United States Code
16 U.S.C. § 3839aa-1
Definitions
Statute Watch
Get an alert when any bill in Congress would change this law — and every time it moves.
Sign in to follow →Bills that would change it 46
- S 4811 Tribal Conservation Priorities Inclusion Act Amends 3839aa-1(7) · introduced · 119th Congress
- HR 7567 Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 Amends 3839aa-1(6) · introduced · 119th Congress
- HR 7627 Tribal Conservation Priorities Inclusion Act Amends 3839aa-1(7) · introduced · 119th Congress
- HR 7330 DALCI Act Amends its part · introduced · 119th Congress
- HR 5902 Innovative Practices for Soil Health Act of 2025 Amends · introduced · 119th Congress
- HR 5875 COWS Act of 2025 Amends · introduced · 119th Congress
- HR 6143 PRECISE Act Amends 3839aa-1(6)(B)(v) · introduced · 119th Congress
- S 1616 PRECISE Act of 2025 Amends 3839aa-1(6)(B)(v) · introduced · 119th Congress
- S 1507 Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025 Amends · introduced · 119th Congress
- HR 3077 Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025 Amends · introduced · 119th Congress
- HR 2235 Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act of 2025 Amends · introduced · 119th Congress
- HR 1824 Food and Farm Act Amends · introduced · 118th Congress
- HR 7076 Innovative Practices for Soil Health Act of 2024 Amends · introduced · 118th Congress
- HR 6821 Healthy Farms Healthy Watersheds Act of 2023 Amends its part · introduced · 118th Congress
- HR 8676 EMIT LESS Act of 2024 Enteric Methane Innovation Tools for Lower Emissions and Sustainable Stock Act of 2024 Amends · introduced · 118th Congress
- HR 8467 Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2024 Amends 3839aa-1(6)(B)(v) · introduced · 118th Congress
- HR 8104 Habitat Connectivity on Working Lands Act Amends · introduced · 118th Congress
- S 4056 EMIT LESS Act of 2024 Amends · introduced · 118th Congress
- HR 5503 Tribal Conservation Priorities Inclusion Act Amends 3839aa-1(7) · introduced · 118th Congress
- HR 4327 Converting Our Waste Sustainably (COWS) Act of 2023 Amends 3839aa-1(6)(A)(ii) · introduced · 118th Congress
- S 2479 Converting Our Waste Sustainably (COWS) Act of 2023 Amends 3839aa-1(6)(A)(ii) · introduced · 118th Congress
- S 1998 Tribal Conservation Priorities Inclusion Act Amends 3839aa-1(7) · introduced · 118th Congress
- HR 1459 PRECISE Act Amends 3839aa-1(6)(B)(v) · introduced · 118th Congress
- HR 1840 Agriculture Resilience Act of 2023 Amends · introduced · 118th Congress
- S 1016 Agriculture Resilience Act of 2023 Amends · introduced · 118th Congress
- S 720 PRECISE Act of 2023 Amends 3839aa-1(6)(B)(v) · introduced · 118th Congress
- HR 7606 Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act Amends 3839aa-1(6)(B)(v) · introduced · 117th Congress
- HR 8069 Reducing Farm Input Costs and Barriers to Domestic Production Act Amends 3839aa-1(6)(B)(v) · introduced · 117th Congress
- HR 2518 PRECISE Act Amends 3839aa-1(6)(B)(v) · introduced · 117th Congress
- HR 7663 Great Lakes Agricultural Stewardship Act Amends its part · introduced · 117th Congress
- HR 2534 Climate Stewardship Act of 2021 Amends · introduced · 117th Congress
- HR 2803 Agriculture Resilience Act Amends 3839aa-1(6)(B) · introduced · 117th Congress
- S 1337 Agriculture Resilience Act of 2021 Amends 3839aa-1(6)(B) · introduced · 117th Congress
- S 1072 Climate Stewardship Act of 2021 Amends · introduced · 117th Congress
- HR 5861 Agriculture Resilience Act Amends 3839aa-1(6)(B) · introduced · 116th Congress
- HR 4269 Climate Stewardship Act of 2019 Amends · introduced · 116th Congress
- S 2452 Climate Stewardship Act of 2019 Amends · introduced · 116th Congress
- HR 2141 Great Lakes Agricultural Stewardship Act Amends its part · introduced · 116th Congress
- HR 2 Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 Amends · introduced · 115th Congress
- S 3005 Urban Agriculture Act of 2018 Amends 3839aa-1(4)(A) · introduced · 115th Congress
- S 2874 SOIL Stewardship Act Amends · introduced · 115th Congress
- HR 5627 Farmers CARE Act Amends · introduced · 115th Congress
- S 2624 EQIP Improvement Act of 2018 Amends · introduced · 115th Congress
- S 2611 A bill to amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to repeal the environmental quality incentives program. Repeals · introduced · 115th Congress
- HR 5188 SOIL Stewardship Act Amends · introduced · 115th Congress
- HR 4425 Food and Farm Act Amends · introduced · 115th Congress
The law today
From the official United States Code, current through Public Law 119-121.
In this subpart:
(1) Conservation planning assessment The term “conservation planning assessment” means a report, as determined by the Secretary, that—
(A) is developed by—
(i) a State or unit of local government (including a conservation district);
(ii) a Federal agency; or
(iii) a third-party provider certified under section 3842(e) of this title (including a certified rangeland professional);
(B) assesses rangeland or cropland function and describes conservation activities to enhance the economic and ecological management of that land; and
(C) can be incorporated into a comprehensive planning document required by the Secretary for enrollment in a conservation program of the Department of Agriculture.
(2) Eligible land (A) In general
The term “eligible land” means land on which agricultural commodities, livestock, or forest-related products are produced.
(B) Inclusions The term “eligible land” includes the following:
(i) Cropland.
(ii) Grassland.
(iii) Rangeland.
(iv) Pasture land.
(v) Nonindustrial private forest land.
(vi) Other agricultural land (including cropped woodland, marshes, environmentally sensitive areas, and agricultural land used for the production of livestock) on which identified or expected resource concerns related to agricultural production could be addressed through a contract under the program, as determined by the Secretary.
(3) Incentive practice
The term “incentive practice” means a practice or set of practices approved by the Secretary that, when implemented and maintained on eligible land, address 1 or more priority resource concerns.
(4) Organic system plan
The term “organic system plan” means an organic plan approved under the national organic program established under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.).
(5) Payment The term “payment” means financial assistance provided to a producer for performing practices under this subpart, including compensation for—
(A) incurred costs associated with planning, design, materials, equipment, installation, labor, management, maintenance, or training; and
(B) income forgone by the producer.
(6) Practice The term “practice” means 1 or more improvements and conservation activities that are consistent with the purposes of the program under this subpart, as determined by the Secretary, including—
(A) improvements to eligible land of the producer, including—
(i) structural practices;
(ii) land management practices;
(iii) vegetative practices;
(iv) forest management;
(v) soil testing;
(vi) soil remediation to be carried out by the producer; and
(vii) other practices that the Secretary determines would further the purposes of the program; and
(B) conservation activities involving the development of plans appropriate for the eligible land of the producer, including—
(i) comprehensive nutrient management planning;
(ii) planning for resource-conserving crop rotations (as defined in section 3839aa–24(d)(1) of this title);
(iii) soil health planning, including increasing soil organic matter and the use of cover crops;
(iv) a conservation planning assessment;
(v) precision conservation management planning; and
(vi) other plans that the Secretary determines would further the purposes of the program under this subpart.
(7) Priority resource concern The term “priority resource concern” means a natural resource concern or problem, as determined by the Secretary, that—
(A) is identified at the national, State, or local level as a priority for a particular area of a State; and
(B) represents a significant concern in a State or region.
(8) Program
The term “program” means the environmental quality incentives program established by this subpart.
(9) Soil remediation The term “soil remediation” means scientifically based practices that—
(A) ensure the safety of producers from contaminants in soil;
(B) limit contaminants in soil from entering agricultural products for human or animal consumption; and
(C) regenerate and sustain the soil.
(10) Soil testing The term “soil testing” means the evaluation of soil health, including testing for—
(A) the optimal level of constituents in the soil, such as organic matter, nutrients, and the potential presence of soil contaminants, including heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or other contaminants; and
(B) the biological and physical characteristics indicative of proper soil functioning.
Official text at uscode.house.gov ↗