ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSERVATION PROGRAMS.

SEC. 2708. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS FOR CONSERVATION PROGRAMS. Section 1244 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3844), as amended by section 2707, is further amended—(1) by striking subsection (a) and inserting the following new subsection:“(a) Incentives for Certain Farmers and Ranchers and Indian Tribes.—122 STAT. 1080“(1) Incentives authorized.—In carrying out any conservation program administered by the Secretary, the Secretary may provide to a person or entity specified in paragraph (2) incentives to participate in the conservation program—“(A) to foster new farming and ranching opportunities; and“(B) to enhance long-term environmental goals.“(2) Covered persons.—Incentives authorized by paragraph (1) may be provided to the following:“(A) Beginning farmers or ranchers.“(B) Socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers.“(C) Limited resource farmers or ranchers.“(D) Indian tribes.”; and(2) by adding at the end the following new subsections:“(f) Acreage Limitations.—“(1) Limitations.—“(A) Enrollments.—The Secretary shall not enroll more than 25 percent of the cropland in any county in the programs administered under subchapters B and C of chapter 1 of subtitle D.“(B) Easements.—Not more than 10 percent of the cropland in a country may be subject to an easement acquired under subchapter C of chapter 1 of subtitle D.“(2) Exceptions.—The Secretary may exceed the limitation in paragraph (1)(A), if the Secretary determines that—“(A) the action would not adversely affect the local economy of a county; and“(B) operators in the county are having difficulties complying with conservation plans implemented under section 1212.“(3) Waiver to exclude certain acreage.—The Secretary may grant a waiver to exclude acreage enrolled under subsection (c)(2)(B) or (f)(4) of section 1234 from the limitations in paragraph (1)(A) with the concurrence of the county government of the county involved.“(4) Shelterbelts and windbreaks.—The limitations established under paragraph (1) shall not apply to cropland that is subject to an easement under subchapter C of chapter 1 that is used for the establishment of shelterbelts and windbreaks.“(g) Compliance and Performance.—For each conservation program under subtitle D, the Secretary shall develop procedures—“(1) to monitor compliance with program requirements;“(2) to measure program performance;“(3) to demonstrate whether the long-term conservation benefits of the program are being achieved;“(4) to track participation by crop and livestock types; and“(5) to coordinate activities described in this subsection with the national conservation program authorized under section 5 of the Soil and Water Resources Conservation Act of 1977 (16 U.S.C. 2004).“(h) Encouragement of Pollinator Habitat Development and Protection.—In carrying out any conservation program administered by the Secretary, the Secretary may, as appropriate, encourage—“(1) the development of habitat for native and managed pollinators; and122 STAT. 1081“(2) the use of conservation practices that benefit native and managed pollinators.“(i) Streamlined Application Process.—“(1) In general.—In carrying out each conservation program under this title, the Secretary shall ensure that the application process used by producers and landowners is streamlined to minimize complexity and eliminate redundancy.“(2) Review and streamlining.—“(A) Review.—The Secretary shall carry out a review of the application forms and processes for each conservation program covered by this subsection.“(B) Streamlining.—On completion of the review the Secretary shall revise application forms and processes, as necessary, to ensure that—“(i) all required application information is essential for the efficient, effective, and accountable implementation of conservation programs;“(ii) conservation program applicants are not required to provide information that is readily available to the Secretary through existing information systems of the Department of Agriculture;“(iii) information provided by the applicant is managed and delivered efficiently for use in all stages of the application process, or for multiple applications; and“(iv) information technology is used effectively to minimize data and information input requirements.“(3) Implementation and notification.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a written notification of completion of the requirements of this subsection.”.