“To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to improve the conservation reserve program, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section makes the following changes to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), under which the Secretary of Agriculture enrolls eligible land through contracts to conserve soil, water, wildlife resources, and address conservation priorities: (1) designates land enrolled under the State acres for wildlife enhancement practice as eligible for continuous CRP enrollment; (2) authorizes emergency haying on up to 50% of contract acres during the final two weeks of, and outside, the primary nesting season in response to qualifying drought (D2 or greater on U.S. Drought Monitor), flooding, wildfire, 40% or greater county forage loss, or other disasters determined by the Secretary, subject to site-specific plans and a prohibition on long-term damage to wildlife vegetative cover; (3) provides for federal cost-sharing of grazing infrastructure (e.g., cross fencing, perimeter fencing, water wells, pipelines, tanks) if included in the conservation plan to address resource concerns, and deems land with such infrastructure as "considered planted" and eligible for CRP reenrollment upon contract expiration; (4) limits mid-contract management cost-sharing payments to activities other than those related to haying or grazing; and (5) increases the annual payment limitation on rental payments to $125,000 (from $50,000).