May 8, 2025
Ms. Leger Fernandez (for herself, Mr. Valadao, and Ms. Pingree) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture
To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to increase payments for drought-resilient or water-saving practices and to provide additional payments for perennial production systems, and for other purposes.
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Support Water-Efficient Strategies and Technologies Act of 2025
.
Sec. 2. Support for drought-resilient and water-saving practices
(a) Increased payments for drought-Resilient or water-Saving practices
Section 1240B(d) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–2(d)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(8) Increased payments for drought-resilient or water-saving practices
(A) In general
Notwithstanding paragraph (2), in the case of a practice described in subparagraph (B), the Secretary may increase the amount that would otherwise be provided for a practice under this subsection to not more than 85 percent of the costs associated with planning, design, materials, equipment, installation, labor, management, maintenance, or training.
(B) Practices
The practices eligible for increased payment amounts under subparagraph (A) are the following:
(i)
Drought-resilient practices that have the capacity to develop and produce on water-deficient environments on eligible lands, as determined by the Secretary.
(ii)
Conservation practices that—
(I)
conserve surface water or groundwater that result in a reduction of water use in the agricultural operation of an eligible land;
(II)
offer support to reduce runoff and increase the absorption of rain on eligible land; or
(III)
work in concert to transition an operation from irrigated production to a non-irrigated, dry land farming system.
Sec. 3. Supplemental payments for resource-conserving management
(a) Conservation stewardship payments
Section 1240L(c) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(c)) is amended—
(1)
in paragraph (1)—
(A)
in subparagraph (A), by inserting on 1 or more land uses covered by the contract
after activities
; and
(B)
in subparagraph (B), by striking improving, maintaining, and managing
and inserting maintaining, actively managing, and improving
; and
(2)
in paragraph (2)—
(A)
by amending subparagraph (B) to read as follows:
(B)
Income forgone by the producer, including amounts that reflect—
(i)
increased economic risk; and
(ii)
loss in revenue due to—
(I)
production changes;
(II)
anticipated reductions in yield;
(III)
transitions to a resource-conserving cropping or grazing, or perennial production systems; or
(IV)
acreage converted to conserving uses.; and
(B)
in subparagraph (E), by inserting , actively managed, and, where applicable, improved
after maintained
.
(b) Supplemental payments for resource-Conserving crop rotations and advanced grazing management
Section 1240L(d) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(d)) is amended—
(1)
in the subsection heading, by inserting , perennial production systems,
after rotations
;
(2)
in paragraph (1)—
(A)
by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D); and
(B)
by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following:
(C) Perennial production system
The term perennial production system means—
(i)
the use of cropland for agroforestry, including alley cropping, silvopasture, and related perennial production systems, as determined by the Secretary;
(ii)
the use of woodland acres for agroforestry, including forest farming, multi-story cropping, and related perennial production systems, as determined by the Secretary; and
(iii)
the use of cropland for perennial forages or perennial grain crops.;
(3)
in paragraph (2)—
(A)
in subparagraph (A), by striking or
at the end;
(B)
by redesignating subparagraph (B) as subparagraph (C); and
(C)
by inserting after subparagraph (A) the following:
(B)
perennial production systems; or; and
(4)
in paragraph (3), by inserting , perennial production systems,
after rotations
.
(c) Payment limitations
Section 1240L(f) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(f)) is amended to read as follows:
(f) Payment limitations
A person or legal entity (including a joint venture and general partnership) may not receive, directly or indirectly, payments under the program that, in the aggregate, exceed $200,000 under all contracts entered into during any consecutive 5-year period, excluding funding arrangements with Indian tribes, regardless of the number of contracts entered into under the program by the person or legal entity.
(d) Soil health
Section 1240L(k) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3839aa–24(k)) is amended to read as follows:
(k) Soil health
To the maximum extent feasible, the Secretary shall manage the program to enhance soil health, including by—
(1)
conducting outreach to encourage the use of contracts to improve soil health and sequester carbon in the soil; and
(2)
offering payments for soil health testing to provide participants and the Secretary with information on the soil health and carbon sequestration impacts of conservation activities.