A bill to amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to clarify land eligible for enrollment in the conservation reserve program.

Peter Welch

Democrat · VT · Senator

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

• Bernard Sanders (I-VT)Original· 2026-06-24

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.

2026-06-24

Source: Congress.gov

The proposal would clarify which types of land can be enrolled in a federal program that pays farmers to take environmentally sensitive acres out of production and protect them through conservation practices. This affects farmers and landowners who participate in the conservation reserve program, as well as the government's ability to manage which properties qualify for these payments. The change aims to remove confusion about land eligibility rules that have existed since the original 1985 farm bill.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4912 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4912 To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to clarify land eligible for enrollment in the conservation reserve program. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 24, 2026 Mr. Welch (for himself and Mr. Sanders) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Food Security Act of 1985 to clarify land eligible for enrollment in the conservation reserve program. 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 ``Building Up Farmland Frontiers for Ecological Resilience Act'' or the ``BUFFER Act''. SEC. 2. ELIGIBLE LAND UNDER THE CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM. Section 1231(b) of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3831(b)) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (6)(B)(ii), by striking ``or'' at the end; (2) in paragraph (7)-- (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking ``as determined by the Secretary,''; and (B) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end and inserting ``; or''; and (3) by adding at the end the following: ``(8) land that is otherwise eligible for enrollment and for which a Tribal, State, or other local law, ordinance, or other regulation requires any resource-conserving or environmental protection measure or practice, unless the requirement to implement such a measure or practice has been imposed by an administrative order or a court order, in which case that land shall not be eligible for enrollment.''. <all>

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