Agriculture Resilience Act

Agriculture Resilience Act

This bill addresses national greenhouse gas emission reduction efforts in the U.S. agriculture sector, including a national goal to achieve net-zero emissions by the year 2040.

Among other things, the bill

• expands the purposes of federally supported agricultural research, extension, and education to include accelerating the ability of agriculture and the food system of the United States to first achieve net zero carbon emissions and then go further to be carbon positive by removing additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere;
• requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a national network of regional hubs for risk adaptation and mitigation to climate change;
• creates a soil health grant program for state and tribal governments;
• revises the agricultural conservation easement program to require owners that receive cost-share assistance to have a conservation plan in place that addresses applicable resource concerns for the land subject to the easement, including soil health and greenhouse gas emissions reduction;
• establishes an alternative manure management program to support non-digester dairy and livestock methane management strategies to effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to maximize environmental benefits;
• directs USDA to study dual-use renewable energy systems, including an assessment on the compatibility of different species of livestock and crop types with dual-use renewable energy system designs; and
• provides competitive grants and technical assistance for local educational agencies to implement food waste measurement and reporting, prevention, education, and reduction projects.