Title 16 — ConservationRelease 119-73
§3832 Duties of owners and operators
Title 16 › Chapter CHAPTER 58— - ERODIBLE LAND AND WETLAND CONSERVATION AND RESERVE PROGRAM › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER IV— - AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION PROGRAM › Part Part I— - Comprehensive Conservation Enhancement Program › Subpart subpart b— - conservation reserve › § 3832
Summary
Owners or operators who sign one of these contracts must follow a local or federal conservation plan to change farm or ranch land to less intensive uses like pasture, permanent grass, legumes, shrubs, or trees, and follow the schedule in that plan. They must put highly erodible cropland into the conservation reserve. They must not use the land for regular farming unless the Secretary allows it. They must establish approved plant or water cover (but water cover cannot be ponds for watering livestock, irrigating crops, or raising fish for sale). If bad flooding or too much rain prevents planting, the Secretary will not cancel the contract if the land that could be planted is planted and the rest is planted after soils dry. Owners must manage the land as needed while the contract runs. If they break the contract, they can lose rights to rental and cost-share payments and may have to repay money with interest, or the Secretary may reduce or adjust payments instead. If they transfer their interest in the land, they may forfeit payments and must refund or have payments adjusted. The contract also bans grazing, harvesting, or other commercial use of forage or trees unless the contract or section 3833 allows it; normal forestry actions like pruning or thinning are allowed. The Secretary may add other reasonable provisions to the contract. The plan must list the conservation practices to be done and any commercial uses that are allowed. If the land is foreclosed, the owner generally will not have to repay payments if the Secretary decides forgiving the debt is fair, but if the owner regains control within the contract’s allowed period, the original contract duties come back into effect.
Full Legal Text
Title 16, §3832
Conservation — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)Under the terms of a contract entered into under this subpart, during the term of the contract, an owner or operator of a farm or ranch shall agree—
(1)to implement a plan approved by the local conservation district (or in an area not located within a conservation district, a plan approved by the Secretary) for converting eligible land normally devoted to the production of an agricultural commodity on the farm or ranch to a less intensive use (as defined by the Secretary), such as pasture, permanent grass, legumes, forbs, shrubs, or trees, substantially in accordance with a schedule outlined in the plan;
(2)to place highly erodible cropland subject to the contract in the conservation reserve established under this subpart;
(3)not to use the land for agricultural purposes, except as permitted by the Secretary;
(4)to establish approved vegetative cover (which may include emerging vegetation in water), water cover for the enhancement of wildlife, or, where practicable, maintain existing cover on the land, except that—
(A)the water cover shall not include ponds for the purpose of watering livestock, irrigating crops, or raising fish for commercial purposes; and
(B)the Secretary shall not terminate the contract for failure to establish approved vegetative or water cover on the land if—
(i)the failure to plant the cover was due to excessive rainfall or flooding;
(ii)the land subject to the contract that could practicably be planted to the cover is planted to the cover; and
(iii)the land on which the owner or operator was unable to plant the cover is planted to the cover after the wet conditions that prevented the planting subsides;
(5)to undertake management on the land as needed throughout the term of the contract to implement the conservation plan;
(6)on a violation of a term or condition of the contract at any time the owner or operator has control of the land—
(A)to forfeit all rights to receive rental payments and cost sharing payments under the contract and to refund to the Secretary any rental payments and cost sharing payments received by the owner or operator under the contract, together with interest on the payments as determined by the Secretary, if the Secretary, after considering the recommendations of the soil conservation district and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, determines that the violation is of such nature as to warrant termination of the contract; or
(B)to refund to the Secretary, or accept adjustments to, the rental payments and cost sharing payments provided to the owner or operator, as the Secretary considers appropriate, if the Secretary determines that the violation does not warrant termination of the contract;
(7)on the transfer of the right and interest of the owner or operator in land subject to the contract—
(A)to forfeit all rights to rental payments and cost sharing payments under the contract; and
(B)to refund to the United States all rental payments and cost sharing payments received by the owner or operator, or accept such payment adjustments or make such refunds as the Secretary considers appropriate and consistent with the objectives of this subpart;
(8)not to conduct any harvesting or grazing, nor otherwise make commercial use of the forage, on land that is subject to the contract, nor adopt any similar practice specified in the contract by the Secretary as a practice that would tend to defeat the purposes of the contract, except as provided in subsection (b) or (c) of section 3833 of this title;
(9)not to conduct any planting of trees on land that is subject to the contract unless the contract specifies that the harvesting and commercial sale of trees such as Christmas trees are prohibited, nor otherwise make commercial use of trees on land that is subject to the contract unless it is expressly permitted in the contract, nor adopt any similar practice specified in the contract by the Secretary as a practice that would tend to defeat the purposes of the contract, except that no contract shall prohibit activities consistent with customary forestry practice, such as pruning, thinning, or stand improvement of trees, on land converted to forestry use;
(10)on land devoted to hardwood or other trees, excluding windbreaks and shelterbelts, to carry out proper thinning and other practices—
(A)to enhance the conservation benefits and wildlife habitat resources addressed by the conservation practice under which the land is enrolled; and
(B)to promote forest management;
(11)not to adopt any practice specified by the Secretary in the contract as a practice that would tend to defeat the purposes of this subpart; and
(12)to comply with such additional provisions as the Secretary determines are desirable and are included in the contract to carry out this subpart or to facilitate the practical administration of this subpart.
(b)The plan referred to in subsection (a)(1) shall set forth—
(1)the conservation measures and practices to be carried out by the owner or operator during the term of the contract; and
(2)the commercial use, if any, to be permitted on the land during the term.
(c)(1)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an owner or operator who is a party to a contract entered into under this subpart may not be required to make repayments to the Secretary of amounts received under the contract if the land that is subject to the contract has been foreclosed on and the Secretary determines that forgiving the repayments is appropriate in order to provide fair and equitable treatment.
(2)(A)This subsection shall not void the responsibilities of an owner or operator under the contract if the owner or operator resumes control over the land that is subject to the contract within the period specified in the contract.
(B)On the resumption of the control over the land by the owner or operator, the provisions of the contract in effect on the date of the foreclosure shall apply.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Codification Pub. L. 110–234 and Pub. L. 110–246 made identical
Amendments
to this section. The
Amendments
by Pub. L. 110–234 were repealed by section 4(a) of Pub. L. 110–246.
Prior Provisions
A prior section 3832, Pub. L. 99–198, title XII, § 1232, Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1509; Pub. L. 101–512, title I, Nov. 5, 1990, 104 Stat. 1919; Pub. L. 101–624, title XIV, §§ 1433, 1447(a), Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 3579, 3605; Pub. L. 102–237, title II, § 204(5), Dec. 13, 1991, 105 Stat. 1855; Pub. L. 102–552, title V, § 516(a), Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 4136; Pub. L. 104–127, title III, § 332(a)(2), Apr. 4, 1996, 110 Stat. 994; Pub. L. 106–78, title VII, §§ 763, 769, Oct. 22, 1999, 113 Stat. 1173, 1174; Pub. L. 106–387, § 1(a) [title VIII, § 817, title XI, § 1103], Oct. 28, 2000, 114 Stat. 1549, 1549A–58, 1549A–77; Pub. L. 107–76, title VII, §§ 758(b), 759(b)(2), Nov. 28, 2001, 115 Stat. 741, related to duties of owners and operators, prior to the general amendment of this subpart by Pub. L. 107–171.
Amendments
2018—Subsec. (a)(10) to (12). Pub. L. 115–334 added par. (10) and redesignated former pars. (10) and (11) as (11) and (12), respectively. 2014—Subsec. (a)(8). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2003(a), substituted “except as provided in subsection (b) or (c) of section 3833 of this title;” for “except that the Secretary may permit, consistent with the conservation of soil, water quality, and wildlife habitat (including habitat during nesting seasons for birds in the area)—” and struck out subpars. (A) to (D), which related to managed harvesting, commercial use in response to an emergency, grazing for the control of invasive species, and the installation of wind turbines, respectively. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2003(b), amended subsec. (b) generally. Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The plan referred to in subsection (a)(1) of this section— “(1) shall set forth— “(A) the conservation measures and practices to be carried out by the owner or operator during the term of the contract; and “(B) the commercial use, if any, to be permitted on the land during the term; and “(2) may provide for the permanent retirement of any existing cropland base and allotment history for the land.” Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 113–79, § 2003(c), struck out subsec. (d). Text read as follows: “In the case of an authorized activity under subsection (a)(8) on land that is subject to a contract under this subpart, the Secretary shall reduce the rental payment otherwise payable under the contract by an amount commensurate with the economic value of the authorized activity.” 2008—Subsec. (a)(5) to (7). Pub. L. 110–246, § 2107, added par. (5) and redesignated former pars. (5) and (6) as (6) and (7), respectively. Former par. (7) redesignated (8). Subsec. (a)(8). Pub. L. 110–246, § 2108(a), added par. (8) and struck out former par. (8) which related to prohibition against harvesting, grazing, or other commercial use of the forage, with exception authorizing Secretary to permit managed harvesting and grazing if appropriate requirements were developed and timeframes identified or in a drought or other emergency, and exception for the installation of wind turbines. Pub. L. 110–246, § 2107(1), redesignated par. (7) as (8). Former par. (8) redesignated (9). Subsec. (a)(9) to (11). Pub. L. 110–246, § 2107(1), redesignated pars. (8) to (10) as (9) to (11), respectively. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 110–246, § 2108(b), added subsec. (d). 2003—Subsec. (a)(7)(A)(iii). Pub. L. 108–7 inserted before semicolon “, except that this clause shall not apply to the 2002 calendar year, and the Secretary shall repay the owner or operator (in a manner determined by the Secretary) for any reduction in rental payments made to the owner or operator as the result of the application of this clause to the 2002 calendar year”.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 2008 AmendmentAmendment of this section and repeal of Pub. L. 110–234 by Pub. L. 110–246 effective May 22, 2008, the date of enactment of Pub. L. 110–234, see section 4 of Pub. L. 110–246, set out as an
Effective Date
note under section 8701 of Title 7, Agriculture.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
16 U.S.C. § 3832
Title 16 — Conservation
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73