[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 5277 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 5277
To establish a ranchland program to support the United States cow herd,
and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 6, 2026
Mr. Rounds (for himself and Ms. Klobuchar) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a ranchland program to support the United States cow herd,
and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Rebuilding America's National Cow
Herd Act'' or the ``RANCH Act''.
SEC. 2. RANCHLAND PROGRAM.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this
section as the ``Secretary'') shall carry out a ranchland program under
which the Secretary shall enroll eligible land described in subsection
(b) through contracts with owners and operators.
(b) Eligible Land.--An owner or operator may enroll in the program
established under this section cropland that--
(1) the Secretary determines had a cropping history or was
considered to be planted for not less than 4 of the 6 crop
years preceding the date of enactment of this Act; and
(2) will be restored to perennial grass and forb cover and
support grazing.
(c) Contracts.--A contract under this section shall--
(1) require the establishment on the eligible land of
perennial grass and forb cover appropriate to the region, soil
type, and intended grazing use, as determined by the Secretary;
(2) require, not later than 2 years after enrollment of the
eligible land, a site-specific grazing management plan approved
by the Secretary;
(3) be for a term of not less than 10 years and not more
than 15 years;
(4) beginning with the fourth year of the contract, provide
for the temporary suspension of the base history for the land
covered by the contract through the end of the contract; and
(5) permit the activities described in subsection (d).
(d) Permitted Activities.--The activities referred to in subsection
(c)(5) are the following:
(1) Grazing in accordance with the grazing management plan.
(2) Fire presuppression, fire-related rehabilitation, and
construction of fire breaks.
(3) Clipping or mowing to assist in perennial grass and
forb establishment.
(4) Emergency haying in response to a localized or regional
drought, flooding, wildfire, or other emergency, outside the
primary nesting season, when--
(A) the county is designated as D2 (severe drought)
or greater according to the United States Drought
Monitor;
(B) there is at least a 40 percent loss in forage
production in the county; or
(C) the Secretary, in coordination with the
appropriate State technical committee established under
section 1261 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16
U.S.C. 3861), determines that the program can assist in
the response to a natural disaster event without
permanent damage to the established cover.
(e) Payments.--
(1) Annual rental payments.--The annual rental rate for a
payment under a contract under this section shall be equal to
75 percent of the county average dryland cash rental rate for
cropland determined under section 1234(d)(4)(A) of the Food
Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3834(d)(4)(A)).
(2) Cost-sharing payments.--The Secretary shall pay to an
owner or operator 50 percent of the cost of establishing
perennial grass and forb cover on eligible land enrolled under
this section.
(3) Incentive payments.--In addition to the cost sharing
payment described in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall make an
incentive payment to--
(A) an owner or operator in an amount equal to 50
percent of the cost of using a high-quality diverse
native seed mix for establishment of cover described in
paragraph (2); and
(B) an owner or operator that is a beginning farmer
or rancher in an amount equal to 50 percent of the cost
share provided under paragraph (2).
(4) Limitation.--The total amount of cost share payments
under paragraph (2) and incentive payments under paragraph (3)
shall not exceed 100 percent of the cost of establishing
perennial grass and forb cover on eligible land enrolled under
this section.
(f) Enrollment; Acreage Limitation.--
(1) Enrollment.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary shall accept
applications for contracts under this section on a
continuous basis, using ranking periods that are not
less frequent than annual.
(B) Delay.--The Secretary may delay a ranking
period described in subparagraph (A) if--
(i) the available acreage for enrollment is
less than 1,000,000 acres; or
(ii) commodity prices are elevated and
there is an expected shortage of commodities
grown on the eligible land targeted for
enrollment.
(2) Acreage limitation.--The Secretary may enroll in the
program established under this section not more than 20,000,000
acres.
(g) Priorities.--In entering into contracts under this section, the
Secretary shall prioritize--
(1) owners or operators who are beginning farmers or
ranchers, as defined by the Secretary;
(2) owners that operate a livestock grazing operation or
have plans to start a livestock grazing operation;
(3) owners or operators that agree to follow a conservation
plan that includes provisions to support wildlife habitat or
land that is part of wildlife corridors;
(4) high-quality, diverse, native seed mixes for
establishment of perennial grass and forb cover;
(5) highly erodible land; and
(6) marginal cropland.
(h) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary shall make available to
owners or operators technical assistance for the duration of a contract
entered into under this section.
(i) Automatic Enrollment.--
(1) In general.--On expiration of a contract entered into
under this section, the Secretary shall automatically enroll
the eligible land enrolled under the contract in a contract
under section 1231(d)(2) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16
U.S.C. 3831(d)(2)).
(2) Exemptions.--For purposes of automatically enrolling
eligible land under paragraph (1)--
(A) the eligible land shall not count towards the
applicable acreage limitations described in section
1231(d)(2)(A) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16
U.S.C. 3831(d)(2)(A)); and
(B) the method of enrollment described in section
1231(d)(2)(C) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 3831(d)(2)(C))
shall not apply.
(3) Producer flexibility.--An owner or operator may opt out
of the automatic enrollment under paragraph (1), but the
eligible land shall be ineligible for reenrollment under this
section.
(j) Enrollment in Other Programs.--An owner or operator party to a
contract entered into under this section may enroll the eligible land
in any program under subtitle D of title XII of the Food Security Act
of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831 et seq.) for any activity for which a cost
share or incentive payment is not provided under paragraph (2) or (3)
of subsection (e).
(k) Payment Limitation.--The total amount of payments received,
directly or indirectly, by a person or legal entity for a fiscal year
under this section may not exceed $155,000.
(l) Adjusted Gross Income Limitation.--Section 1001D(b)(2) of the
Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 1308-3a(b)(2)) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``(F) A payment or benefit under section 2 of the
Rebuilding America's National Cow Herd Act.''.
<all>