll land in the conservation reserve, either by accept-
ing or rejecting the bids, then the authority provided by
this section for special one-year conservation reserve pro-
gram contracts shall not take effect.
SEC. 2. SPECIAL EARLY TERMINATION AUTHORITY FOR
CERTAIN 
CONSERVATION 
RESERVE 
PRO-
GRAM CONTRACTS EXPIRING IN 1997.
(a) EARLY
TERMINATION
AUTHORITY.—A farm
owner or operator described in subsection (b) who is a
party to a conservation reserve program contract expiring
during fiscal year 1997 may terminate the contract at any
time after June 30, 1997. Notwithstanding section
1235(e) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C.
3835(e)), the termination shall take effect immediately
upon submission of notice of the termination to the Sec-
retary of Agriculture and shall not result in a reduction
in the amount of the rental payment due under the con-
servation reserve program contract for fiscal year 1997.
(b) ELIGIBLE OWNERS AND OPERATORS.—A farm
owner or operator referred to in subsection (a) is a farm
owner or operator with respect to whom one of the follow-
ing circumstances apply:
(1) Neither the owner, operator, nor any other
eligible person submitted, during the enrollment pe-
riod that ended on March 28, 1997, an eligible bid
to enroll all or part of the land covered by the expir-
ing conservation reserve program contract in the
conservation reserve established under subchapter B
of chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food
Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.).
(2) An eligible bid was submitted during the en-
rollment period to enroll all or part of the land cov-
ered by the expiring contract in the conservation re-
serve, but the Secretary of Agriculture rejected the
bid and the owner or operator did not notify the
Secretary, in the manner provided in section 1(b),
that the owner or operator desired a one-year con-
tract under section 1.
(c) CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM CONTRACT
DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘conservation re-
serve program contract’’ means a contract entered into
under subchapter B of chapter 1 of subtitle D of title XII
of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.)
for enrollment of farm acreage in the conservation reserve
established under such subchapter.
Passed the House of Representatives April 29, 1997.
Attest:
Clerk.