Progress for Colorado in the 2018 Farm Bill Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Forestry and Natural Resources, secured a number of bills and amendments important to Colorado in the bipartisan Farm Bill. The following 20 Bennet-led priorities were included in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (S. 3042). Protecting Our Forests • Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program: extends support and doubles funding for

collaborative, community-based forest management, which has a proven record of success.

• Flexible Partnerships Act: provides rural communities an avenue to engage with the U.S. Forest Service to address housing, infrastructure, and other needs.

• Small Tracts Act: expands the Forest Service’s authority to sell small parcels to protect other

high-priority lands and improve land management. • National Forest Foundation: reauthorizes the National Forest Foundation (NFF) through 2023.

The NFF supports Colorado conservation and stewardship projects and is a key partner in maintaining our National Forests.

• Wildfire Protection: creates a pilot program to protect utility infrastructure from passing

wildfires by encouraging vegetation management on Forest Service land.

• Watershed and Forest Health: includes a new Water Source Protection Program to support innovative forest health partnerships; directs the Forest Service to evaluate the condition of our watersheds, prioritize forest restoration efforts, and monitor their effectiveness.

Promoting Conservation • Soil Health: emphasizes soil health across the conservation title and establishes an EQIP pilot

program to improve soil health, ensuring the pilot program will occur in at least one drought-prone region.

• Healthy Habitat and Rangelands: improves access to conservation planning and rewards

grazing practices that promote drought resilience, wildfire management, and wildlife habitat.

• Outdoor Recreation: reauthorizes and maintains funding for programs that provide access to

hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation and improves wildlife habitat on private lands.

• Drought Resilience: eliminates duplicative planning requirements and provides greater flexibility for off-farm water infrastructure projects that improve drought resilience.

• Conservation for Small-Scale Farmers: allows the USDA to create a pilot program to improve

the delivery of conservation funding to small-scale producers. Supporting Rural Economies • Hemp Agriculture: legalizes hemp as an agriculture commodity, providing certainty and

economic opportunity for growers, including the ability to access crop insurance and federal funding.

• Rural Broadband: provides loans, loan guarantees, and grants to improve broadband service in

high-need rural areas. • Farmer and Rancher Stress: reauthorizes the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network to

assist states and nonprofits that establish helplines, suicide prevention training, and support groups.

• Data for Disaster Programs: improves the data used for drought monitoring, which determines

USDA disaster assistance across the West; requires the USDA to consult with the bison industry to use the best available market value data for the Livestock Indemnity Program.

• Food Waste: Requires a study to identify the cost and volume of domestic and imported fresh

food waste and opportunities to reduce waste and improve farm income. Improving Energy Options • Energy Storage: makes energy storage technologies eligible for USDA Rural Energy for

American Program funding and financing.

• Clean Energy: promotes biogas and carbon utilization technologies in rural communities. • Cyber and Grid Security: ensures cybersecurity and grid improvement projects are eligible for

USDA Rural Utility Service loans. A copy of the 2018 Senate Farm Bill is available at www.agriculture.senate.gov/2018-farm-bill.