12 2 STA T . 1 764PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 246 —J U NE 1 8, 2008 (b)TRANSIT I O N OP TION .—Section1235 o f t h e F oo d Sec ur it yA ctof1 98 5(1 6U .S. C . 3835) i sam ended by addin g at the end the fo l lo w ing new subsection
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‘(f) TRANSITION OPTION F ORC E RTAIN FAR M ERS OR R AN CH ERS.— ‘‘(1) DU TIES OF THE SECRETAR Y .— I n the case of a contract modification a p pro v ed in order to facilitate the transfer , as described in subsection (c)(1)( B )(iii), of land to a beginning farmer or rancher or socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher (in this subsection referred to as a ‘covered farmer or rancher ’ ), the Secretary shall— ‘‘(A) beginning on the date that is 1 year before the date of termination of the contract— ‘‘(i) allow the covered farmer or rancher, in con j unction with the retired or retiring owner or oper - ator, to ma k e conservation and land improvements
and ‘‘(ii) allow the covered farmer or rancher to begin the certification process under the Organic Foods P roduction Act of 199 0 ( 7 U.S.C. 6501 et se q .); ‘‘(B) beginning on the date of termination of the con- tract, require the retired or retiring owner or operator to sell or lease (under a long-term lease or a lease with an option to purchase) to the covered farmer or rancher the land subject to the contract for production purposes; ‘‘(C) require the covered farmer or rancher to develop and implement a conservation plan; ‘‘(D) provide to the covered farmer or rancher an oppor- tunity to enroll in the conservation stewardship program or the environmental quality incentives program by not later than the date on which the farmer or rancher takes possession of the land through ownership or lease; and ‘‘( E ) continue to make annual payments to the retired or retiring owner or operator for not more than an addi- tional 2 years after the date of termination of the contract, if the retired or retiring owner or operator is not a family member (as defined in section 1001A(b)(3)(B) of this Act) of the covered farmer or rancher. ‘‘(2) REENRO L LMENT.—The Secretary shall provide a cov- ered farmer or rancher with the option to reenroll any applicable partial field conservation practice that— ‘‘(A) is eligible for enrollment under the continuous signup requirement of section 1231(h)( 4 )(B); and ‘‘(B) is part of an approved conservation plan.’’. Subti t leC—W etl andsR ese rv e P r og ra mSEC.2 2 01 .ES TABLI S HM E N TAN DPUR P O SEO FW ETLANDS RESER V E PRO G RAM. Subsection (a) of section 1237 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. 3837) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘(a) ESTA B LISHMENT AN D PURPOSES.— ‘‘(1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish a wet- lands reserve program to assist owners of eligible lands in restoring and protecting wetlands. Ef f ectiv e da te .Con t r act s .
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