Strong Farms, Strong Future Act

This bill updates the Conservation Stewardship Program to reward farmers and ranchers who use long‑term, climate‑friendly practices. It gives extra payments to producers who adopt or improve perennial growing systems—like alley cropping, windbreaks, riparian buffers, forest farming, and silvopasture—so they can keep these practices going year after year . The Agriculture Department must also adjust annual stewardship payments to keep up with inflation, so rising costs for planning, materials, labor, and maintenance don’t undercut conservation work.

The bill refines how contracts are scored and renewed. It tells the Department to focus on soil health, storing more carbon, and cutting greenhouse gases when ranking offers. It lets producers renew 5‑year contracts if they keep improving and agree to meet higher conservation standards; contracts can be renewed automatically if the farmer installed or improved a perennial system during the prior term. It also creates “climate change mitigation bundles”—ready‑made sets of practices, tailored by state or region, for cropland, pasture, rangeland, and forest land. At least one bundle must cover perennial systems, soil‑health systems, advanced grazing, and specialty crops, and these bundles must be available to both organic and conventional producers. The Department must promote these options each year and, within two years of making them available, report on farmer feedback, barriers, progress, and estimated per‑acre climate benefits .

Key points

• Who is affected: Farmers and ranchers in the Conservation Stewardship Program, including organic and conventional operations .
• What changes: Extra payments for perennial systems; inflation‑adjusted stewardship payments; clearer scoring that favors soil health and lower emissions; easier renewals with continued improvement; new climate bundles tailored to local needs .
• When: Annual outreach about climate bundles; a report due two years after the bundles are offered, with data and recommendations to expand adoption.