Selected Farm Bill Provisions

Other Farm Bill Provisions Important to FLA. The current language meets FLA goals for the 2007 Farm Bill. Definition of Biomass - “The term 'biomass' means any organic matter that is available on a renewable or recurring basis, including agricultural crops and trees, wood and wood wastes and residues, plants (including aquatic plants), grasses, residues, fibers, and animal wastes, municipal wastes, and other waste materials…” Conservation Reserve Program (Conservation Title): CRP helps landowners comply with federal, state, and tribal environmental laws and encourages environmental enhancement. It also encourages landowners to convert highly erodible cropland and other environmentally sensitive land to vegetative cover. In return, landowners agree to a multi-year contract and receive an annual rental payment. The program includes cost sharing to establish the vegetative cover practices. • Authorizes 39.2 million acres to be enrolled in the program through 2012. • Includes a new provision to allow retired landowners participating in CRP to modify their contracts if the land is being transferred to a beginning or socially disadvantaged landowner. This would allow a beginning or socially disadvantaged landowner to return some of this land to grazing or crop production. Renewable Resources Extension Act (Research Title): RREA is the nation's leading forestry extension program, tackling critical forestry and related natural resources extension and stewardship needs in states, while also addressing critical issues of forest management for productivity and environmental quality on non-federal private forestlands. Preserves authority for core formula programs for state level research and extension. • Reauthorizes Rural Revitalization Technologies to address the use of forest biomass in energy production. • Improves cooperation between the government, private landowners and the conservation community in the newly renamed Forest Resource Coordinating Committee. Disaster Relief (Forestry Title): The Emergency Forest Restoration Program provides cost-share assistance to non-industrial private forest landowners for forest resource damaged in a natural disaster. Eligible landowners are required to have an approved restoration plan. • Payments may not cover more than 75% of the total cost of approved measures. • An owner of non-industrial private forest lands may not receive more than $50,000 per year under this section. Healthy Forests Reserve Program: This under-funded law was given $85 million over five years in mandatory funding. The subject provision was included in an amendment that was adopted just before final passage of the bill out of Committee. Pine Genome Initiative: The report states,"...The secretary is encouraged to give priority to the Pine Genome Initiative (PGI) which would promote healthy forests and the development of new biofuels technology. The PGI will also help U.S. timber growers remain competitive in the global market. The PGI is supported by a broad coalition of scientists, universities, foresters, land owners, and forest products companies. It has been recognized by the USDA's Forest Research Advisory [Council] as an important national research priority..." The current language meets FLA goals for the 2007 Farm Bill.