I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5861 To address the impact of climate change on agriculture, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 12, 2020 Ms. PINGREE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Ways and Means, Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, Oversight and Re- form, and House Administration, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined 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 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this bill is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—NATIONAL GOAL VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Feb 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H5861.IH H5861 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5861 IH 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. Grants for reimbursement of compliance costs for very small proc- essors of meat food products and poultry products. 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. Sec. 602. Study on dual-use renewable energy systems. Sec. 603. AgSTAR program. TITLE VII—FOOD LOSS AND WASTE Subtitle A—Food Date Labeling VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Feb 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H5861.IH H5861 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5861 IH 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 heightened emphasis on climate change adaptation 17 and mitigation, soil health, agro-forestry, advanced 18 grazing management and crop-livestock integration, 19 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Feb 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5861.IH H5861 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5861 IH other agro-ecological systems, on-farm and food sys- 1 tem energy efficiency and renewable energy produc- 2 tion, farmland preservation and viability, food waste 3 reduction, and related topics to accelerate progress 4 toward net zero emissions by not later than 2040. 5 (2) SOIL HEALTH.—To help achieve the goal 6 specified in subsection (a)— 7 (A) the United States should immediately 8 become a member of the 4 per 1000 Initiative’s 9 forum and consortium, hosted by the Consult- 10 ative Group for International Agricultural Re- 11 search (commonly referred to as the ‘‘CGIAR’’), 12 with the aim of increasing total soil carbon 13 stocks by 0.4 percent annually to reduce carbon 14 in the atmosphere, restore soil health and pro- 15 ductivity, and thereby improve food security; 16 (B) the agricultural sector should expand 17 adoption of soil health practices (including di- 18 verse crop rotations, cover cropping, conserva- 19 tion tillage, perennialization of highly erodible 20 land, agroforestry, composting, biologically 21 based nutrient management, and advanced 22 grazing management including silvopasture) 23 sufficiently to restore at least a quarter of the 24 soil carbon that has been lost in the last 300 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Feb 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5861.IH H5861 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5861 IH years by not later than 2030 and at least half 1 of lost soil carbon by not later than 2040; and 2 (C) cover crop acres in the United States 3 should increase to at least 25 percent of crop 4 acres by not later than 2030 and at least 50 5 percent by not later than 2040, with at least 50 6 percent of cropland acres covered by crops, 7 cover crops, or residue year-round by not later 8 than 2030 rising to at least 75 percent by not 9 later than 2040. 10 (3) FARMLAND PRESERVATION.—To help 11 achieve the goal specified in subsection (a), the rate 12 of conversion in the United States of agricultural 13 land to development, as well as the rate of grassland 14 conversion to cropping, should be reduced by at least 15 80 percent by not later than 2030 and eliminated by 16 not later than 2040. 17 (4) PASTURE-BASED LIVESTOCK.—To help 18 achieve the goal specified in subsection (a), the live- 19 stock sector in the United States should— 20 (A) establish advanced grazing manage- 21 ment, including management-intensive rota- 22 tional grazing, on at least 50 percent of all 23 grazing lands by not later than 2030 and 100 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Feb 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5861.IH H5861 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5861 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 50 19 percent over 2017 levels by not later than 2030 20 and by 100 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 21:50 Feb 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5861.IH H5861 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5861 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 adversely impact farmland, soil, and water re- 20 sources, or food production. 21 (6) FOOD LOSS AND WASTE.—Consistent with 22 the Food Waste Challenge launched by the Depart- 23 ment of Agriculture and the Environmental Protec- 24 tion Agency in June 2013 and the national food loss 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Feb 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5861.IH H5861 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5861 IH and waste goal announced in September 2015, the 1 food and agriculture sector in the United States 2 should commit to— 3 (A) at least a 50 percent reduction in food 4 loss and waste by not later than 2030; and 5 (B) at least a 75 percent reduction in food 6 loss and waste by not later than 2040. 7 SEC. 102. ACTION PLAN. 8 (a) PLAN DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary shall de- 9 velop a plan for actions to achieve, in combination with 10 the other Federal agencies, the national goals declared by 11 section 101. The plan shall include actions that will make 12 significant and rapid progress toward meeting such goals. 13 (b) ACTIONS TO MEET GOALS.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Actions selected by the Sec- 15 retary to include in a plan developed under sub- 16 section (a) may include issuing regulations, pro- 17 viding incentives, carrying out research and develop- 18 ment programs, and any other action the Secretary 19 determines appropriate to achieve the goals declared 20 by section 101. 21 (2) SELECTION.—In selecting actions to include 22 in a plan developed under subsection (a), the Sec- 23 retary shall select actions designed to— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Feb 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5861.IH H5861 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5861 IH (A) fully implement the provisions of this 1 Act (and the amendments made by this Act); 2 (B) provide benefits for farmers and 3 ranchers, rural communities, small businesses, 4 and consumers; 5 (C) improve public health, resilience, and 6 environmental outcomes, especially for rural 7 and low-income households, communities of 8 color, Tribal and indigenous communities, and 9 communities that are disproportionately vulner- 10 able to the impacts of climate change, air and 11 water pollution, and other resource degradation; 12 and 13 (D) prioritize investments that reduce 14 emissions of greenhouse gases and sequester 15 carbon while simultaneously helping to solve 16 other pressing agro-environmental resource con- 17 cerns, increase farming and ranching opportuni- 18 ties, create quality jobs, improve farmworker 19 working conditions and living standards, and 20 make communities more resilient to the effects 21 of climate change. 22 (c) PLAN IMPLEMENTATION.— 23 (1) PUBLIC COMMENT.—Not later than 12 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Feb 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5861.IH H5861 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5861 IH Secretary shall make the proposed plan developed 1 under subsection (a) available for public comment. 2 (2) SUBMISSION.—Not later than 18 months 3 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 4 retary shall make public and submit to Congress a 5 plan developed under subsection (a) that incor- 6 porates revisions to the proposed plan, as appro- 7 priate, to address the recommendations provided by 8 the public pursuant to paragraph (1). 9 (3) IMPLEMENTATION.—Beginning not later 10 than 18 months after the date of enactment of this 11 Act, the Secretary shall implement the plan devel- 12 oped under subsection (a) and submitted to Con- 13 gress under paragraph (2). 14 (4) REVISIONS.—Beginning 24 months after 15 the date on which the Secretary submits to Congress 16 the plan under paragraph (2) and not less frequently 17 than once every 24 months thereafter, the Secretary 18 shall review and revise the plan to ensure it is suffi- 19 cient to achieve the national goals declared by sec- 20 tion 101. The Secretary shall include the conclusion 21 of each such review and any revised plan resulting 22 from such review in the next annual report required 23 under paragraph (5). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:50 Feb 28, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5861.IH H5861 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 5861 IH (5) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall 1 issue an annual public report on the plan (including 2 any revisions to such plan), actions taken pursuant 3 to such plan, and the effects of such actions, during 4 the preceding calendar year. 5 TITLE II—RESEARCH 6 SEC. 201. RESEARCH, EXTENSION, AND EDUCATION PUR- 7 POSE. 8 Section 1402 of the National Agricultural Research, 9 Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 10 3101) is amended— 11 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (8) and (9) as 12 paragraphs (9) and (10), respectively; and 13 (2) by inserting after paragraph (7) the fol- 14 lowing: 15 ‘‘(8) accelerate the ability of agriculture and the 16 food system of the United States to first achie [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]