§3831c Pilot Programs

Summary

The Secretary must set up two pilot programs for the Conservation Reserve Program. Covered contract: a CRP contract that expired on or after December 20, 2018 and involved land in the program priority for clean lakes, estuaries, and rivers. Eligible land: cropland in parts of the prairie pothole region with a 3‑year cropping history that is less productive than other fields on the farm and was not in CRP during the previous 3 crop years. First, a 30‑year CLEAR 30 option lets owners of land from an expired covered contract enroll for 30 years. At contract end, owners can choose not to reenroll, to reenroll, or to use a CLEAR 30 contract. Owners must follow a conservation plan, follow the contract rules, and temporarily pause the land’s base history. The contract allows some uses like hunting, fishing, managed timber, and occasional haying or grazing if the plan allows them and they protect the conservation goals. It bans actions that would harm habitat or natural features unless the Secretary approves them, and limits spraying or mowing except for approved weed, pest, or wildlife needs. Payments are made in 30 annual cash installments equal to the same annual amount that would apply under the clean lakes priority. The Secretary can require repayment with interest for violations, help owners meet the rules, work with partners, delegate some duties, and count acres toward CRP acreage limits. Second, a Soil Health and Income Protection pilot lets eligible prairie pothole cropland enroll through 3‑ to 5‑year voluntary contracts if enrolled by December 31, 2020. Contracts require planting the lowest‑cost perennial conserving cover crop chosen by the State conservationist. Normally the owner pays planting costs and gets an annual rental payment equal to 50 percent of the county average rent. Beginning, limited‑resource, socially disadvantaged, or veteran farmers get half of establishment costs paid from Commodity Credit Corporation funds and a rental rate equal to 75 percent of the county average. No more than 15 percent of a farm’s eligible land may enroll, and the program may enroll up to 50,000 acres total. Harvesting, haying, or grazing is allowed outside primary nesting season with rules to protect soil and wildlife; seed harvest makes the land ineligible for federal crop insurance and cuts the rental by 25 percent. The Secretary must give the Agriculture Committees an annual report on enrolled acres, estimated conservation value, and estimated savings.