[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5354 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5354
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of
Agriculture to establish a small farm EQIP subprogram under the
environmental quality incentives program, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 8, 2023
Ms. Caraveo (for herself, Mr. Vasquez, Ms. Slotkin, and Ms. Pettersen)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Agriculture
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Secretary of
Agriculture to establish a small farm EQIP subprogram under the
environmental quality incentives program, 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 ``Small Farm Conservation Act''.
SEC. 2. SMALL FARM EQIP SUBPROGRAM.
Section 1240B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa-2)
is amended--
(1) in subsection (d)--
(A) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the
following:
``(1) Availability; minimum amount.--
``(A) Availability.--A payment provided to a
producer under the program shall be used to implement 1
or more practices under the program.
``(B) Minimum amount.--The amount of a payment
provided to a producer under the program shall be not
less than $2,500.'';
(B) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding
subparagraph (A), by striking ``A payment'' and
inserting ``Subject to paragraph (1)(B), a payment'';
and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
``(8) Soil health management system payments.--
``(A) In general.--Notwithstanding paragraph (2),
the Secretary shall increase the amount that would
otherwise be provided for practices comprising a soil
health management system on a farm by 50 percent for
any application for a soil health management system on
an operation of not more than 50 acres.
``(B) Rapid and streamlined application and
contract approval.--The Secretary shall provide
payments under this paragraph on a continuous
enrollment basis, using a rapid and streamlined
application and contract approval process.'';
(2) in subsection (f), by adding at the end the following:
``(3) Small farm eqip subprogram.--
``(A) Total funding.--For each of fiscal years 2024
through 2028, not less than $100,000,000 of the funds
made available for payments under the program shall be
used to carry out the subprogram established under
subsection (k).
``(B) Technical and financial assistance.--Of the
amounts made available under subparagraph (A)--
``(i) 35 percent shall be used to ensure
the provision of tailored technical assistance
for small-scale agricultural producers by--
``(I) hiring new Natural Resources
Conservation Service staff who are
familiar with the unique conservation
challenges faced by small-scale
agricultural producers;
``(II) training current Natural
Resources Conservation Service field
staff regarding the challenges
described in subclause (I); and
``(III) ensuring sufficient Natural
Resources Conservation Service staffing
levels to deliver a streamlined and
expedited application and contracting
experience to small-scale agricultural
producers; and
``(ii) 65 percent shall be used to provide
financial assistance directly to small-scale
agricultural producers.''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(k) Small Farm EQIP Subprogram.--
``(1) In general.--In each State, the Secretary shall
establish under the program a subprogram, under which the
Secretary shall--
``(A) provide financial and technical assistance to
small-scale agricultural producers that enter into
contracts with the Secretary under the subprogram;
``(B) conduct outreach to small-scale agricultural
producers to increase participation in the subprogram;
and
``(C) provide to field staff of the Natural
Resources Conservation Service training and education
regarding the specific conservation needs of small-
scale agricultural producers.
``(2) Payments.--
``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall determine
whether a small-scale agricultural producer is eligible
to receive payments under this subsection--
``(i) on a State-by-State basis, subject to
subparagraph (C);
``(ii) in consultation with the technical
committee established under section 1261(a) of
the State in which the small-scale agricultural
producer is located; and
``(iii) based on--
``(I) the operations of a small-
scale agricultural producer, including
with respect to farm size and gross
sales;
``(II) demographic data compiled by
the National Agricultural Statistics
Service relating to small-scale
agricultural producers, including--
``(aa) historically
underserved farmers, ranchers,
and forest owners, including--
``(AA) veteran
farmers and ranchers;
``(BB) limited-
resource farmers,
ranchers, and forest
owners;
``(CC) beginning
farmers and ranchers;
and
``(DD) socially
disadvantaged farmers;
and
``(bb) farmers, ranchers,
and forest owners operating in
high-poverty areas;
``(III) the applicable advanced
payment requirements under subsection
(d)(4); and
``(IV) other relevant information,
as determined by the Secretary.
``(B) Amount.--The Secretary shall provide payments
under this subsection to a producer that is eligible
for the payments under subparagraph (A) in such amount
as the Secretary determines--
``(i) achieves the purposes described in
subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1);
``(ii) addresses natural resource concerns
relating to production on small-scale
agricultural operations; and
``(iii) is in accordance with any
applicable increased payment requirements under
subsection (d)(4).
``(C) Size requirements.--
``(i) In general.--To be eligible to
receive a payment under subparagraph (A) (other
than a payment described in clause (ii)), the
farm size of an agricultural producer may not
exceed the median farm size of the State in
which the producer is located, based on
aggregate data published by the National
Agricultural Statistics Service.
``(ii) Livestock and pasture management
payments.--To be eligible to receive a
livestock or pasture management payment under
subparagraph (A), the herd size of an
agricultural producer may not exceed the median
herd size of the State in which the producer is
located, based on aggregate data published by
the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
``(3) Applications.--
``(A) In general.--To be eligible to receive
financial and technical assistance under this
subsection, a producer that is eligible for the
assistance under paragraph (2)(A) shall submit to the
Secretary an application at such time, in such manner,
and containing such information as the Secretary may
require.
``(B) Administration.--To the maximum extent
practicable, the Secretary shall limit the
administrative burdens, and the regulatory barriers
that contribute to administrative burdens, on producers
applying for payments under this subsection.
``(C) Rapid and streamlined application and
contract approval.--The Secretary shall provide
payments under this paragraph on a continuous
enrollment basis, using a rapid and streamlined
application and contract approval process.
``(4) Subprogram coordinators.--
``(A) In general.--Subject to subparagraph (B), the
Secretary shall designate--
``(i) a national subprogram coordinator;
and
``(ii) a subprogram coordinator in each
State.
``(B) Requirements.--At the time of designation
under subparagraph (A), a national or State subprogram
coordinator shall be--
``(i) an employee of the Natural Resources
Conservation Service; and
``(ii) responsible for, on a national or
statewide basis, respectively--
``(I) public outreach relating to
the subprogram;
``(II) assisting producers in the
submission of applications under the
subprogram;
``(III) distributing financial and
technical assistance under this
subsection; and
``(IV) submitting to the Secretary
annual recommendations with respect to
additional conservation practice
standards and activities required to
better serve small-scale agricultural
producers.
``(5) Language requirements.--The Secretary shall publish
any outreach materials for small-scale agricultural producers
relating to the subprogram under this subsection simultaneously
in--
``(A) English; and
``(B) such additional languages as the Secretary
determines to be appropriate for each applicable State.
``(6) Report.--Not later than May 1, 2027, the Secretary
shall submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on Agriculture of the
House of Representatives a report describing the results of the
subprogram under this subsection, including--
``(A) activities carried out under paragraph (3)(B)
to limit administrative burdens and regulatory
barriers; and
``(B) to the maximum extent practicable,
demographic information relating to each small-scale
agricultural producer participating in the subprogram,
as the Secretary determines to be appropriate.''.
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