,,ii #aafth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #cdbi ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,march #aj1 #bjbj,mr4 ,casey 7for himself and ,mrs4 ,capito7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,agriculture1 ,nutrition1 and ,forestry ,a ,,bill ,to amend the ,soil and ,water ,resources ,conservation ,act of #aigg with respect to assessments of conservation programs1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,farmer ,driven ,conservation ,outcomes ,act of #bjbj4 #b4 ,amendments to the ,soil and ,water ,resources ,conservation ,act of #aigg ,the ,soil and ,water ,resources ,conservation ,act of #aigg 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #bjja et seq47 is amended-- 7#a7 by redesignating sections #h through #aj as sections #aj though #ab1 respectively2 and 7#b7 by inserting after section #g the following3 #h4 ,conservation programs assessment 7a7 ,in general ,in coordination with the appraisal of soil1 water1 and related resources and the soil and water conservation program1 the ,secretary may carry out a conservation effects assessment project-- 7#a7 to quantify the environmental and economic effects of conservation practices2 7#b7 to develop the science base for managing the agricultural landscape for environmental quality and sustainable productive capacity2 and 7#c7 to improve the efficacy of conservation practices and programs by evaluating conservation effects4 7b7 ,scope ,the project under this section may-- 7#a7 be carried out at national1 regional1 and watershed scales2 and 7#b7 include cropland1 grazing land1 wetlands1 forests1 and such other land as the ,secretary may determine to be appropriate4 7c7 ,activities ,the project under this section may include research1 literature reviews and bibliographies1 modeling1 assessment1 monitoring and data collection1 outreach1 extension education1 and such other activities as the ,secretary may determine to be appropriate4 #i4 ,goals and assessment process for conservation programs 7a7 ,natural resource and environmental objectives and outcomes 7#a7 ,in general ,in coordination with the appraisal of soil1 water1 and related resources1 the soil and water conservation program1 and the conservation effects assessment project established under section #h1 the ,secretary shall identify1 and periodically revise1 specific natural resource and environmental objectives and anticipated conservation outcomes and results1 by resource concern1 for-- 7,a7 the conservation programs established under subtitle ,d of title ,,xii of the ,food ,security ,act of #aihe 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chca et seq472 7,b7 the agricultural conservation easement program established under subtitle ,h of that title 7#af ,u4,s4,c4 #chfe et seq472 and 7,c7 the landscape conservation initiatives developed by the ,secretary4 7#b7 ,assessments ,to help measure outcomes and results1 the ,secretary shall1 to the maximum extent practicable1 make assessments of changes in the status and conditions of natural resources and the environment that result from the application of conservation activities supported directly by the conservation programs and initiatives described in subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,c7 of paragraph 7#a74 7#c7 ,monitoring and program evaluation ,the ,secretary shall establish a coordinated monitoring and evaluation process for the programs and initiatives described in subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,c7 of paragraph 7#a7-- 7,a7 to assess progress toward the objectives identified under that paragraph2 7,b7 to gather information to improve the implementation of those programs and initiatives in accordance with the outcomes and results identified under that paragraph2 and 7,c7 to assess the need for modifications to the statutes or regulations for those programs and initiatives4 7b7 ,monitoring and program evaluation 7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall use not more than #a percent of the total annual funding from the funds of the ,commodity ,credit ,corporation made available for new annual enrollments for the conservation programs described in subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b7 of subsection 7a77#a7 to establish a comprehensive monitoring and program evaluation process to assess-- 7,a7 progress in reaching natural resource and environmental objectives identified under that subsection2 7,b7 the contribution of individual programs to that progress2 and 7,c7 the contribution of those programs collectively to that progress4 7#b7 ,implementation ,in implementing the comprehensive monitoring and program evaluation process under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary may consider and incorporate-- 7,a7 resource concern inventories2 7,b7 trends and analyses2 7,c7 quality and quantity criteria2 7,d7 conservation practices and enhancements2 and 7,e7 such other information as the ,secretary determines relevant for applying the monitoring and program evaluation process across each major land use identified by the ,secretary4 7#c7 ,monitoring and evaluation process 7,a7 ,in general ,not later than #b years after the date of enactment of the ,farmer ,driven ,conservation ,outcomes ,act of #bjbj1 the ,secretary shall issue-- 7i7 a design for the comprehensive monitoring and program evaluation process under paragraph 7#a72 7ii7 a schedule for implementing that process2 and 7iii7 a plan for coordinating that process with-- 7,i7 the soil and water conservation program2 and 7,,ii7 the conservation effects assessment project established under section #h4 7,b7 ,methodology ,the design for the comprehensive monitoring and program evaluation process described in subparagraph 7,a77i7 shall-- 7i7 ensure that data made available to cooperators and researchers from the comprehensive monitoring and program evaluation process are transformed into statistical aggregate data at the county level and in a form that protects personally identifiable information2 and 7ii7 take into account-- 7,i7 the cumulative nature of conservation over time2 7,,ii7 the interactions and sequencing effects between conservation activities2 7,,iii7 the differing times for conservation effects to be realized2 and 7,,iv7 other related measurement challenges4 7,c7 ,public research 7i7 ,in general ,notwithstanding any other provision of law1 subject to clause 7ii71 in order to facilitate implementation of the comprehensive monitoring and program evaluation process under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall make available conservation activity and program data to cooperators and researchers engaged in public research and evaluation activities to improve conservation outcomes under this subsection4 7ii7 ,conditions ,the availability of data under clause 7i7 shall be subject to the conditions that-- 7,i7 adequate assurances are provided to the ,secretary that any resulting research or information will be made publicly available in a form that protects personally identifiable information2 and 7,,ii7 the national technical committee established under paragraph 7#e7 finds that the data is likely to generate information that furthers the purpose of this section4 7#d7 ,cooperative agreements ,the ,secretary may implement the comprehensive monitoring and program evaluation process under paragraph 7#a7 in part through cooperative or contribution agreements with ,federal1 ,state1 and local agencies1 institutions of higher education1 and nongovernmental organizations with requisite expertise1 as determined by the ,secretary1 in consultation with the national technical committee established under paragraph 7#e74 7#e7 ,national technical committee 7,a7 ,in general ,the comprehensive monitoring and program evaluation process under paragraph 7#a7 shall be administered by the ,secretary1 acting through the ,chief of the ,natural ,resources ,conservation ,service1 with assistance from a national technical committee described in subparagraph 7,b74 7,b7 ,composition ,the national technical committee referred to in subparagraph 7,a7 shall be appointed by the ,secretary and composed of individuals with relevant technical and scientific expertise representing-- 7i7 the ,agricultural ,research ,service2 7ii7 the ,economic ,research ,service2 7iii7 the ,farm ,service ,agency2 7iv7 the ,united ,states ,fish and ,wildlife ,service2 7v7 the ,forest ,service2 7vi7 the ,national ,institute of ,food and ,agriculture2 7vii7 the ,united ,states ,geological ,survey2 7viii7 the ,environmental ,protection ,agency2 7ix7 ,state and ,tribal agencies2 7x7 land grant university natural resource research programs2 7xi7 nongovernmental organizations with expertise in the full array of conservation issues and measurement and evaluation of conservation outcomes2 7xii7 farmers that reflect a variety of geographic regions and production types2 and 7xiii7 such other agencies1 institutions1 or organizations as the ,secretary may determine to be appropriate4 7,c7 ,,faca exemption ,the national technical committee shall be exempt from the ,federal ,advisory ,committee ,act 7#e ,u4,s4,c4 ,app474 7,d7 ,transparency ,the ,secretary shall ensure that the proceedings and recommendations of the national technical committee are available to the public4 7#f7 ,voluntary participation ,in carrying out this subsection1 the ,secretary shall ensure that any on-farm monitoring activities that may be included as part of the comprehensive monitoring and program evaluation process under paragraph 7#a7-- 7,a7 are voluntary on the part of the producer2 and 7,b7 may include appropriate compensation1 as determined by the ,secretary4 7c7 ,reporting 7#a7 ,report on objectives and methods ,beginning in the fiscal year that is #c years after the date of enactment of the ,farmer ,driven ,conservation ,outcomes ,act of #bjbj1 and periodically thereafter1 as determined by the ,secretary1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress1 and make publicly available1 a report that includes-- 7,a7 a description of conservation outcome objectives that are1 to the maximum extent practicable1 quantitative1 measurable1 and time-bound for each program or initiative described in subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,c7 of subsection 7a77#a72 7,b7 a description of the approaches1 tools1 and methods used-- 7i7 to measure or model the conservation outcomes and results2 and 7ii7 to estimate the cost-effectiveness of each of the programs or initiatives2 and 7,c7 guidance to the conservation project partners working to implement conservation programs within a landscape-level project that provides a description of the approaches1 tools1 and methods that the partners might consider using to measure and model the conservation outcomes and results of the projects4 7#b7 ,report on outcomes ,in conjunction with each of the reports to ,congress pursuant to section #g1 the ,secretary shall submit to ,congress1 and make publicly available1 a report that includes-- 7,a7 an assessment of progress made towards achieving conservation program objectives and anticipated outcomes and results for each program or initiative described in subparagraphs 7,a7 through 7,c7 of subsection 7a77#a71 individually and collectively2 7,b7 an evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of each of those conservation programs and initiatives2 and 7,c7 recommendations1 taking into consideration the assessment and evaluation under subparagraphs 7,a7 and 7,b71 respectively1 to improve program implementation and the scientific and economic tools 7including any new or revised conservation practices1 conservation enhancements1 or conservation planning tools7 used to achieve stated natural resource conservation and environmental objectives4 7#c7 ,coordination ,the ,secretary may coordinate the reports required under paragraphs 7#a7 and 7#b7 with any reports developed as part of the conservation effects assessment project established under section #h when that coordination is feasible and warranted1 as determined by the ,secretary4 4