[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1976 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1976

   To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to include a provision on 
  organic conversion in the environmental quality incentives program.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 2, 2007

  Mr. Tester (for himself, Mr. Leahy, and Mr. Baucus) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to include a provision on 
  organic conversion in the environmental quality incentives program.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. ORGANIC CONVERSION.

    Chapter 4 of subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act of 
1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

``SEC. 1240J. ORGANIC CONVERSION.

    ``(a) Definitions.--
            ``(1) National organic program.--The term `national organic 
        program' means the national organic program established under 
        the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 6501 et. 
        seq.).
            ``(2) Organic system plan.--In this section, the term 
        `organic system plan' means an organic plan approved under the 
        national organic program.
    ``(b) Establishment.--Under the program carried out under this 
chapter, not later than 180 days after the enactment of this section, 
the Secretary shall establish a program under which the Secretary shall 
provide cost-share and incentive payments to producers to promote 
conservation practices and activities for production systems undergoing 
conversion on some or all of the operations of the producer to organic 
production in accordance with the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 
(7 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.).
    ``(c) Organic Conversion Cost-Share and Incentive Payments.--The 
Secretary shall provide organic conversion cost-share and incentive 
payments to producers that--
            ``(1) are converting to organic production systems, 
        including producers with existing certified organic production 
        for conversion to organic production of land and livestock not 
        previously certified organic; and
            ``(2) enter into contracts with the Secretary for eligible 
        practices and activities described in subsection (d).
    ``(d) Eligible Practices and Activities.--Producers may use funds 
made available under subsection (c) for--
            ``(1) conservation management, vegetative, and structural 
        practices and activities during conversion to certified organic 
        production that--
                    ``(A) are required by, or consistent with, an 
                approved organic system plan; and
                    ``(B) protect soil, water, wildlife, air, and other 
                natural resource concerns as identified by the 
                Secretary;
            ``(2) animal welfare measures required by, or consistent 
        with, an approved organic system plan;
            ``(3) technical assistance, including the costs of 
        developing an approved organic system plan; and
            ``(4) such other measures as the Secretary determines to be 
        appropriate and consistent with an approved organic system 
        plan.
    ``(e) Eligible Producers.--To be eligible to receive cost-share and 
incentive payments under this section, producers shall agree--
            ``(1) to develop and carry out conservation and 
        environmental activities that--
                    ``(A) are required by, or consistent with, an 
                approved organic system plan; and
                    ``(B) protect soil, water, wildlife, air, and other 
                natural resource concerns as identified by the 
                Secretary;
            ``(2) to receive technical and educational assistance from 
        the Secretary or from an organization, institute, or consultant 
        with a cooperative agreement with the Secretary relating to--
                    ``(A) the development and implementation of 
                conservation practices and activities that are part of 
                an organic system plan; or
                    ``(B) other aspects of an organic system plan, 
                including marketing, credit, business, and risk 
                management plans; and
            ``(3) to submit annual verification by a certifying entity 
        accredited by the Secretary to determine the compliance of the 
        producer with organic certification requirements.
    ``(f) Term.--A contract under this section shall have a term equal 
to--
            ``(1) not more than 4 years, on the condition that the 
        producer seeks organic certification during that period; or
            ``(2) such lesser period as is required for the producer to 
        obtain certification as an organic producer.
    ``(g) Limitations on Payments.--An individual or entity may not 
receive, directly or indirectly, cost-share or incentive payments under 
this section--
            ``(1) for a period of more than 4 years; or
            ``(2) that, in the aggregate and exclusive of technical 
        assistance, exceed
                    ``(A) $20,000 per year; or
                    ``(B) a total amount of $80,000.
    ``(h) Termination of Contracts.--The Secretary may cancel or 
otherwise nullify a contract entered into under this section if the 
Secretary determines the producers are not pursuing organic 
certification.
    ``(i) Limitation on Contracting.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall not enter into new 
        contracts with producers under this section if, for any 
        particular agricultural commodity, the Secretary determines 
        that there is insufficient market demand for the agricultural 
        commodity.
            ``(2) Petition.--
                    ``(A) In general.--1 or more certified organic 
                producers of an organic commodity may petition the 
                Secretary to suspend further assistance for producers 
                of that commodity under this subsection.
                    ``(B) Grant of relief.--The Secretary may suspend 
                assistance in accordance with a petition under 
                subparagraph (A) upon a showing that--
                            ``(i) there would be insufficient market 
                        demand for increased organic production; and
                            ``(ii) the producers seeking relief would 
                        be adversely affected.
    ``(j) Technical and Educational Assistance.--To the maximum extent 
practicable, the Secretary shall balance the funds available for this 
section so that at least 50 percent of the funds made available to 
carry out this section are used for technical and educational 
assistance, including competitive cooperative agreements with nonprofit 
organizations, nongovernmental organizations, institutions of higher 
education, State departments of agriculture, and consultants with 
demonstrated expertise in advising organic producers on establishing 
and maintaining conservation practices and activities for organic 
production systems and the planning for, and marketing of, the products 
of those systems.''.
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