Agriculture Resilience Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2803 To address the impact of climate change on agriculture, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 22, 2021 Ms. PINGREE (for herself, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. COHEN, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mrs. HAYES, Mr. KHANNA, Ms. KUSTER, Mr. MCGOVERN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. RYAN, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Ms. SPANBERGER, and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Commit- tees on Ways and Means, Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, Oversight and Reform, and House Administration, for a period to be sub- sequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To address the impact of climate change on agriculture, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Agriculture Resilience Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2803.IH H2803 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2803 IH (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this bill is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—NATIONAL GOAL Sec. 101. Goals. Sec. 102. Action plan. TITLE II—RESEARCH Sec. 201. Research, extension, and education purpose. Sec. 202. Regional hubs for risk adaptation and mitigation to climate change. Sec. 203. Sustainable agriculture research and education resilience initiative. Sec. 204. Sustainable agriculture technology development and transfer pro- gram. Sec. 205. Long-Term Agroecological Network. Sec. 206. Public breed and cultivar research. Sec. 207. ARS Climate Scientist Career Development Program. Sec. 208. Agricultural Climate Adaptation and Mitigation through AFRI. Sec. 209. Specialty crop research initiative. Sec. 210. Integrated pest management. Sec. 211. National Academy of Sciences Study. Sec. 212. Appropriate technology transfer to rural areas. TITLE III—SOIL HEALTH Sec. 301. Crop insurance. Sec. 302. Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Sec. 303. Conservation Stewardship Program. Sec. 304. State assistance for soil health. Sec. 305. Funding and administration. Sec. 306. Carbon tax credit feasibility study. Sec. 307. Conservation compliance. Sec. 308. Agroforestry centers. TITLE IV—FARMLAND PRESERVATION AND FARM VIABILITY Sec. 401. Local Agriculture Market Program. Sec. 402. Organic certification cost-share program. Sec. 403. Exclusion of gain from sale of certain farm property and agricultural easements. Sec. 404. Farmland Protection Policy Act. Sec. 405. Agriculture conservation easement program. TITLE V—PASTURE-BASED LIVESTOCK Sec. 501. Animal raising claims. Sec. 502. Processing Resilience Grant Program. Sec. 503. Conservation of private grazing land. Sec. 504. Conservation reserve program. Sec. 505. Alternative Manure Management Program. TITLE VI—ON-FARM RENEWABLE ENERGY Sec. 601. Rural Energy For America Program. VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H2803.IH H2803 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2803 IH Sec. 602. Study on dual-use renewable energy systems. Sec. 603. AgSTAR program. TITLE VII—FOOD LOSS AND WASTE Subtitle A—Food Date Labeling Sec. 701. Definitions. Sec. 702. Quality dates and discard dates. Sec. 703. Misbranding. Sec. 704. Regulations. Sec. 705. Delayed applicability. Subtitle B—Other Provisions Sec. 711. Composting as conservation practice. Sec. 712. Amendments to Federal Food Donation Act. Sec. 713. Grants for composting and anaerobic digestion food waste-to-energy projects. Sec. 714. School food waste reduction grant program. TITLE I—NATIONAL GOAL 1 SEC. 101. GOALS. 2 (a) UNITED STATES AGRICULTURE GOAL.—As part 3 of a national greenhouse gas emission reduction effort to 4 prevent climate change from exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius 5 of warming above preindustrial levels, the goal for the ag- 6 ricultural sector in the United States shall be to achieve 7 at least a 50 percent reduction in net greenhouse gases 8 from 2010 levels by not later than 2030 and to achieve 9 net zero emissions by not later than 2040. 10 (b) SUBGOALS.— 11 (1) RESEARCH.—To help achieve the goal speci- 12 fied in subsection (a), the total Federal investment 13 in public food and agriculture research and exten- 14 sion should, at a minimum, triple by not later than 15 2030 and quadruple by not later than 2040, with a 16 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2803.IH H2803 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2803 IH heightened emphasis on climate change adaptation 1 and mitigation, soil health and carbon sequestration, 2 nutrient and manure management to curb nitrous 3 oxide and methane emissions, agroforestry, advanced 4 grazing management and crop-livestock integration, 5 other agro-ecological systems, on-farm and food sys- 6 tem energy efficiency and renewable energy produc- 7 tion, farmland preservation and viability, food waste 8 reduction, and related topics to accelerate progress 9 toward net zero emissions by not later than 2040. 10 (2) SOIL HEALTH.—To help achieve the goal 11 specified in subsection (a) the United States 12 should— 13 (A) immediately become a member of the 14 4 per 1000 Initiative’s forum and consortium, 15 hosted by the Consultative Group for Inter- 16 national Agricultural Research (commonly re- 17 ferred to as the ‘‘CGIAR’’), with the aim of in- 18 creasing total soil carbon stocks by 0.4 percent 19 annually to reduce carbon in the atmosphere, 20 restore soil health and productivity, and thereby 21 improve food security; 22 (B) expand adoption of soil health prac- 23 tices (including diverse crop rotations, cover 24 cropping, conservation tillage, perennial crop 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2803.IH H2803 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2803 IH production systems, agroforestry, composting, 1 biologically based nutrient management, and 2 advanced grazing management including 3 silvopasture) sufficiently to— 4 (i) reduce nitrous oxide emissions 5 from agricultural soils in the United States 6 by 25 percent by not later than 2030 and 7 75 percent by not later than 2040; and 8 (ii) increase soil carbon stocks by 0.4 9 percent annually on at least 50 percent of 10 United States agricultural lands by not 11 later than 2030, and to meet or exceed 12 that threshold on all United States agricul- 13 tural lands by not later than 2040; 14 (C) expand implementation of regionally 15 appropriate cover crops and other continual liv- 16 ing cover so that— 17 (i) at least 50 percent of cropland 18 acres nationwide include one or more cover 19 crops or other continual living cover in 20 their rotations by not later than 2030, ris- 21 ing to at least 75 percent of cropland acres 22 nationwide by not later than 2040; and 23 (ii) cropland acres are covered by 24 crops (including forages and hay crops), 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2803.IH H2803 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2803 IH cover crops, or residue for an average of 1 75 percent of the calendar year by not 2 later than 2030, rising to at least 85 per- 3 cent of the calendar year by not later than 4 2040; and 5 (D) encourage conversion of at least 15 6 percent of current annual grain crop acres to 7 agroforestry, perennial grazing, perennial grain 8 crops, or other perennial production systems by 9 not later than 2030, rising to at least 30 per- 10 cent by not later than 2040. 11 (3) FARMLAND PRESERVATION.—To help 12 achieve the goal specified in subsection (a), the rate 13 of conversion in the United States of agricultural 14 land to development, as well as the rate of grassland 15 conversion to cropping, should be reduced by at least 16 80 percent by not later than 2030 and eliminated by 17 not later than 2040. 18 (4) PASTURE-BASED LIVESTOCK.—To help 19 achieve the goal specified in subsection (a), the live- 20 stock sector in the United States should— 21 (A) establish advanced grazing manage- 22 ment, including management-intensive rota- 23 tional grazing, on at least 50 percent of all 24 grazing lands by not later than 2030 and 100 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2803.IH H2803 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2803 IH percent of all grazing land by not later than 1 2040; 2 (B) reduce greenhouse gas emissions re- 3 lated to feeding of ruminants by at least a third 4 by not later than 2030 and by at least 50 per- 5 cent by not later than 2040 by reducing non- 6 grazing feeding of ruminants, growing feed 7 grains and forages with soil health and nutrient 8 management practices that minimize net green- 9 house gas emissions from cropland, and design- 10 ing livestock feed mixtures and supplements to 11 mitigate enteric methane emissions; 12 (C) re-integrate livestock and crop produc- 13 tion systems at farm, local and regional levels 14 to facilitate environmentally sound management 15 and field application of manure and reduce the 16 need for long-term manure storage by increas- 17 ing acreage on individual farms under crop-live- 18 stock integrated management by at least 100 19 percent over 2017 levels by not later than 2030 20 and by 300 percent over 2017 levels by not 21 later than 2040; and 22 (D) immediately cease building any new or 23 expanded waste lagoons for confined animal 24 feeding operations and convert at least one 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2803.IH H2803 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2803 IH third of wet manure handling and storage to al- 1 ternative manure management (as described in 2 section 1240T of the Food Security Act of 3 1985 (as added by this Act)) by not later than 4 2030 and at least two thirds by not later than 5 2040. 6 (5) ON-FARM RENEWABLE ENERGY.—To help 7 achieve the goal specified in subsection (a), the agri- 8 culture sector in the United States should— 9 (A) implement energy audits and energy 10 efficiency improvements on at least 50 percent 11 of farms by not later than 2030 and 100 per- 12 cent of farms by not later than 2040; 13 (B) expand on-farm clean renewable en- 14 ergy production to at least double 2017 levels 15 by not later than 2030 and at least triple by 16 not later than 2040; and 17 (C) install and manage on-farm renewable 18 energy infrastructure in a way that does not 19 compromise the climate resilience and green- 20 house gas mitigation goals of this Act or ad- 21 versely impact farmland, soil, and water re- 22 sources, or food production. 23 (6) FOOD LOSS AND WASTE.—Consistent with 24 the Food Waste Challenge launched by the Depart- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2803.IH H2803 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2803 IH ment of Agriculture and the Environmental Protec- 1 tion Agency in June 2013 and the national food loss 2 and waste goal announced in September 2015, the 3 food and agriculture sector in the United States 4 should commit to— 5 (A) at least a 50 percent reduction in food 6 loss and waste by not later than 2030; 7 (B) at least a 75 percent reduction in food 8 loss and waste by not later than 2040; and 9 (C) in a manner consistent with the Food 10 Recovery Hierarchy established by the Environ- 11 mental Protection Agency, diverting from land- 12 fills through composting and other means at 13 least 50 percent of unavoidable food waste and 14 food processing byproducts by not later than 15 2030, and 90 percent of such food waste and 16 byproducts by not later than 2040. 17 SEC. 102. ACTION PLAN. 18 (a) PLAN DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary shall de- 19 velop a plan for actions to achieve, in combination with 20 the other Federal agencies, the national goals declared by 21 section 101. The plan shall include actions that will make 22 significant and rapid progress toward meeting such goals. 23 (b) ACTIONS TO MEET GOALS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2803.IH H2803 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2803 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Actions selected by the Sec- 1 retary to include in a plan developed under sub- 2 section (a) may include issuing regulations, pro- 3 viding incentives, carrying out research and develop- 4 ment programs, and any other action the Secretary 5 determines appropriate to achieve the goals declared 6 by section 101. 7 (2) SELECTION.—In selecting actions to include 8 in a plan developed under subsection (a), the Sec- 9 retary shall select actions designed to— 10 (A) fully implement the provisions of this 11 Act (and the amendments made by this Act); 12 (B) provide benefits for farmers and 13 ranchers, rural communities, small businesses, 14 and consumers; 15 (C) improve public health, resilience, and 16 environmental outcomes, especially for rural 17 and low-income households, communities of 18 color, Tribal and indigenous communities, and 19 communities that are disproportionately vulner- 20 able to the impacts of climate change, air and 21 water pollution, and other resource degradation; 22 and 23 (D) prioritize investments that reduce 24 emissions of greenhouse gases and sequester 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:47 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2803.IH H2803 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2803 IH carbon while simultaneously helping to solve 1 other pressing agro-environmental resource con- 2 cerns, increase farming and ranching opportuni- 3 ties, create quality jobs, improve farmworker 4 working conditions and living standards, and 5 make communities more resilient to the effects 6 of climate change. 7 (c) PLAN IMPLEMENTATION.— 8 (1) PUBLIC COMMENT.—Not later than 12 9 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 10 Secretary shall make the proposed plan developed 11 under subsection (a) available for public comment. 12 (2) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 18 months 13 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 14 retary shall make public and submit to Congress a 15 plan developed under subsection (a) that incor- 16 porates revisions to the proposed plan, as appro- 17 priate, to address the reco [Text truncated for display. 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