CALL Act
Bill: H.R.2756 | Sponsor: Rep. Brownley, Julia (D-CA)
Policy area: Agriculture and Food

Summary:
Conservation for Agricultural Leased Land Act or the CALL Act
This bill directs the National Agricultural Statistics Service of the Department of Agriculture to carry out a study and make recommendations regarding conservation practices on leased agricultural land.
The study must (1) address issues such as participation in conservation programs and barriers to adopting conservation practices; and (2) be carried out with particular consideration of farmers and ranchers who are people of color, including Black and indigenous farmers and ranchers, and beginning farmers and ranchers.

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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Conservation for Agricultural 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 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 Agriculture reports is vital to 
        understanding land tenure trends, challenges, and 
        opportunities.
            (4) Some of the potential barriers to such participation 
        and adoption include the structure or term of the lease or 
        rental agreement, the level of independence given to the 
        operator, the awareness of the landowner of both conservation 
        practice and program opportunities and the costs and benefits 
        associated with those opportunities, and other policy or market 
        factors.
            (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 agricultural 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 literature, 
        including--
                    (A) the Tenure, Ownership, and Transition of 
                Agricultural Land (TOTAL) Survey conducted by the 
                National Agricultural Statistics Service, in 
                collaboration with the Economic Research Service; and
                    (B) the report titled ``Understanding and 
                Activating Non-Operating Landlords'', published by the 
                American Farmland Trust in September, 2020;
            (2) a review of initiatives conducted by the Cooperative 
        Extension System to increase the adoption of conservation 
        practices on leased agricultural land;
            (3) identification and quantification of the various 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 conservation 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 programs 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;
            (10) examination of the effects of competition in cash 
        rents on the adoption of conservation practices on leased 
        agricultural lands;
            (11) examination of what happens to conservation practices 
        currently underway on leased agricultural land when new tenants 
        take over such land; and
            (12) research on how the Department of Agriculture 
        communicates regarding conservation practice 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 farmers 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 agricultural land leasing 
        relationships to adopting conservation practices on leased 
        agricultural land, including--
                    (A) recommendations that can be implemented under 
                existing statutory authorities;
                    (B) recommendations that would require 
                congressional authorization in order to be implemented; 
                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 application 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 agreement, by a farmer or rancher 
        who does not own the land.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture, acting through the National Agricultural 
        Statistics Service.
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