Section 1 Short title
This Act may be cited as the “Healthy Soils Healthy Climate Act of 2023”.
Healthy Soils Healthy Climate Act of 2023
A BILL
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to create permanent payments within the environmental quality incentives program for soil health practices and carbon sequestration monitoring, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Amendments to the Food Security Act of 1985
Increased payments for high-Priority practices— Section 1240B(d)(7)(A) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(d)(7)(A)) is amended—
in clause (iii), by striking “or” at the end;
in clause (iv), by striking the period at the end and inserting “; or”; and
by adding at the end the following:
“(v) increases soil organic carbon levels.”
Incentive payments for soil health practices and carbon sequestration monitoring—
In general— Section 1240B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(k) Incentive payments for soil health practices and carbon sequestration monitoring
“(1) Provision of payments—The Secretary shall provide incentive payments under this subsection to producers to adopt practices designed to increase soil organic carbon levels.
“(2) Requirements—In providing the incentive payments under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall establish—
“(A) payments to provide an incentive for the use of practices across a variety of geographic regions;
“(B) regionally appropriate protocols for measuring soil organic carbon levels and soil microbiology levels before and after treatment under this subsection to measure gains in soil health as a result of the practices; and
“(C) protocols and record keeping standards for in-field sampling to ensure consistency and the development of new carbon and ecosystem services markets.
“(3) Priority—In providing incentive payments under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give priority to providing the payments to—
“(A) small producers, as determined by the Secretary;
“(B) producers in rural areas, as determined by the Secretary; and
“(C) socially disadvantaged farmers, as determined by the Secretary.
“(4) Study; report to Congress
“(A) Study—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this subsection, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall conduct a study regarding changes in soil health and soil organic carbon levels as a result of the practices used under this subsection.
“(B) Report to Congress—Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this subsection, and every 2 years thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report describing and analyzing the results of the study conducted under subparagraph (A).
“(C) Inclusion—The report under subparagraph (B) shall include an analysis of—
“(i) the effect of various practices on soil organic carbon levels;
“(ii) the extent to which the lessons learned in carrying out this subsection can be transferred to other geographic regions;
“(iii) further data required to substantiate the connection between soil organic carbon levels and crop yield and resiliency, if applicable;
“(iv) the effect of multiple practices on soil organic carbon levels;
“(v) potential barriers to data collection across a variety of geographic regions; and
“(vi) carbon permanence and loss of any sequestered carbon, based on weather, management, and other relevant factors, and the depth of sequestered carbon.”
Funding— Section 1240B(f) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(f)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(3) Incentive payments for soil health practices and carbon sequestration monitoring—For each fiscal year for which funds are made available under section 1241(a)(3)(A), of the funds made available for payments under the program, $100,000,000 shall be used to provide incentive payments under subsection (k).”
Priority for soil health and carbon sequestration— Section 1240B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2) (as amended by subsection (b)(1)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(l) Priority for soil health and carbon sequestration
“(1) In general—To the maximum extent feasible, the Secretary shall manage the program to promote practices that enhance soil health and increase soil organic carbon levels.
“(2) Soil health and carbon sequestration on eligible land—The Secretary shall—
“(A) develop ranking and scoring criteria under the program that prioritize soil health practices that score highest in soil carbon sequestration on eligible land; and
“(B) develop a soil organic carbon conservation activity plan under the program to measure and monitor sequestration and mitigation improvement levels from the practices described in subparagraph (A), such as cover crops, crop rotation, and improved soil management.”
Streamlining and coordination— Section 1240B of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2) (as amended by subsection (c)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
“(m) Streamlining and coordination—To the maximum extent feasible, the Secretary shall provide for streamlined and coordinated procedures for the program and the conservation stewardship program under subchapter B, including applications, contracting, conservation planning, conservation practices, and related administrative procedures.”
On-Farm conservation innovation trials— Section 1240H(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–8(c)) is amended—
in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “2031” and inserting “2023, and $100,000,000 of the funds made available to carry out this subchapter for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2031”; and
in paragraph (7), in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting “including not less than 50 percent of the funds made available to carry out this subsection for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2031,” after “subsection,”.
Soil health and carbon science research program at agriculture research stations— The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a program—
to provide grants to land-grant colleges and universities to conduct research relating to soil health and carbon science, including—
the effect of various practices on soil organic carbon levels;
the extent to which the lessons learned from the effects described in subparagraph (A) can be transferred to other geographic regions;
the connection between soil organic carbon levels and crop yield and resiliency;
the effect of multiple practices on soil organic carbon levels;
potential barriers to soil health and carbon data collection across a variety of geographic regions; and
carbon permanence and loss of soil-sequestered carbon, based on weather, management, and other relevant factors, and the depth of sequestered carbon by different practices; and
to conduct research relating to soil health and carbon science at agriculture research stations of the Department of Agriculture.