COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROJECTS.

SEC. 9009. COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AND EXTENSION PROJECTS. Section 221 of the Agricultural Risk Protection Act of 2000 (114 Stat. 407) is amended— (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (f); and (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the following: “(d) Cooperative Research.— “(1) In general.—Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretary, in cooperation with departments and agencies participating in the U.S. Global Change Research Program (which may use any of their statutory authorities) and with eligible entities, may carry out research to promote understanding of— “(A) the flux of carbon in soils and plants (including trees); and “(B) the exchange of other greenhouse gases from agriculture. “(2) Eligible entities.—Research under this subsection may be carried out through the competitive awarding of grants and cooperative agreements to colleges and universities (as defined in section 1404 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 1303)). “(3) Cooperative research purposes.—Research conducted under this subsection shall encourage collaboration among scientists with expertise in the areas of soil science, 116 STAT. 484 agronomy, agricultural economics, forestry, and other agricultural sciences to focus on— “(A) developing data addressing carbon losses and gains in soils and plants (including trees) and the exchange of methane and nitrous oxide from agriculture; “(B) understanding how agricultural and forestry practices affect the sequestration of carbon in soils and plants (including trees) and the exchange of other greenhouse gases, including the effects of new technologies such as biotechnology and nanotechnology; “(C) developing cost-effective means of measuring and monitoring changes in carbon pools in soils and plants (including trees), including computer models; “(D) evaluating the linkage between federal conservation programs and carbon sequestration; “(E) developing methods, including remote sensing, to measure the exchange of carbon and other greenhouse gases sequestered, and to evaluate leakage, performance, and permanence issues; and “(F) assessing the applicability of the results of research conducted under this subsection for developing methods to account for the impact of agricultural activities (including forestry) on the exchange of greenhouse gases. “(4) Authorization of appropriation.—There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this subsection for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2007. “(e) Extension Projects.— “(1) In general.—The Secretary, in cooperation with departments and agencies participating in the U.S. Global Change Research Program (which may use any of their statutory authorities), and local extension agents, experts from institutions of higher education that offer a curriculum in agricultural and biological sciences, and other local agricultural or conservation organizations, may implement extension projects (including on-farm projects with direct involvement of agricultural producers) that combine measurement tools and modeling techniques into integrated packages to monitor the carbon sequestering benefits of conservation practices and the exchange of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture which demonstrate the feasibility of methods of measuring and monitoring— “(A) changes in carbon content and other carbon pools in soils and plants (including trees); and “(B) the exchange of other greenhouse gases. “(2) Extension project results.—The Secretary may disseminate to farmers, ranchers, private forest landowners, and appropriate State agencies in each State information concerning— “(A) the results of projects under this subsection; and “(B) the manner in which the methods used in the projects might be applicable to the operations of the farmers, ranchers, private forest landowners, and State agencies. “(3) Authorization of appropriations.—There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this subsection for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2007.”.