To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to modernize the conservation reserve program, and for other purposes.
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Finstad introduced the following bill; which was referred to …
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Conservation Reserve Program Modernization Act reforms how the federal government pays farmers to take environmentally sensitive land out of production. It shifts the program's focus from high-quality farmland toward marginal cropland with poorer soils, grasslands, and wetlands that provide greater conservation benefits.
Who Benefits and How
Farmers with marginal, hard-to-farm cropland (Class III-VII soils) benefit from higher rental payments (up to 115% of the base rate) and expanded eligibility. Ranchers and grassland owners gain a new pathway to enroll their land in conservation contracts. Conservation organizations, Indian Tribes, and state governments can now formally partner with USDA to propose land for enrollment. Federal taxpayers benefit from reduced long-term program costs through declining payments for land that stays enrolled across multiple contract periods.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Farmers with high-quality prime farmland (Class I-II soils) face reduced access to the program, with eligibility now requiring at least 85% marginal soils. Landowners who repeatedly reenroll face declining rental payments, starting at 85% for the first reenrollment and dropping 10 percentage points with each subsequent enrollment. Farmers without a documented cropping history of at least 4 out of the past 6 years are now excluded from enrollment.
Key Provisions
- Requires enrolled cropland to consist of at least 85% Class III-VII soils (marginal quality land)
- Creates tiered rental payment caps: 85% of base rate for Class I-II soils, 100% for Class III, and 115% for Class IV-VII
- Establishes declining rental payments for reenrollments: 85% for first reenrollment, minus 10% for each subsequent
- Expands eligibility for grasslands with ecological value and marginal pastureland
- Authorizes States, Indian Tribes, and NGOs to partner with USDA on conservation enrollments
- Adds formal definitions for key terms including "conservation buffer" and "eligible partner"
Evidence Chain:
This summary is derived from the structured analysis below. See "Detailed Analysis" for per-title beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
Primary Purpose
Modernizes the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) by updating definitions, expanding eligible land categories, adjusting payment structures to prioritize environmentally sensitive agricultural lands, and reducing rental payments for successive reenrollments.
Policy Domains
Legislative Strategy
"Refocus CRP enrollment on marginal agricultural lands with greater environmental sensitivity while reducing long-term program costs through declining rental payment rates for successive reenrollments"
Likely Beneficiaries
- Farmers with marginal or environmentally sensitive cropland (Class III-VII soils)
- Farmers with grasslands and rangelands seeking conservation payments
- Conservation organizations partnering on CRP enrollment
- Federal government (reduced costs from declining reenrollment payments)
Likely Burden Bearers
- Farmers with high-quality cropland (Class I-II soils) seeking CRP enrollment
- Landowners seeking to reenroll land multiple times (reduced payments)
- Farmers without documented 4-of-6-year cropping history
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Agriculture
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A practice that provides water quality or resource benefits including grass sod waterways, contour strips, prairie strips, filterstrips, field borders, living snow fences, riparian buffers, shelterbelts, windbreaks, wetland buffers, saturated buffers, bioreactors, wellhead protection areas, and similar practices
Land authorized to be included in the conservation reserve program under section 1231(b)
A State, political subdivision of a State, Indian Tribe, or nongovernmental organization
A soil classification assigned using the land capability classification system in effect on December 23, 1985
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology